Nebraska Industrial Overview - Fall 2011
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New Company Breaks Ground In Scottsbluff
This article contains information from a November 3, 2011 story by staff reporter Rick Willis, of the Scottsbluff Star Herald, and is re-printed with the newspaper’s permission.
Months of effort produced 20 new jobs and tons of future beef sales for Scotts Bluff County. It took 414 days to bring a new company to Scottsbluff. Sheryl Hiatt, Department of Economic Development, first received an email from KYS Foods and Cayenne, LLC, on September 15, 2010, asking for information on properties available for a food manufacturing plant. The new plant will process jerky. By June, the company was meeting with bankers from around the area. First State Bank, Platte Valley Bank, Valley Bank, and First National Bank all worked together to provide a financial package for the company. Thursday afternoon, the company broke ground for the new plant at the Airport Industrial Park, with $505,000 in state economic development funding in hand. Local funding provided another $360,000 in incentives. KaiYen Mai, 37, owner of the multi national company, has an MBA in entrepreneurial and marketing studies. Her parents brought the company to San Francisco in 1979. Seven years ago, Mai looked for a new facility in five states but couldn’t find a building. Mai said she ultimately chose Scottsbluff because it’s a small town, friendly, and helpful. “We felt the community would be here for us when the move was over,” Mai said. Local incentives were important, as not all places have those. The diversity, with a 25 percent Hispanic population, reminds me of San Francisco where we are a melting pot.” Richard Baier, Director of the Nebraska Economic Development Department, presented an award of $505,000 in CDBG funds to Scotts Bluff County to aid KYS Foods, Inc. Other agencies partnering in the efforts to recruit this company to Nebraska included Nebraska Public Power District, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Food Processing Center, Nebraska Trucking Association, and many local organizations. KYS Foods will be served electrically by Nebraska Public Power District.Nebraska Hosts Second Reverse Trade Mission
Governor Dave Heineman kicked off Nebraska’s second Reverse Trade Mission September 7 and 8 to encourage international companies to explore opportunities for investment in Nebraska. Representatives from Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam participated in the mission.
“We began our second Reverse Trade Mission with a focus on bringing international companies like Evonik Industries to Nebraska,” said Governor Heineman. “Nebraska has remained in better economic shape than most states because of our focus on jobs and trade. This is proof that Nebraska’s outstanding business climate is internationally recognized. This announcement emphasizes Nebraska’s reputation as an outstanding place for biotechnology, research and development, and new technologies that have yet to be discovered.” Nebraska Public Power District was a sponsor of the Reverse Trade Mission and assisted in the coordination of a renewable energy tour for participants.Nebraska Among the Best
Wind Tower Builder to Add Jobs
Katana Summit in Columbus, Nebraska, announced plans to hire 60 to 90 production workers to help with orders for 130 wind towers to be completed in the first half of 2012. It’s a significant turn around for a company that once employed about 200 workers in Nebraska but saw that number cut in half during the recession.
Manufacturing Company Expanding in Lyons
Brehmer Manufacturing received a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $205,000 to expand its operations in Lyons, Nebraska. “We were fortunate to have a lot of new international business and needed to expand quickly,” said company president and CEO Joe Brehmer. “We wouldn’t have been able to grow at the pace we wanted to without the grant.”
Brehmer’s business model is unique because it is a small business that has thrived on operating multiple business units in diverse industries. The company began in 1974 by designing and manufacturing its own line of truck equipment and custom products. The recent international growth of the business is due largely to its strategic alliance with other firms that specialize in the marketing and sales of niche products. Brehmer Manufacturing designs and manufactures tire recycling equipment for Eagle International, LLC, stainless steel hog feeders for A. J. O’Mara Group, LLC, and added the Australia “Alligrator” line of stainless steel grain mills for use in organic, nutriceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. Presently, Brehmer is adding 8,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and eight additional employees that will support growth for each of these business units. The company has future plans that include a phased growth strategy over the next 10–12 years adding another 28,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and an additional 20–25 employees. Brehmer is served electrically by the city of Lyons, a wholesale power customer of Nebraska Public Power District.The Andersons, Inc. to Construct Elevator in Custer County, NE
The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE) announced on October 5 their plans to begin construction on a 3.8 million bushel capacity grain elevator facility near the towns of Anselmo and Broken Bow in Custer County, Nebraska. The facility is slated to be open in time for the 2012 harvest.
Ground Broken for Lone Wolf Wurst Meats, LLC
A $300,000 grant to Dawson Public Power from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant Program plus a $60,000 contribution from the utility are providing the base financing for a new manufacturing incubator building for Lone Wolf Wurst Meats in Eustis, Nebraska.
