MANCHESTER, Iowa — A Delhi-based company that manufactures storage containers, storage trailers and mobile offices plans to consolidate its operations in Delaware County by building a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Manchester.
To encourage investment, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board recently approved tax incentives for A-1 Mobile Storage Service LLC to build a new $5.7 million facility on Burrington Road in Manchester.
According to an IEDA press release, the new facility will create eight jobs paying a minimum wage of $24.97 per hour – 120 percent of the average wage in Greater Manchester.
In exchange for building the plant and providing the jobs, the company will receive $297,000 in tax credits that can be redeemed upon completion of the project, which company officials estimate will take between six and eight months.
Kanan Kappelman, marketing manager at IEDA, said the company was selected because of its strong nationwide customer base and future growth plans.
Marty Kelzer, chief operations officer and partner of A-1 Mobile Storage Service, said the project offers the company an opportunity to streamline its business operations by bringing everything under one roof, while also providing an opportunity to invest in the community.
“We’re trying to centralize our facilities – right now we have our manufacturing and our offices in two locations,” he said. “And of course we continue to invest in our local community by creating jobs and things like that.”
Donna Boss, executive director of the Delaware County Economic Development Corporation, said the project is exciting for the small Iowa community, especially at a time of economic uncertainty.
“It is always an exciting time to congratulate and celebrate a company looking to expand into Manchester and create jobs – particularly given the high inflation we are currently battling with,” she said.
The consolidation under one roof will also have a positive effect on the company, says Boss.
“The efficiencies that come to the company when everything is under one roof … I can’t say enough good things about what that means for the leaders in this business,” she said.
