The expansion, expected to be completed next year, will generate 3,300 new jobs and more than $627 million of economic impact to the Greater Des Moines area during the next decade.

The impact will be felt in terms of payroll related to new jobs, capital investments linked to the construction of the new facilities and projected tax revenues from the property.

“Our decision to build this new campus will ultimately benefit the business community and residents of Greater Des Moines and prove to be a sound investment in infrastructure by the state of Iowa and the city of West Des Moines,” said Pete Wissinger, president and CEO of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. “The area will benefit not only from the direct economic impact of our project, but by the fact that the resulting infrastructure will serve as a catalyst for the development of the surrounding properties.”

The 176-acre parcel of land purchased by Wells Fargo is currently undeveloped with limited road access. The site will require extensive infrastructure development, including road creation and improvement.

The company initially intends to construct two buildings that will provide more than 900,000 square feet of office space.

When completed, the two buildings will house more than 2,300 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Wells Fargo Consumer Credit Group team members who currently work in 10 separate facilities in the Des Moines metro.

The new facility will also house 1,000 new employees that the Home & Consumer Finance Group plans to hire in the coming years.

Electric Plant to Use Advanced Technology

MidAmerican Energy Co. recently broke ground on a $1.2 billion electric generation project that will be the first in the United States to incorporate “advanced supercritical” technology. The coal-fueled plant will be the biggest in Iowa’s history and the largest electric generation project globally for MidAmerican’s parent company, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

Construction, expected to be completed in 2007, will create more than 1,000 jobs at a payroll of more than $300 million.

“By investing and planning now, this plant will go a long way toward meeting our common goal of energy stability and independence for Iowa’s future,” said Greg Abel, president of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

When operational, the plant will add about 70 employees to the current work force of 146 at the Council Bluffs Energy Center, increasing the annual payroll by $4.8 million. The plant will generate $3.4 million in annual property tax payments, of which $1.7 million will be distributed to Pottawattamie County, the city of Council Bluffs, the Lewis Central School District and other local government entities.

“It is important for Iowa residents to achieve energy independence by developing energy resources within the state,” Abel said. “We took the challenge to add new and diverse sources of electricity generation in the state, while proposing to keep Iowa electric rates stable through 2010. Our expansion is just one part of that commitment.”

Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy, Iowa’s largest energy company, provides electric service to 681,000 customers and natural gas service to 660,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Iowa’s ethanol production industry is also going strong and expected to reap great economic returns. Currently, the state has nine ethanol plants in production and five others in the construction or planning stages. Plants under construction have a total capital investment of $261.4 million, will employ more than 175 persons, and have a combined production capacity of 185 million gallons per year.

Among those under construction are Otter Creek Ethanol in Ashton, which qualified for tax incentives from Iowa’s New Jobs and Income Program. The $54 million project is expected to generate 40 jobs.

Iowa Ethanol in Hanlontown will receive tax incentives as an enterprise zone project. The $60 million project will generate 35 jobs.

Other projects include Golden Grain Energy in Mason City ($56.4 million and 40 jobs), Big River Resources in West Burlington ($57 million and 40 jobs) and Pine Lake Corn Processors in Steam Boat Rock ($34 million and 20 jobs).

These projects will save transportation costs to area farmers, as well, by providing a local market for millions of bushels of corn annually. This corn will be processed into 45 million gallons of ethanol fuel for vehicles across the nation and add value to Iowa corn. A byproduct of the process, dried distilled grain, will also be marketed.

Johnson Controls Opens New Facility

Another company with plans to energize the state’s economy is Johnson Controls Inc., a manufacturer of automotive systems. The company will open a new automotive battery component plant in Red Oak.

The $21 million facility, expected to employ about 75 workers, will use state-of-the-art production equipment to cast, roll and stamp lead plates for automotive batteries. The parts will be shipped to the company’s battery assembly plants throughout the United States.

To assist Red Oak in competing for the new manufacturing facility, the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) approved an enterprise zone investment tax credit and other incentives.

Johnson Controls is the largest manufacturer of automotive batteries in the world for both the replacement and original equipment markets. Replacement market customers include Advance Auto, AutoZone, Costco, Interstate, Pep Boys, Sears and Wal-Mart.

It supplies original equipment batteries for vehicles built by automakers such as DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

— Deborah Lehman

Facts & Contacts

DEMOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY

Population: 2.9 million

Capital: Des Moines

Three Largest Cities: Des Moines, 190,958; Cedar Rapids, 115,777; Davenport, 98,256

Gross State Product: $85 billion

Per Capita Income: $26,723

Percentage of Private Manufacturing

Labor Force Organized: 15.3%

Right to Work State: Yes

Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (November 2003)

Average Hourly Manufacturing Wage: $15.10

Population Age 25 and Over With Bachelor’s Degree or More: Des Moines, 18.9%;

Cedar Rapids, 23.3%; Davenport, 20.1%

Corporate Income Tax Rate: 6.0-12.0%; federal tax deductible, applies only to profits on sales in Iowa

Percentage Employment by Sector: Construction, 4.6%; manufacturing, 17.4%; mining, 0.1%; service industries, 26.7%; transportation/public utilities, 4.9%; wholesale/retail, 24.2%

Primary Industries: Food and kindred products, industrial machinery, fabricated metals, printing, furniture, rubber and plastics

Targeted Industries: Life sciences, information solutions and advanced manufacturing

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

Worker Training Programs: Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program, Iowa Jobs Training Program, Iowa Certified School to Career Program, Accelerated Career Education Program

Enterprise Zones: 311 enterprise zones in 32 counties and 15 cities

Foreign Trade Zones: 3 — Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities/Davenport

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Mike Blouin, Director

Iowa Department of Economic Development

200 East Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 242-4700, fax (515) 242-3490

Web: http://www.iowasmartidea.com

e-mail: smartstate@ided.state.ia.us