FACILITY EXPANSION BRINGING 350 NEW JOBS TO NORTHEAST IOWA
February 12, 2018: The Alton Telegraph (full link below)
FACILITY EXPANSION BRINGING 350 NEW JOBS TO NORTHEAST IOWA
Officials say the expansion of a battery company facility will bring 350 new jobs to northeastern Iowa.
East Penn Manufacturing Co. executives joined city and state officials Friday at a celebration of the new battery manufacturing and distribution plant in Oelwein (OHL’-wyne).
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the expansion was aided by $3.1 million in state tax credits and $1.75 million in direct financial assistance approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in 2015.
http://www.kimt.com/content/news/473776723.html
February 9, 2018: The Courier
East Penn, a Philadelphia-area company started in the 1940s, had operated a smaller distribution center in Oelwein for about 10 years.
The new transportation/SLI (starting, lighting and ignition) battery center, which was built on 40 acres on the southeast side of the city, was aided by $3.1 million in state tax credits and $1.75 million in direct financial assistance approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in 2015.
Reynolds and Gregg on Friday also visited Zoetis in Charles City, a $35 million expansion, Homeland Energy Solutions in Lawler and Hawkeye Metal Spinning in Jesup.
“This (East Penn) project is an example of companies that are investing in rural Iowa,” Gregg said. “That’s something the governor and I are both very passionate about.”
East Penn Manufacturing is a private, family-owned company operating the largest single-site, lead-acid battery manufacturing facility in the world. In addition to the above-mentioned Iowa facility, East Penn operates a 520-acre complex in Berks, Pennsylvania.
Their distribution network includes more than 90 warehouse and distribution locations across the US and Canada with a central hub in Topton, Pennsylvania.