(SIOUX CITY, IA) Six months ago the Southbridge Industrial park was nothing but dirt roads and soy bean fields and now its home to the multi-million dollar expansion of Sabre Industries. Which means dozens of jobs are becoming reality in Siouxland.
Thursday, January 17, 2013 marked the completion of the 192,000 square foot manufacturing facility, which is purpose built to manufacture utility structures and communication towers. The CEO of Sabre industries Peter Sandore, says other states were interested in Sabre, but ultimately the company decided Iowa was a good fit for the expansion.
"Their reaction time, they did a great job. The package that they offered all the way through, including the incentives and the land, I think were a big contributor, the other part was we had a great management team here already, so we felt we could build off that management team based on the previous success and work this area and be a lot more efficient facility than if we had to go build a whole another team in another area," says Peter Sandore, CEO of Sabre Industries.
Sandore says he filled probably 60 percent of the 192 new jobs, but says the application process is ongoing. That's because as soon as the second phase begins, which will include 246,000 total square feet, the company will add more jobs.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad was at the Ribbon cutting today, and he says the expansion fit his plans for the state perfectly.
"Sabre offers a variety of really good paying, skilled jobs, that are precisely the kind that I envisioned when I set the very ambitious goal of 200,000 new jobs in Iowa, raising family incomes by 25%," says Branstad.
Sandore says one of the reasons Sabre industries chose to expand in Sioux City was because of the drive and determination displayed by workers in the old facility, he says they fought to keep the business safe during the flood in 2011.
The second phase of construction will begin this year and be finished at the beginning of 2014.
Hleigh@siouxlandnews.com
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