By John Jennings Daily News Staff
The Newton Development Corp. hosted its annual Salute to Business and Industry Luncheon Thursday at the Newton Country Club.
Dick Davidson, NDC Chair, gave the opening remarks.
“The NDC is unique in that we’re a public/private partnership with the state, county and city,” Davidson said.
Following the opening remarks, awards were presented to three Newton businesses.
W.B. Jones, regional operations manager for Trinity Structural Towers, was presented with the New Business Award from the NDC.
Jones said Trinity is a part of a larger, $4 billion corporation, which also manufactures rail cars and couplers, highway guard rails, propane tanks and inland bargers in addition to the wind energy towers.
Trinity’s Newton plant is currently at 135 employees, and Jones anticipated employing 165 by the end of the year. The company is manufacturing six 80-meter towers per week, with a capacity for 10 towers per week, and shipments are being made to Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and Indiana. Jones said it was his second visit to Iowa, and he praised Newton’s workers.
“Midwestern folks are great folks,” he said. “They have outpaced every performance indicator we have, and they continue to improve.”
The Existing Business Award went to Newton Manufacturing Corp., which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. The award was accepted by Newton Manufacturing President Lee Cochran.
“Newton Manufacturing was founded when a need was recognized, an innovative solution was provided, and value was realized by the customer. Throughout our history, this basic but powerful formula has helped the company evolve, grow, overcome, and succeed,”
The Jim Tyler Entrepreneurial Award went to Springboard Engineering. Founder, President and CEO Jordan Bruntz accepted the award for Springboard.
“We don’t have any huge towers that we can point at to show you what we make,” Bruntz said. “We help other businesses.” In fact, Springboard works in three different categories to help its clients. Engineering services include mechanical, electrical and software. The company also works in fabrication, creating prototypes for new products, and performs reliability and performance testing for a variety of products.
In addition, Springboard provides other services, including specification writing, custom manufacturing, and serving as expert witness.
NDC’s interim Executive Director Frank Liebl praised the three companies for their successes the past year and for making Newton a vibrant business community.
|
