Apache Considering Expansion To Iowa Facility

A proposed $7.5 million expansion of the company's Cedar Rapids facility would not only preserve nearly 30 existing jobs in Iowa's Creative Corridor, but create 15 new ones.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA − Apache Inc. is considering a $7.5 million expansion to its facility in Cedar Rapids that, if built, would not only preserve nearly 30 existing jobs in Iowa’s Creative Corridor, but create 15 new ones.

The Cedar Rapids City Council will consider sponsorship of a state financial assistance application for the company to add 90,000 square feet of production space to its facility at 4805 Bowling Street SW. Financial assistance will primarily come in the form of Tax Increment Financing.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance assisted in preparation of the state application that will be sent to the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Pending approval of state and local financial assistance, and final decision of Apache, building construction would begin in April 2015, with the estimated completion by year end.

Apache currently employs 315 people, including 139 in their Cedar Rapids headquarters. Founded in 1963 in Cedar Rapids, the company changed its ownership structure in 1985 to an ESOP and is 100 percent employee-owned today.

Formerly operating as Apache Hose and Belting, Apache Inc. has grown to more than $100 million in revenue with six locations across the United States. Products are sold across many industries including: agriculture, recycling, mining, hydro, food, chemical, and many more. Apache and its subsidiaries serve customers throughout North and South America, in addition to Europe.

“This is a tremendously exciting time for Apache. Our team has executed a strategy over the past six to eight years that has put us in a position to make this expansion necessary,” said Tom Pientok, Apache’s President and CEO. “We are very passionate about the communities we are located in, and excited to be able to grow in the city where Apache got its start.”

Dee Baird, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance, says to have one of the Creative Corridor’s local employers make such a significant investment is a tremendous show of confidence in the region.  “Apache is a strong community partner and we are happy to assist in advancing their growth goals and the new jobs that it will bring to the Corridor,” Baird says.

Apache Inc. is a national fabricator and wholesale distributor of fabricated belting products, hose products, cut and molded rubber, and industrial consumer products.

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