One good turn deserves another.

Menards of Eau Claire, Wis. has had a strong retail presence in Marshalltown for years, with a retail store in the Marshalltown Mall followed by a move several years ago to Iowa Avenue West.

In the transition, the company built one of the largest home improvement stores in the state. Its location induced others businesses to invest along Iowa Avenue West as well.

Thursday afternoon, Menards corporate officials were in town to meet with local community and business leaders to celebrate the success of a second Menard facility – the company’s manufacturing and distribution center on 18th Avenue adjoining the J.W. Fisher Soccer Fields.

Known as Midwest Manufacturing – a division of Menards – the facility manufactures and distribute lumber products, including wooden trusses with 50 employees.

Charlie Menard and other company officials told local leaders operations are running smoothly, and commended the workforce and management team.

Company officials had previously told the Marshalltown city council estimated project costs of the facility would be $7 million. Construction started last year.

“Midwest Manufacturing is the manufacturing arm of the company, and makes many of the products customers find in our retail stores,” said Charlie Menard. “As a family-owned company that has this big retail store presence … it is ingrained in our history of how we have gotten to the point in the marketplace today. The trusses are one of the oldest manufacturing products that we make … my uncle, John Menard, identified the trusses as being critical in the 1950s.”

Charlie Menard said rail cars from a Union Pacific Rail Road spur bring in lumber to manufacture the trusses. Subsequently, semis haul the completed product to the local retail store and others in Central Iowa.

The spur served other businesses elsewhere in town and ideally, along 18th Avenue.

The UPRR expanded it south to serve Midwest Manufacturing at Menard’s request.

However, an agreement executed between the city and company provided for the city to reimburse Menards for a portion of the spur expansion expense. This extension not only gave Menards rail access, it will be a significant asset for future development.

“The city will be able to tap into the spur for other projects,” said Tom Deimerly, president of the Marshalltown Economic Development Impact Committee (MEDIC) at a city council meeting.

In return for Menards’ investment the city is providing tax increment rebates back to the company for 20 years, reimbursing approximately 60 percent of the spur cost.

Menards reimbursed Marshalltown $125,000 as part of a required project match, so the town could apply for a Revitalizing Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation to provide safe roadway access to the new facility.

Midwest Manufacturing is currently using 25 acres of the 50-acre lot purchased.

Menards Real Estate Representative Scott Nuttelman, who was part of the contingent Thursday, said at a previous city council meeting the Eau Claire, Wis.-based company chose Marshalltown in part due to the city’s central Iowa location with access to both rail and major roadways for distribution of goods throughout the region.

“I don’t think we’ve built one of these yet where it has not expanded,” said Nuttelman. “Once we have a facility in a city we want to make more investments.”

Nuttelman complimented Deimerly, MEDIC, and Mayor Jim Lowrance for their persistence in finding a suitable site and making the selection process fast and efficient.

“Our first choice for a site did not work out,” Nuttelman said. “But Tom (Deimerly) the mayor and team kept working to find us one. We sat down at many a kitchen table, but eventually found one that met our needs.”

Menard emphasized the family’s hands-on management style and values were instilled years ago on a Menard dairy farm. “I learned early in life if you grew up on a dairy farm one works hard,” Menard said. ‘You are in a culture where you get out of bed and take care of things.”