The leaders of a Marshalltown-based distributing business have plans to invest a total of $15 million and add 90,000 square feet to their facility on Rex Ryden Road and create about 50 new jobs, and on Monday night, the city council moved forward with drafting a $1.65 million Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) rebate agreement to accommodate them.

The request comes from The Integrated Group (TIG), and after City Administrator Carol Webb laid out the basic details, Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Hall explained the rationale behind the agreement — noting that expanding in the Des Moines area was another option for the company. Hourly wages for the new jobs would range from $17 an hour to over $50, and average annual salaries are around $53,000 with a total annual payroll of over $2.5 million for employees ranging from assembly technicians, supply chain planners, IT specialists, engineers and managers.

Hall then welcomed TIG Co-owner Jeret Koenig forward to the speaking podium to share some of the company’s history dating back to 1991 and the struggles they’ve faced in finding space for expansion locally.

“We’ve got locations in Des Moines. We’re trying to make a national presence, but we’d also like our headquarters to remain in Marshalltown because it was founded here. We’re also in Illinois expanding there. We’re buying other businesses, and we want to continue actually putting this operation on the map,” Koenig said.

In addition to the already planned 90,000 square foot expansion, he said they would have room for another 240,000 square feet onsite, and Koenig touted Marshalltown’s central location between key markets like Des Moines, Waterloo and the Quad Cities as a key selling point.

“Marshalltown for us is strategic. As a family-owned business, we are from Iowa. We’re originally from eastern Iowa, and so for us, Marshalltown’s important, and we’ve got a lot of people that are really, really good,” he said. “We’re attracting white collar opportunity for jobs. We’ve got plenty of blue collar opportunity for jobs as well.”

Koenig and his team intend to start on the project as soon as possible, and, citing the earlier conversations about the MARSHALLTOWN Company expansion, he said they were investing in the community for a reason even at a time when construction costs are high.

“We are off highway based. What does that mean? Primarily, it’s ag markets. That’s where we want to exist. There’s opportunity for Marshalltown to expand that with rail as just being located close to factories. We want to expand into that area,” he said.

Councilor Gary Thompson asked if the operations on May Street would be consolidated into the expansion, and Koenig said that building is still owned by their previous business partners. Thus, they don’t currently have any plans to do so.

“At this point, we want to continue to expand. Now, if there’s opportunities to consolidate in some of the different facilities, we’re gonna be outgrowing the 90,000 square feet, which then is gonna require us to get additional space,” Koenig said. “At this point, we haven’t really gone down the path of consolidation as much as, there’s so much opportunity that we’re being fed, at this point, from our customers, and they’re saying ‘Hey, if you don’t expand quick, you’re gonna lose the opportunity.’ For us, logistics makes sense because we’re so close to those factories.”

Councilor Melisa Fonseca asked Koenig about the education and certifications potential TIG employees would need to obtain to get hired there, and he said the company runs the gamut with everything from accountants and CPAs to engineers to sales and marketing to engine assemblers to entry-level forklift operators. The biggest challenge he has faced in hiring thus far, he added, is that prospective employees aren’t familiar with Marshalltown, but those who already live in the area could be easier to recruit going forward.

“We’re not that corporate yet. A lot of our family members, they may not be college educated, but they own businesses because they’ve worked hard. So if you show up to one of our facilities and work hard, and you may not have a degree, but you’re willing to work hard, put the hours in and learn, we’re willing to put you through things like the DMACC training courses or, I think, up here, there’s a program that’s a 260E or F program,” Koenig said. “For us, it’s all over the board, and we’re looking, all the time, for good people. There’s really no qualification that you wouldn’t necessarily have, and the good news is we’re buying additional companies… We’re gonna do that (and) continue to push the envelope.”

Fonseca also asked Koenig to clarify the direction of the expansion on the Rex Ryden Road property, and he said it would move towards the north and the west from the current facility.

Tyler Leo of ATI Group, an Ankeny-based development and construction group, then stepped forward and praised Koenig as his company is “growing like a weed in the best way possible.”

“I just want to commend him and his commitment to Marshalltown. He brought all of his boys here to listen. He’s committed to this town, and we’re really excited to work with him and continue to grow,” Leo said.

Thompson then jokingly asked Leo why he hadn’t moved his company to Marshalltown, and he responded that he was relatively new to the community but complimented city staff and officials for being easy to work with thus far. A motion to bring back a formal resolution of support for the TIF agreement passed by a unanimous 7-0 vote.

“The technical term for that is a no-brainer,” Mayor Joel Greer said.

According to its website, TIG is a third-party logistics company focused on “creating and investing in new service capabilities to solve evolving industry challenges” with “a track record for helping our customers improve operational efficiencies, remove logistical barriers and burdens, and meet market demand.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.