The current construction of a $20 million plus addition at MARSHALLTOWN Co. and more demonstrates the company’s commitment to American manufacturing, said company president/CEO Joe Carter of Marshalltown in a recent email to the Times-Republican.

There was more news to report.

“We’ve completed our facility in Kansas City, Kan.” Carter said.

Those two projects, coupled with the unveiling of the world’s largest trowel sculpture last November, has generated excitement at the company founded in 1890 in Marshalltown by brothers E. Lester and Jesse Wiliams.

“There are new employee locker rooms and break areas that just opened, but we’re also adding space for more manufacturing operations that will further emphasize our commitment to American manufacturing,” Carter said. “Woodruff Construction is the general contractor on the project, which will be completed January 2027. These new manufacturing operations and processes will increase quality, increase innovation, improve lead times and help retailers feel less stress caused by tariff upheaval and supply chain logistical issues.”

Carter was asked if first quarter 2026 (January, February and March) sales were meeting expectations or if it was too early to measure.

“We expected a slow start to the year and that expectation is being met overall,” he said. “As usual, we’re seeing some bright spots and some areas that need more emphasis.”

The T-R inquired about sales in 2025.

“Looking back, we had some nice growth in 2025 despite a lackluster construction market,” he said.

Carter said previously that 2024 wasn’t a great year for construction, retail establishments as well as the largest of home centers like Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Beginning in 2019, the company has acquired several businesses and their products such as Avalanche!, Barwalt, Bullet, DascoPro and Vaughan and Wal-Board and incorporated them into MARSHALLTOWN Brands with the company’s iconic products.

However, Carter said there was nothing new to report right now.

“We are always looking,” he said.

State of Iowa business leaders and economic development officials have identified some companies’ inability to fill new positions with qualified staff a major challenge.

Carter addressed the issue at MARSHALLTOWN candidly.

“It’s always challenging to find great talent, but we’ve always been blessed to be able to sort through applicants until we are able to find the right people,” he said. “I think our company’s attitude to strive for perfection is at work with our Human Resource teams and each hiring manager, as those people continue to find ways to bring great talent into the business. It also helps that when talented applicants understand our story, meet our other talented team members and see what’s happening, these applicants want to be part of our mission!”

Not only has the “World’s Largest Trowel” generated significant local and area interest, but photos and commentary have been posted on a wide variety of websites including “Iowa Chill,” the Des Moines Register, History of Marshalltown, University Museums — Iowa and more.

Carter said people have been generally interested in the specifications, as well as notable call outs of how cool the block wall is that incorporates the company’s history.

“We have seen and heard of people stopping by the trowel, getting out of their vehicles and snapping a selfie in front of the trowel,” he said. “One customer from Texas seriously inquired about how they could get a big trowel made (or something similar) for their company. One customer in Cedar Rapids, upon seeing our sales team walk through the door, said — ‘MARSHALLTOWN – you guys have the largest trowel in the World!'”

MARSHALLTOWN Company’s executive team is: Joe Carter — President & CEO; Jack Murder — Executive Vice President; John Reynolds — Chief Operating Officer; Wade McLeod — Chief Financial Officer; John Christen — VP of Iowa & Illinois Operations; Nathan Steckel — VP of Supply Chain & Operational Excellence; Jeff Schneider — Chief Information Officer; Nick Ott — General Counsel and Polly Tousey — Executive VP of Sales & Marketing.