Art's Way Manufacturing Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of niche agricultural machinery, equipment and services, on May 5 announced that the company closed on a 190,000-square-foot facility in West Union, Iowa. The company paid $1.270 million for the building. A grant and loan of $65,000 from Iowa Economic Development Board will help offset expenses associated with building repairs and machinery and equipment. Art's Way is also eligible to receive $158,000 for job training. Art's Way continues to work with the Iowa Finance Authority, to obtain long term financing of the facility with industrial development bonds.
J. Ward McConnell Jr., executive chairman of the board, said, "We are very pleased to have acquired this facility. Our plans for this facility will be a combination of production of our ag lines and warehouse for finished products. We first intend to start shipping over some of our finished goods for distribution and then move over production lines of our forage boxes and hay rakes. The addition of this facility will allow us to gain valuable production space and will certainly allow us to accommodate any future acquisition. The West Union area has a very deep talent pool, and the $1.3 million factory and warehouse expansion will create approximately 45 new jobs. We are delighted to be part of the West Union community."
About Art's Way Manufacturing Inc.
Art's Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders and top and bottom drive augers. After market, service parts are also an important part of the Company's business. We have two wholly owned subsidiaries. Art's Way Vessels Inc. manufactures pressurized tanks and vessels; Art's Way Scientific Inc. manufactures modular animal confinement buildings and modular laboratories.