Statewide Iowa — The latest competitiveness check released by the Iowa Business Council shows the lack of available workers remains the biggest threat to Iowa’s long-term growth.
Vermeer Corporation chairwoman Mary Andringa of Pella is also chair of the Iowa Business Council.
Vermeer manufactures heavy equipment that’s sold around the world and Andringa says 25 different languages are spoken by the company’s employees.
Andringa says Iowa’s cost of living and the short commute to work are also appealing to people who’ve moved from places like California and Portland, Oregon to work at Vermeer. During 2019, 163-thousand people worked for companies that are members of the Iowa Business Council — and those 23 businesses had a total payroll of seven-and-a-half BILLION dollars.
In Sheldon, efforts to bring new people into the community include such things as the addition of suitable housing, as well as touting the many amenities the city has to offer workers and their families to attract them to come to Sheldon to live, work and raise their families.
