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Nodaway News Leader Februrary 26, 2024 Nodaway County Economic Development (NCED) announced recently the hiring of Kim Mildward to the position as project manager, effective Friday, March 15. Mildward understands the crucial role economic development plays in creating lasting prosperity for the region. She has been hired as project manager to ensure the success or project initiatives and will contribute to the successful delivery of key projects and workstreams. “I am delighted to join Nodaway County Economic Development as a project manager. This role presents an exciting opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the growth and prosperity of our county. I am eager to leverage my skills and passion for economic development to foster innovation, create opportunities and build a vibrant future for Nodaway County and its residents,” Mildward said. Mildward is an experienced economic development professional with a demonstrated history of project and grant coordination. She served as economic development planner with the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments (ReCOG).  During her 25 years at ReCOG, Mildward served in various roles including one-stop operator and director of workforce development programs. Mildward is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University with a master’s degree in education and an undergraduate degree in government. “Having worked with Kim in various capacities over the years, we’re thrilled to have her join the NCED team,” Josh McKim, executive director of the NCED. “Kim brings business development and program experience that will be vital in fulfilling the county’s mission to expand economic opportunities.” NCED is the economic development organization in Nodaway County. NCED works with existing retail, commercial, industrial and agricultural partners with the goal of improving the quality of life of Nodaway County residents, attracting private investment, creating jobs and augmenting the tax base.

April 26, 2023 Maryville, Mo. — Concrete Revival, a grassroots industrial, commercial, and residential concrete polishing and coating contracting company, announced today it will expand in Maryville, investing $350,000 and creating 13 new jobs. “Supporting new and growing businesses is vital to the strength of our state’s economy,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Investments from companies of all sizes continue to prove Missouri’s status as an ideal business location. We’re proud to see Concrete Revival investing and creating jobs in Maryville and look forward to its continued success in the area.” Founded in 2015, Concrete Revival is dedicated to providing customers with quality floor finishes to improve the function and aesthetics of concrete. Beginning with just a trailer and small closet, the company served residential customers with installations of epoxy garage and basement floors in southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri. Today, Concrete Revival has grown to take on projects across the country while continuing to hire new employees and add value to its products and services. “It’s really a testament to how great our God is if you think about how we were able to create a team of such extremely talented individuals as these in such a short amount of time,” said Al Harmening, Owner and CEO of Concrete Revival. “From our employees, salesmen, and customers to suppliers, lenders, advisors, outsourced partners, and promoters, I wouldn’t trade this team for any other.” As part of its expansion, Concrete Revival will join 413 Machining at its new Maryville location. Founded in 2019 by Harmening, TJ Winters, and Adam Summers, 413 Machining is a service-disabled veteran-owned CNC milling company that manufactures steel, aluminum, and plastic products. The companies’ combined Maryville headquarters will allow for streamlined operations and increased efficiencies. “We’re pleased to see Concrete Revival expanding in Maryville and benefitting the community,” said Maggie Kost, Acting Director of the Department of Economic Development. “It’s always exciting to see quality employers investing locally and creating opportunities for Missourians and their families. Our team is glad to assist this company as it provides a positive impact for our state’s Northwest region.” For this expansion, Concrete Revival will benefit from the Missouri Works program, a tool that helps companies expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits for job creation. What others are saying “Northwest Missouri is a great place to live, raise a family, and run a business,” said Adam Summers of 413 Machining. “413 Machining is allowing local and regional manufacturers the ability to get their machining needs fulfilled locally, instead of spending their money in other states. We plan on continuing our growth by adding more employees and capabilities to further meet the needs of our customers.” “This is such an exciting opportunity for the 413 Machining Family,” said TJ Winters of 413 Machining. “We have been so blessed in our ventures to grow this business. It is truly exciting to see how God has opened new doors to make this move and build our business. We owe a big thank you to the Missouri Economic Development team for helping to make this possible along with our local customers. We are excited about what this growth means as it will provide new jobs for our community.” “NCED is thrilled to welcome Concrete Revival to the community – they provide great service and great jobs and are an amazing addition to our business community,” said Josh McKim, Executive Director of Nodaway County Economic Development. About Concrete Revival Concrete Revival provides floor resurfacers, urethane cement, thin coats, decorative epoxy, static control, wall systems, sloped floors, concrete polishing, and 5S safety striping nationwide. To learn more about Concrete Revival, visit concreterevival.co.

By GEOFFREY WOEHLK The Forum Nov 19, 2021   MARYVILLE, Mo. — Last week, the Nodaway County Economic Development Corporation announced the launch of the Your Way Nodaway campaign, an initiative designed to attract residents to the county to fill job openings and create new ones. The campaign, centered at YourWayNodaway.com, signals a shift in priorities from NCED, which like similar organizations across the country, faces a job market that’s short on workers. “It’ll continue to be something we’ll face in the future, but that’s what every community is facing — you can go anywhere and they’re facing a tight labor market,” NCED Executive Director Josh McKim said. So far in 2021, Nodaway County’s average monthly labor force size is 10,444, according to data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. The labor force is the number of people who have a job or are actively looking for a job. That would be the lowest annual average labor force recorded in Nodaway County over the past 30 years — as far back as the online records go. That’s not news to employers in the county, who, like their counterparts across the country, have struggled to fully staff their businesses as pandemic restrictions have relaxed, especially in retail and food service. As the employment data from MERIC shows, McKim said the labor force in Nodaway County has been steadily shrinking since the Great Recession in 2008. That was one of the years in which more people were involved in the labor force in Nodaway County than any other since 1990 — but has dropped significantly since. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has plummeted to lows not seen since the late 1990s when unemployment was sometimes as low as under 1 percent. In September, the most recent data available, the unemployment rate in Nodaway County dipped to 1.8 percent. In only three months of the 2000s has the county’s unemployment rate been under 2 percent: April 2000, October 2018 and September 2021. Compared to September 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic September, the losses in the labor force seem to come mostly from the number of people employed — over 260 fewer in 2021 than in 2019, while the estimated number of unemployed individuals dropped by less than 80. Consequently, employers are scrambling to find workers, and sometimes, looking elsewhere entirely. Kawasaki Motors, the county’s largest employer with more than 1,100 workers at its Maryville facility, announced last month plans to open a new location in Boonville that will create about 270 new jobs. Anita Coulter, the Maryville plant manager, told The Forum at the time that the company had looked at instead expanding in Maryville. But the plant here was already understaffed and employees working overtime. “We still have over 100 open positions we’d like to fill,” Coulter said in October. That’s why economic development groups like NCED have shifted their focus from aiming to bring in businesses that will attract workers, to trying to recruit workers that will attract businesses. The top two factors businesses look for when selecting a location, McKim said, are a quality workforce and transportation access. “So if you’ve got a great transportation hub, but you don’t have a quality workforce, that hurts you,” he said. “If you have a great quality of workforce but you don’t have any transportation, that hurts you. Our weakness has been, we have a very tight labor market. That’s not a surprise to anybody. You can go drive down through the town and see all the hiring signs. A lot of other places have that as well. “We’re looking at, how do we alleviate that?” Cue Your Way Nodaway. McKim said it’s been in the works for more than a year, funded through grants from Evergy, United Electric and the Maryville Industrial Development Corporation. With the new campaign, McKim hopes to add to the workforce with four distinct types of new residents: those looking to fill an open job, start a new business, buy an existing business or work remotely at a job they already have. That last point, working remotely, is one where Nodaway County and Maryville may have a unique advantage over other areas, with far-reaching access to high-speed internet and an appealing quality of life. “If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it was that younger professionals are interested in living their lives in areas with a lower cost of living, higher livability factors and in less populated areas,” McKim said in a press release. Begun long before the pandemic, Missouri’s age demographics have not worked in favor of rural economies like the one in Nodaway County. Younger residents leave the state, McKim said, especially their rural hometowns. On the flip side, Missouri sees high inflow of people over 35 — but not to the places younger people are leaving, like Nodaway County. Over the past 10 years alone, the county shrunk by more than 2,000 people, and fewer people live in Nodaway County now than at any time since 1870, according to U.S. Census data and data compiled by the Missouri Census Data Center. Working with candid, a Kansas City marketing firm, NCED has begun the first element of the campaign, “Circle Back.” Through that initiative, NCED will target area natives, Northwest Missouri State University graduates and others with a connection to Nodaway County who may be interested in returning, and pitch them on what Nodaway County has to offer. Although all rural areas are struggling with the same issue, McKim said he thinks Nodaway County has a leg up on the competition. “I’ll say this, I think Nodaway County and Maryville itself are uniquely situated,” he said. “We use that word ‘unique’ a lot here, because we do, we think we are very unique from many other rural areas.” First and foremost, McKim said, the presence of Northwest has a “major impact” on small communities like Maryville, providing cultural and economic opportunities, and serving as a consistent magnet for young professionals and soon-to-be-professionals. Also, Nodaway County  Continue Reading »

By TRINITY COBB The Forum BOULDER, Colo. — Bolder Industries has raised $80 million in equity and $100 million in committed project-level funding, co-led by CIM Group and Aravaipa Ventures and supported by Tauber Oil, the company said in a news release. Based in Colorado, the company has a Maryville facility dedicated to converting end-of-life tires into sustainable carbon black, petrochemicals, steel and power. The two-and-a-half-hour tire repurposing process was first developed in Dec. 2014 when Bolder Industries acquired its Maryville facility. Bolder Industries CEO Tony Wibbeler told The Forum that the company began operating in Maryville and continues to do so because of the community’s compelling argument to support economic growth and development in the area. Wibbeler added that Bolder has invested $40 million dollars in Maryville. Seven years later, he said he is happy that Bolder made this decision. Many other communities are offering Bolder a lot of money to start facilities in their region, however, Wibbeler says Bolder remains committed to Maryville because of the homey quality its people and local vendors and restaurants provide. The Maryville facility currently has 31 employees. Wibbeler predicts this number will increase by 11 over the next six months. Carbon black, an industrial coloring and strengthening agent that is used as reinforcement in rubber products and as colorant in ink, plastic and paint, is Bolder’s main product. According to a news release, BolderBlack and Bolder Oil are currently in more than 300 products including tires, automotive parts, wetsuits, phone cases and more. The company’s material science process uses 98 percent of a scrap tire for alternative purposes; redistributes 75 percent of the solids and liquids into new tires, plastics, manufactured rubber goods and onsite energy; and saves 85 percent or more in greenhouse gas emission offsets and water and power usage. By extracting steel and petroleum-based ingredients, Bolder can recover scrap tires. This recycling of carbon black does not result in a decrease in quality. “CIM Group’s support of Bolder Industries aids the expansion of its highly regarded programs to reuse what historically was deemed waste,” said Avi Shemesh, co-founder and principal of CIM Group, in a news release. “Its approach and products place it at the forefront of sustainable industries which aligns with CIM’s long-standing ESG commitment.” Bolder plans to use the funds it has raised to grow its global environmental, social and governance impact. Funds also will accelerate commercial scalability, as customer demand increases. This demand comes from long-term contracts with major automotive, manufactured rubber, plastics and sustainable petrochemicals partners. “Tokai Carbon Company investigates circular solutions for our company and Bolder is a leading company in providing solutions for end-of-life tires,” said Bill Jones, Tokai Carbon Company president, in a news release. “Bolder has assisted Tokai in becoming the world leader in delivering partly sustainable ASTM grade carbon blacks with our use of BolderOil.” Wibbeler said Bolder is working with Tokai to enhance the supply chain of sustainable carbon black. Bolder plans to increase the capacity of its Maryville plant — which has been in 24/7 commercial operation since February 2019 — by 2.5 times by the first quarter of 2022. The facility currently processes 1 million tires annually. Wibbeler predicts this number will increase to anywhere from 2.5 to 3 million tires in 2022. In addition to its European and Maryville facilities, the company plans to further expand its product facilities nationally and internationally as it continues to attract customers who are concerned with sustainability, greenhouse gas emission offsets, and water and power usage. “Our vision is to transform what it means to be a sustainable, environmentally-conscious company and we’re incredibly humbled by the support we’ve gained to do so,” said Wibbeler. “Bolder Industries is scaling at such a speed that enables existing customers to expand their business with us when they want to and new partners can see impact quickly.”        

By SKYE POURNAZARI The Forum Oct 8, 2021 Updated Oct 8, 2021 MARYVILLE, Mo. — The expansion of Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. operations in Boonville will not only create more than 270 jobs in that region, but may also relieve some of the overtime many Maryville workers have been experiencing. The company plans to operate at 2501 Boonslick Drive, the site of the former Nordyne facility that produced split-system and furnaces and moved its operation to Mexico six years ago, according to news reports. “We’re thrilled to see Kawasaki’s continued success in Missouri and are proud to be home to this new location in Boonville,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a news release. “Our business-friendly economy, central location and workforce development programs help companies like Kawasaki find opportunity here in the Show-Me state. This facility will provide hundreds of good-paying jobs for Missourians and further strengthen our thriving manufacturing sector.” Anita Coulter, Maryville plant manager and Corporate Deputy Director of Administration, told The Forum that there will be no change to the Maryville day-to-day operations, “except for (hopefully) eliminating all the overtime our employees work.” She noted that due to manpower shortages, employees have worked a lot of overtime, even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic both last year and this year. “Kawasaki employees are an awesome group of dedicated employees that make Kawasaki what it is today,” Coulter said. “The increase in our capacity has grown significantly and we are simply unable to keep up with demand.” She explained that Kawasaki has gained more market share, and that backyard enthusiasts and housing builds have been the core reasons for that higher demand for Kawasaki engines. Coulter noted that the expansion in Boonville is a true one with more engines being produced, and that at this time there is no plan to shift any production lines from Maryville to the new facility. With regard to staffing, she said a few key individuals will be selected to work at the Boonville facility, but that number is about “10 positions at most.” When asked if there was any consideration given to this expansion taking place in Maryville, Coulter said the company had been trying for several years, but that the manpower is just not available in this area. “We still have over 100 open positions we’d like to fill,” she said. According to a news release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, work on the new facility is set to begin this month, with the start of production planned for May 2022. The company credits the state’s workforce development program, Missouri One Start, as a factor enabling continued expansion in the state. Kawasaki has used the state’s training programs for nearly 30 years, most recently creating 110 new jobs in Maryville in 2020 with assistance from Missouri One Start. The average wage of the positions being created at the Boonville facility is well above the average for Cooper County. “We were fortunate to find a location that has a hometown feel and strong work ethic, as displayed by the dedication of Boonville leaders,” Coulter said. “We appreciate the support of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Boonslick Community Development Corporation (BCDC), Industrial Development Authority of the City of Boonville (IDA), Ameren, the Cooper County Commission, the City of Boonville, Big Industrial and others that have also provided incentive programs and support invaluable to starting operations.” Kawasaki was the first foreign vehicle manufacturer to open a manufacturing plant in the United States. The company is committed to employing local labor and ensuring safety and quality. In 1989 the Maryville, Missouri Plant was opened for production of general purpose engines. The Maryville facility has grown to over 900,000 square feet on 113.7 acres of land employing over 1,100 people. For more information on Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A., including career opportunities, visit www.kawasakiboonville.com.