Quad-Cities and Clinton Areas Rank High in 2020 Economic Development
A little ol’ thing like a global pandemic didn’t stop companies from growing and building in the Quad-Cities and Clinton areas in 2020.
TBK Bank is building a new Midwest Division headquarters in downtown Bettendorf, next to The Bridges apartment complex.
Recent investment in the six counties along the Mississippi River, including the Q-C region, has been recognized by Site Selection Magazine as part of its 2020 Governor’s Cup Awards. The economic development publication annually ranks metropolitan and micropolitan areas by number of projects per capita and total number of projects.
The Q-C and Clinton areas earned high rankings for project growth in the Mississippi River Corridor, awarded to the top metro area by both number of and per capita corporate facility projects along the Mississippi River calculated over an 18-month period ending December 2020.
In that division, the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metropolitan area ranked #6 in the Top Metros by Total Projects (13). For the 2020 rankings, Clinton achieved the top ranking in Top Metros by Projects per Capita.
Clinton’s economic development activity was fueled by a number of company locations and expansions, including Japan’s Spiber Inc., a
The $15-million BendXPO convention center opened near the Bend Event Center early this year in East Moline.
biotech startup that produces “brewed proteins,” such as spider silk for use in clothing and other consumer products. The plant announced in December it would invest $101.4 million to expand production of its plant-based polymers to Clinton, its first U.S. facility, through a partnership with ADM, according to the magazine.
Data from 33 separate metropolitan and micropolitan areas along the Mississippi River corridor were analyzed for the rankings.
“While the pandemic impacted numerous sectors in 2020, the Quad-Cities region’s diversity of industry helped it to make positive gains,” said Julie Forsythe, Senior Vice President, Business & Economic Growth, at the Quad Cities Chamber.
“Strong anchor industries, such as manufacturing and logistics, keep us at the forefront of competing communities in terms of corporate investments, jobs and talent.”
In 2020, there were 10 construction projects in five target industries totaling $297.5 million in investment, 342,500 constructed square feet and 265 new jobs in the six-county region of Scott, Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa, and Rock Island, Mercer and Henry in Illinois.
The magazine awards are based on growth in the industries of manufacturing, call centers, headquarters, data centers, distribution warehouse, office and research and development.
To qualify toward the project count, expansions must include new construction and meet one or more of the following: 20 or more new jobs created, 20,000 square feet or more in new square footage, and an investment of $1 million or more in construction cost, land, building or
Clinton, Iowa topped Site Selection magazine’s rankings of Mississippi River corridor communities’ economic development activity per capita.
employees.
Among the new projects in 2020 were:
- Bend XPO Convention Center (office/retail), East Moline, $15 million.
- Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters (office), East Moline, $10 million.
- Dohrn Transfer (logistics), Rock Island, $2 million.
- Vibrant Credit Union (office), moved headquarters into former Sam’s Club, Moline.
- TBK Bank (office), Bettendorf, $11 million.
- Shive-Hattery (office), Bettendorf, $6 million.
- Hero BX (ag innovation), Clinton, $10 million.
- Spiber, Inc. (ag innovation), Clinton, $101.4 million.
- Nestle Purina PetCare Company (ag innovation), Clinton, $140 million.
Japan’s Spiber Inc., a biotech startup, announced in December it would invest $101.4 million to expand production of its plant-based polymers to Clinton, its first U.S. facility, through a partnership with ADM, which employs nearly 900 in the area.
Erin M. Cole, president and CEO of Clinton Regional Development Corporation (CRDC), says “Project Charlotte,” the code name for the Spiber project, moved forward quickly despite pandemic conditions, according to Site Selection magazine.
Julie Forsythe is the Quad City Chamber senior vice president for business and economic growth.
The city played a major role, working for over a year to arrange a land deal that made city-owned land near the chosen location available to Spiber for the expansion. An incentive package includes $1 million through Iowa’s High Quality Jobs Program, with the City of Clinton providing a 20% match.
Other major projects have come from Timken, which has moved some operations from a site across the river in Fulton, Illinois; Nestle Purina Petcare, with a $140 million, 73-job expansion of its dog food plant; Lake Erie Biofuels; Collis; Sewer Equipment of America and China-based United Machining, among others.
They’re why the bi-state Clinton region this year claims the No. 1 spot in Site Selection’s rankings of Mississippi River corridor communities’ economic development activity per capita. Minneapolis-St. Paul claimed the top spot in total corporate facility investments over the 18 months ending in December 2020.
The Nestle Purina project also benefited from a city team led by Mayor Scott Maddasion that helped get rid of some easements in order to give the company breathing room from a landlocked site where it’s operated for more than 50 years. In Timken’s case, the CRDC’s remit stretches across the river into Whiteside County in Illinois, where Timken wanted to locate a business, Diamond Chains, that it had just purchased in Indianapolis. But there was no room.
“That’s when they crossed over into Clinton,” Cole told the magazine. “Having that relationship in place was a key thing. Workforce is critically important. One of the benefits of being literally next to Whiteside County is they have a larger population in general. There are two bridges in our community. Thousands of people from Illinois come into Iowa and vice versa, and the two states make it easy to cross the Mississippi River and work on both sides.”
Nestle Purina on announced Feb. 21 plans for the $140-million expansion of its Clinton factory, to be completed in 2023.
The expansion will add new processing and packaging lines for the production of dry, or kibble-based, pet foods and lead to total job growth of more than 60 positions. Purina, which employs 360 people in Clinton, established local operations in 1969.
In another example of cross-river collaboration, J.T. Cullen, a metal fabricator located on the Illinois side, is taking advantage of Clinton High School being the first high school in Iowa to be part of the state’s registered apprenticeship for welding program by signing up the first student apprentice.
The United Machining investment is going into a refurbished manufacturing building in downtown Clinton, where the tallest building is six stories high and a push is on to attract more residents.
“Revitalizing downtown is extremely important,” Maddasion said, noting several mixed-use projects underway. The area just was just recertified as an Iowa Great Place, which comes with a $250,000 beautification grant. “We’ve love to have a microbrewery,” the mayor says. “Our plan is to get people to live downtown.”
To see a full list of the national and metro rankings, click HERE.
