Six companies were awarded financial help from the State of Iowa Friday, for planned expansion projects. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board approved tax benefits and direct financial assistance to the projects which are expected to create over 100 jobs. One of the projects involves a newly-formed company in southwest Iowa’s Adams County. Daryl Lilly, founder and CEO of Aero  Technologies, says his company will manufacture heavy duty industrial cleaning equipment and products. He told the I-E-D-A board that the plant near Corning will create 25 jobs.

“But, it’s our intent to hopefully grow at a pace that will ultimately deploy significantly more than that number,” Lilly said. The project is estimated to cost around $1.1 million and the IEDA board awarded Aero Technologies $225,000 in direct financial assistance, plus tax benefits. Lilly said work on the facility will begin soon. “We hope to be in a position to be manufacturing product in 2017,” Lilly said. “We certainly plan to be doing that.”

The IEDA board awarded $105,000 and tax benefits to a gelatin manufacturing plant in Woodbury County. GELITA USA officials says they’ll create 21 jobs by expanding their operations in Sergeant Bluff. Meanwhile, a fireplace and stove maker is moving production lines from a facility in Kentucky to its distribution center in Mount Pleasant in southeast Iowa. The IEDA board awarded Hearth & Home Technologies tax benefits for the project which is expected to create 28 jobs. The other awards approved Friday involve projects in Altoona, West Des Moines, and Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa)