The purpose of the Marshaltown Area Chamber is to support existing businesses while seeking ways to enhance industry and enhance the quality of life in Marshaltown. The results of its survey for maintaining and expanding the business of 2024 show a sustainable need for more shelter, additional quality of life facilities and the right workers for the right positions.
Chamber President John Hall said nine Marshaltown-based businesses responded to the survey-from the 16 units on his target list to participate. About 30 questions were asked, some open while others were structured to provide specific data -driven answers. The Iowa state also suggested some of the questions.
Hall
“Business holding and expanding survey is something we try to do on an annual basis. This is the work of economic development 101 type. An opportunity for self-reflection for us, and it also gives us a picture of issues that we may need to work to address, with businesses, with the city, the state, whoever we need to interfere in those conversations to address the challenges and Needs and also start working on what expansion and growth will look like, ”he said.
Hall noted that 5,041 employees work in total for these entities.
“Having over 5,000 employees represented in those businesses means we are hitting most of the biggest employers,” he said.
The answers are kept confidential, so the hall was unable to provide the names of nine participating businesses.
“We are focused on businesses that are engaged in interstate trade, so people like hospital and clinics, home veterans and school circle are not caught in this data because it is really for businesses that can run In any other community – effectively in the same way – where they are bringing an external source, turning it into something new and then selling it mainly outside our community, ”he explained.
The findings show:
• 89 percent of business respondents show sustained or increasing sales by 2024
• 78 percent have a primary product in a growing cycle
• 78 percent will provide new products in the next two years
• 89 percent are using new technological solutions to improve business
Five companies plan to expand in the next three years.
“We have some great enlargement options on the horizon for us,” he said. “With being a three-year window, different businesses are at different points within their planning process. Of the five expressing expansion, there are three up to the point that they have cost estimates. So we reach $ 21.5 million in possible investment. “
Two have identified job creation estimates of about 45 new positions.
Five businesses have identified that marshaltown may not be considered for future growth or expansion. Three entities noticed that there is no place in the current site or the availability of buildings, while the other two quoted workforce issues. The results were observed in the results that a business faces “major infrastructure issues that affect their ability to expand (storm sewers)”.
The survey explored the long -term durability of doing business in Marshaltown. Participants were asked to identify up to three main concentration choices.
• 41.2 percent wanted an increase in housing opportunities
• 25.3 percent of talent attraction initiatives were important, such as filling positions by people possessing the right degrees/certificates and skill groups
• 17.6 percent said that revitalizing downtown was important
• 17.6 percent said the growth of workforce was a priority
“Involving the workforce is taking people who have shrewdness and behavior to advance in their careers, but require some more training such as certificates, degrees, etc.,” he said. “The biggest challenge they have to do with how to raise the workforce is to maintain current levels of workforce while investing in those initiatives raised for individuals – not so much programs availability.”
Of those surveyed, 78 percent of employers are actively engaged with Marshaltown Community School District (MCSD) and Iowa Valley Community College (IVCC) to address job skills blanks.
Barriers for growth included not only housing, workforce availability and real estate options, but also lack of childcare sources.
Candidates for work have told these companies that they would consider a career in Marshaltown if housing options were improved, more restaurants were opened and there were additional purchases/retail.
He said the room increased the position of development of the workforce, held by Kate Bowermaster, to work on the job issue. He was also part of Marshaltown Mall’s latest sale process.
A total of 89 percent of employers have success plans in the country. This means that there is a clear idea of who would take over in the event of leadership changes, the death of CEO, etc.
“So the more employers who have plans of success in the country, the more confidence we can have if something happens to high -level executives, that there is stability within that company in immediate consequences,” he added.
When asked to identify the strengths for Marshaltown as a place to do business, the central location/city access to other subway areas came to number one, followed by access to the workforce, the support of the location community, Business climate, local/regional equipment and then proximity to customers.
“The workforce is the number one issue, but it is also our number one strength,” he said.
While the findings may seem contradictory, he says separation shows that local businesses are able to withdraw the workforce, but they are not keeping them long -term.
The survey results will be sent to the Iowa state and will be published in the next edition of the Digest Chamber.
“We will be interested in seeing how our data feed and match against state data, which we expect to come out later this year,” Hall said.