ORANGE CITY, Iowa | To meet growing orders from clients that include aerospace giant Boeing, Quatro last year completed a $13 million project that doubled the size of its Orange City plant and created nearly 100 new jobs.
Gov. Terry Branstad led a contingent of state and local dignitaries who turned out for an Aug. 21 ceremony to celebrate the largest project in the Northwest Iowa company's history.
"It's fun to see how things have grown here," Branstad told an audience of about 40 guests, including Quatro owners Gary Kirke and Dr. Mike Richards, both of Des Moines, who crowded into a portion of the new 50,000-square-foot addition.
Just a decade ago, the land on the south end of Orange City where the 100,000-square-foot complex now sits was an alfalfa field, Quatro President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Roesner noted.
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At the start of the most recent expansion in October 2012, the company employed about 130 people. In August, that number stood at 211, with the plant continuing to hire for its two shifts.
The employment growth has helped attract more talented, young professionals to Iowa, Roesner said.
The added space has allowed the company to redesign the layout of its production areas and improve the overall workflow.
At its core, Quatro, builds products that are "lighter, safer and stronger and preserve and protect life,"Â Roesner told the audience.
During the tour, Roesner showed the governor, news media representatives and other guests the process of making carbon fiber parts, which is similar to a large wallpapering job.
In a sterile room, workers dressed in white smocks and latex gloves laid multiple sheets, one on top of the other, in a mold of the desired product.
The controlled environment is designed to keep out air, water, dust or other foreign objects, and preserve the material.
"You can see they're wearing gloves," Roesner told the tour group. "As they touch the material, they can't have any hand oil because that would make the material weaker."
Intense heat and pressure are then used to cure the molded product.
The heat triggers a chemical reaction that permanently turns the polymers in the material into a stiff, superstrong part.
Fueling the company's recent growth are contracts with Boeing and other aerospace clients, including the U.S. Defense Department.
Quatro makes stowage-bin fittings for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, the world's first commercial airliner built with about 50 percent carbon fiber composites. By replacing aluminum and other metal alloys with the lighter fiber composites, the aircraft weight is reduced, cutting fuel and maintenance costs.
Commercial airliners represent about half of Quatro's aerospace business. Another 40 percent comes from unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones.
The company got its start as a supplier of equipment for the medical field, such as patient tables used for imaging or radiation treatment. Today, it gets about a third of its business from medical accounts.
