ALMACO, is a community supporter and tireless innovator in the global pursuit to end world hunger. The longtime family-owned manufacturing company was nominated for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur award by employees and Story County Economic Development leaders.

Founded in 1880, ALMACO is the oldest company in Story county; their first products were horseshoes for horse-drawn plows. But, as farming changes, ALMACO changed and grew. Today, the Nevada-based company’s 287 employees design sophisticated planters, grain drills, threshers, research plot combines and electronic data capture equipment which is used around the globe by farming innovators. Laura West, from the Nevada Economic Development Group, says even though ALMACO is very forward-thinking, they remain rooted in their strong, Iowa values. “They give back in more ways than just creating jobs; they give back to the school and they give back to local charitable organizations. They aren’t just a company that is growing in Nevada; they are growing Nevada.”

Patrick Clem, president of business development, says ALMACO is a company that is hiring, too. “A lot of our growth is coming from international markets where our clients are working with corn and soybean research efforts around the world. So we continue to evolve to meet their needs. Five years ago, if you would’ve asked if ALMACO is a manufacturing or technology company, I would’ve said we were a manufacturing company. Today, our niche is the many engineering solutions that we provide companies. Yet, it is important to us that ALMACO remains a family-owned business, where our employees are known on a ‘first-name basis’ and they look forward to coming to work each day,” said Clem.

Renew Rural Iowa (RRI) is an IFBF initiative supporting new and existing businesses through education, mentoring, and financial resources.