Vermeer Corporation is receiving a boost from the state of Iowa after a tornado destroyed two of their plants last summer. The Iowa Economic Development Authority board awarded disaster relief assistance for the $118.3 million capital investment project in the form of tax benefits to rebuild a plant in the spot of those two other places, which will support retention of 406 jobs – 240 at a qualifying wage of $21.61 per hour. On July 19th, 2018, an EF-3 tornado ripped through the Vermeer mile. Employees displaced by the storm were back to work within a month after the storm hit. Vermeer anticipates breaking ground on the new plant sometime this summer.