Display Company to Bring 80 Jobs to Iowa City

ICAD Helps Company Locate in Iowa City

Rob Daniel Iowa City Press-Citizen

A manufacturer of cardboard promotional displays used in retail stores is coming to Iowa City this spring, bringing with it 80 to 100 new jobs, a company official said Friday.

Alliance Display, a division of paper manufacturer RockTenn, plans to open a packaging plant at 2651 Industrial Park Road in Iowa City's Scott Six Industrial Park, said Tim Fialko, Alliance's vice president of operations. Workers at the 192,000- square-foot facility, which is being leased from Heartland Express, will package displays made at Alliance's main factory in Winston-Salem, N.C., before being shipped to customers and their distribution centers, he said.

Fialko said conversations with officials at the Iowa City Area Development Group, the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, and Kirkwood Community College convinced the company to locate in Iowa City. He also said the location of Procter & Gamble, one of Alliance's largest clients, also influenced the decision.

"It is our largest customer," Fialko said. "Our goal is to provide services for one of our largest clients."

He said the company is hoping to expand its customer base eventually to other Eastern Iowa companies. RockTenn, based in Norcross, Ga., also has a consumer packing plant, Folding Carton, in Clinton.

Fialko said the company plans to begin hiring employees, including forklift drivers and packagers, starting in mid-February, with plans to open the plant by May 1.