One pair of scissors and one pair of sheep shears gleamed in the bright afternoon sunshine Tuesday outside of Premier 1 Supplies between Washington and Brighton, along 300th Street. The event was a ribbon cutting and Open House to celebrate the completion of a paving project that involved 2.82 miles of Kiwi Avenue, 290th Street and 300th Street southwest of Washington.
Ben Rothe, General Manager at Premier 1 Supplies, spoke with KCII News at the Open House about the initial concept of the project, timetable for completion and the benefits to the business and the community. “The genesis for this has probably been 20 years in the making. Stan and Jean Potratz started this business on their family farm and as it’s grown from a handful of employees to now over 65, we wanted to look at ways to improve the infrastructure to get to Premier for our employees and the safety of truck drivers coming back and forth from Chicago and other places. A lot of work went into this with Washington County, the Washington Economic Development Group, David Collins was instrumental in helping to get this done and Premier. The employees love it because dust is reduced and it’s safer, fewer flat tires. Also the safety for trucks in the winter when the road ices up, we’re really excited about that.”
Total cost for the project was $1.6 million. Washington County paid $775,000, with a Revitalizing Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant that was secured in 2019 accounting for $250,000 and Premier finishing the difference. The grant was in part procured by the Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) led by the late David Collins. WEDG was awarded the Professional Developers of Iowa Business and Retention Award for their work on the grant. Premier 1 also is making a $6.5 million capital investment for business expansion to create 25 full time jobs at their facility. The construction project was approved by the Washington County Board of Supervisors in May of 2020 with work beginning Thanksgiving of 2020.
Premier 1 Supplies was started in 1977 by Stan and Jean Potratz, supplying equipment needed to operate commercial lamb operations and has grown to a warehousing operation of more than 100,000 square feet. Those in attendance included the Potratz’, Rothe, Premier 1 staff and employees, Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius and former Washington County Supervisor Abe Miller. Those who attended enjoyed refreshments, a facility tour and border collie demonstrations.