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Released February 06, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--While food and beverage projects steeped in Iowa's agricultural heritage are numerous, people may not realize that three of the largest players in big tech, Google Incorporated (Mountain View, California), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) and Apple Incorporated (NASDAQ:AAPL) (Cupertino, California), are underway with large data center projects in the state, helping make the Industrial Manufacturing Industry Iowa's top spender for current projects.
Google is expanding its data center in Council Bluffs, on Iowa's western border near Omaha, Nebraska, by constructing three modular buildings totaling 450,000 square feet to expand space and data center operations. Apple and Microsoft's projects are in the Greater Des Moines area, where Apple is constructing a 315,000-square-foot data center building in an expansion project in Waukee and Microsoft is wrapping up the first phase of a grassroot facility by constructing a 245,000-square-foot data hall and underway with another 250,000-square-foot building addition in West Des Moines. Collectively, these three companies are spending about $2 billion in Iowa, pushing the data center sector into the state's top spending position. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the Google, Apple and Microsoft projects.
While collectively the data centers are spending quite heavily, the largest single project underway in the state actually belongs to the U.S. Department of Defense, which is expanding an ammunition plant in Middletown, in the southeast of the state. The project includes a building addition that will house a new assembly line to increase production of 155-millimeter high-explosive projectiles by 12,000 to 20,000 per month. Each round is about two feet long, weighs about 100 pounds, and is 155 millimeters, or 6.1 inches, in diameter. This type of artillery has become a mainstay in Ukraine's fight against Russia, and the Iowa plant is the only location where it is manufactured. The project is expected to be completed in 2027. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Many other large Iowa projects are associated with the state's agricultural sector. On the livestock side, Cattlemen's Heritage (Des Moines) last year launched construction of a grassroot beef-processing plant in Mills County. When completed in 2026, the facility will begin ramping up toward its 2,000-head-per-day processing rate. The company hopes the plant will help fill what it sees as a beef-processing deficit in the Upper Midwest. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Two other food projects are saving time in the morning by gearing up to supply ready-made breakfast products. Michael Foods Incorporated (Hopkins, Minnesota) produces foods like cooked scrambled egg products, pre-boiled eggs and omelets through its Papetti's, Abbotsford Farms and Easy Eggs brands, as well as bulk liquid eggs for the catering sector. The company is expanding its plant in Norwalk, Iowa, by adding a 132,000-square-foot building addition to the existing 150,000-square-foot plant. Work began last summer and is expected to be completed soon. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
In Davenport, near Iowa's eastern border with Illinois, Fair Oaks Foods Incorporated (Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin), a supplier of fully cooked meat products, is establishing a grassroot plant for its bacon offerings. In 2022, general contractor Russell Construction Company (Davenport) broke ground on what is shaping up to be a 143,000-square-foot building that will house the production lines and employee spaces. However, construction was delayed starting in 2023 due to labor shortages and financial concerns. The project was resumed last year and is now on track for a 2026 startup. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Google is expanding its data center in Council Bluffs, on Iowa's western border near Omaha, Nebraska, by constructing three modular buildings totaling 450,000 square feet to expand space and data center operations. Apple and Microsoft's projects are in the Greater Des Moines area, where Apple is constructing a 315,000-square-foot data center building in an expansion project in Waukee and Microsoft is wrapping up the first phase of a grassroot facility by constructing a 245,000-square-foot data hall and underway with another 250,000-square-foot building addition in West Des Moines. Collectively, these three companies are spending about $2 billion in Iowa, pushing the data center sector into the state's top spending position. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the Google, Apple and Microsoft projects.
While collectively the data centers are spending quite heavily, the largest single project underway in the state actually belongs to the U.S. Department of Defense, which is expanding an ammunition plant in Middletown, in the southeast of the state. The project includes a building addition that will house a new assembly line to increase production of 155-millimeter high-explosive projectiles by 12,000 to 20,000 per month. Each round is about two feet long, weighs about 100 pounds, and is 155 millimeters, or 6.1 inches, in diameter. This type of artillery has become a mainstay in Ukraine's fight against Russia, and the Iowa plant is the only location where it is manufactured. The project is expected to be completed in 2027. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Many other large Iowa projects are associated with the state's agricultural sector. On the livestock side, Cattlemen's Heritage (Des Moines) last year launched construction of a grassroot beef-processing plant in Mills County. When completed in 2026, the facility will begin ramping up toward its 2,000-head-per-day processing rate. The company hopes the plant will help fill what it sees as a beef-processing deficit in the Upper Midwest. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Two other food projects are saving time in the morning by gearing up to supply ready-made breakfast products. Michael Foods Incorporated (Hopkins, Minnesota) produces foods like cooked scrambled egg products, pre-boiled eggs and omelets through its Papetti's, Abbotsford Farms and Easy Eggs brands, as well as bulk liquid eggs for the catering sector. The company is expanding its plant in Norwalk, Iowa, by adding a 132,000-square-foot building addition to the existing 150,000-square-foot plant. Work began last summer and is expected to be completed soon. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
In Davenport, near Iowa's eastern border with Illinois, Fair Oaks Foods Incorporated (Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin), a supplier of fully cooked meat products, is establishing a grassroot plant for its bacon offerings. In 2022, general contractor Russell Construction Company (Davenport) broke ground on what is shaping up to be a 143,000-square-foot building that will house the production lines and employee spaces. However, construction was delayed starting in 2023 due to labor shortages and financial concerns. The project was resumed last year and is now on track for a 2026 startup. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
