The Iowa Economic Development Commission has awarded Deco Products a Manufacturing 4.0 Workforce Innovation grant of $500,000. Deco is one of 46 companies in the state of Iowa to receive this grant. These grants are issued to Iowa manufacturers with 76-250 employees across the state investing in industry 4.0 technologies to address workforce issues in manufacturing caused by the negative impacts of COVID-19. The purpose of these grants is to allow companies like Deco Products to remain globally competitive while addressing workforce shortages that are limiting growth or sales.
Deco Products CEO Chris Storlie is looking forward to using this grant to expand automation and real-time data collection systems and analysis. Storlie states, “This grant will be used on projects over the next three years and will refocus human capital from manual, labor-intensive positions into highly skilled occupations.” Some areas of focus in Deco’s expansion include robotic systems, new software integrations, and adding more Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining centers. Chris Storlie is optimistic for the future stating, “We believe these grants will be good for the local community and for Iowa.”
To read the article from the Decorah News, click here. For more information on Deco Products, visit www.decoprod.com.
