Business & Industry

Entrepreneurial Spirit Continues to Thrive in Austin

The Austin area economy is solidly rooted in agriculture, both in farming and the industry that converts farm products into value-added consumer goods known throughout the world.

Austin is home to Hormel Foods Corporation, a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. Founded in 1891, the company employs nearly 800 people in its two corporate offices in Austin. Across I-90 from company headquarters is the company’s flagship plant, which employs approximately 1,700 workers.

The community’s second largest employer is Quality Pork Processors Inc., a fresh meat processing company. QPP is a co-packer for Hormel Foods, slaughtering and processing up to 16,000 hogs per day. The company employs over 1,300 men and women.

Other leading industries located in the Austin area include:

Weyerhaeuser, a producer of corrugated packaging primarily for the food industry. This facility opened in 1954 and employs about 140 people.
Austin Packaging Company, a contract producer of prepared foods for the country’s biggest food companies. APC employs over 200 people.
Akkerman Inc., a manufacturer of tunnel boring equipment supplied to major building contractors around the world. Akkerman is a technology company employing over 50 people.
IBI Data, a foodservice database marketing, warehouse and fulfillment company with 100 employees. IBI provides information and support services for food manufacturers throughout the country.
Cooperative Response Center, Inc., a 24-hour customer service center, which provides call center, dispatching and central alarm monitoring station services to the electric utility, security, satellite television and health care industries. CRC employs approximately 70 professional staff at its Austin location.
Smyth Companies, Inc. creates labels and related full color print material, primarily for food companies. Smyth is a leader in new printing technology, and employs over 60 in its Austin operation.
McFarland Truck Lines, a regional over-the-road trucking firm employing over 90 staff and drivers, serves the major industries of the Austin and Albert Lea area.

Making Austin’s business sector strong is the commitment of local government, post-secondary education and training, the financial community and non-profit organizations such as the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Corporation of Austin (DCA).

In 1997-98 the City of Austin expanded its wastewater treatment capacity to support multi-million dollar improvements at Hormel Foods Corporation and Quality Pork Processors.

In 1998, the city made a commitment to lengthen the runway of the municipal airport to 5,800 feet to accommodate expanded corporate business travel.

Riverland Community College’s Training and Development division is a resource for business and industry. Whether instruction is delivered at your business or in their classrooms and laboratories, Riverland can provide fast, affordable and effective training for employees.

The Chamber identifies business needs for retailers as well as manufacturers, and DCA provides risk capital for use as equity and subordinated debt for emerging and growing enterprises in the area.

The Austin Port Authority supports business and industry through ownership of industrial sites and buildings. Buying and refurbishing industrial and commercial buildings and loaning to businesses for site expansion, have proved beneficial to expansion efforts.

Austin Utilities provides electrical, gas and water service at the lowest possible rates, aiming to facilitate low cost business operations in the community.

Austin’s name and business impact in the world is synonymous with that of a young man who sold meat products within the region in the late 1800’s, George A. Hormel. The first of our area’s great entrepreneurs, Mr. Hormel represents the spirit of many who have followed and believed that this rural community with an agrarian root could make competitive products and offer first-rate services.

Since the founding of Hormel Foods Corporation to the present, Austin has been a place that welcomes early stage business enterprises and nurtures their growth. While much of our economy remains firmly rooted in the soil, Austin embraces a growing list of industries that feel our community is Someplace Special, and a great place to conduct their business.