Dubuque City Council members will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in the second-floor chambers of the Historic Federal Building, 350 W. Sixth St.
The meeting will be shown live on Mediacom cable channels 8 and 117.2, at cityofdubuque.org/media and at facebook.com/cityofdubuque.
A full meeting agenda with links containing supporting documents can be found online at bit.ly/3LWqyyO.
A Dubuque company plans to expand its manufacturing facility and add 10 new full-time jobs.
Geisler Brothers Co. intends to add 7,200 square feet to its subsidiary business Dubuque Steel Products Inc., 1500 Radford Road, with plans to start construction in December and complete it by March.
Todd Geisler, president of Geisler Brothers Co., said the expansion will help meet increasing manufacturing demand the company has taken on over the past few years.
“This will allow us to ramp up our manufacturing,” he said. “We have had to previously turn down new customers because we didn’t have the space.”
Geisler Brothers Co. intends to invest about $840,000 in expanding the building and purchasing new manufacturing equipment, though Geisler said that estimate is a “moving target.”
On Monday, Oct. 17, Dubuque City Council members will be asked to vote on scheduling a public hearing on Nov. 7 for a proposed development agreement between Geisler Brothers and the city.
If approved, the company would be provided a 10-year tax-increment-financing incentive valued at up to $132,660.
The agreement also requires Geisler Brothers to add 10 full-time jobs and complete construction of the addition by Dec. 31, 2023.
Dubuque Economic Development Director Jill Connors said the expansion of the local business is a positive sign for Dubuque’s economy.
“I think it’s a testament to the quality of our community when a local company wants to expand here,” she said. “Companies can go wherever they want, but they are choosing to stay in Dubuque.”
Geisler Brothers was founded in 1892 as a hardware store and sheet metal business. In 1991, the company purchased Dubuque Steel Products, which produces stainless steel products for the health and food industries.
Today, Geisler Brothers provides heating, ventilation and air-conditioning; roofing; and sheet metal services, while Dubuque Steel Products continues to manufacture products such as handrails, materials handling carts, drums and supply racks.
Geisler said the new space primarily will be filled with new manufacturing equipment, allowing the company to increase its overall production.
As part of the expansion, the company intends to add a combination of 10 new welding and computer numerical control operating positions, Geisler said. Geisler Brothers currently has 77 employees, including 17 at Dubuque Steel Products.
“We’re generally looking to add higher-skilled manufacturing positions,” he said.
Reached by the Telegraph Herald on Friday, City Council Member Susan Farber said she fully supports Geisler Brothers’ expansion and the proposed development agreement.
“I think it’s great for economic development that they are expanding their business,” Farber said. “The more that we can do to support the growth of our local companies, the better.”