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by Jennine
Fellmer
Summer, '96
Computer software companies, long distance call-back companies, a world-famous university, and a variety of entrepreneurial businesses create a corporate skyline that hovers above the rural community of Fairfield, Iowa. And jobs are plentiful.
One of the most cosmopolitan towns of its size in Iowa or anywhere in the Midwest, Fairfield has always had a reputation as a progressive and dynamic community. Perhaps it stretches back to the people who founded Fairfield 150 years ago. Many of them were educated and hardworking transplants from the East Coast seeking a better way of life.
Today, Fairfield is still a haven for white-collar refugees from around the country, looking to escape traffic jams, pollution, crime, and overcrowding. "This is a desirable community," says Robert Rasmussen, Mayor of Fairfield for the past 22 years. "People can come here and make enough money to live comfortably and still do some traveling." Even those born and raised in Fairfield who move away often come back. One long-time resident describes this common occurrence as the Fairfield bungee-cord effect.
In the early years, these beautiful prairie lands sprouted many successful industries. Dexter, for example, a leader in today's commercial washing machine industry with a specialization in the international market, started with just a two-rinse tub-and-ringer washing machine.
Currently, they are adding to their foundry and will pick up another 50-75 laborers in their work force. For every 40 or 50 of those there is an additional need for another 8-10 management people, so it makes for a healthy economy. Fairfield Glove, which for years manufactured work gloves, has added to their work force and now produces ski gloves, snowmobile gloves, tee shirts, and logos for tee shirts.
Agri-Industrial Products, a company that has expanded from four people 15 years ago to 150 employees today, makes components for other pieces of equipment, such as the diaper-changing stations in shopping malls and rest rooms, and the seats on snowmobiles and ski-jets. Fairfield Aluminum (FALCO), a company that makes aluminum products and parts for machinery, has close to 200 employees and is a good source of employment in Fairfield.
Diversity seems to be the key in Fairfield. If one business isn't successful, there are enough other types of industry to employ people. "We are not like a small town with one industry like John Deere that employs 250 people, and if it closes or goes on strike then the whole economy suffers," says Rasmussen.
Ed Malloy, City Councilman and board member of the Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association, agrees. He says some smaller companies that lack the resounding success of the superstar businesses have either been merged or integrated into larger companies. Along with employees, they have also brought a lot of expertise into those larger companies. One company, Fairfield Software, was bought out a few years ago by Sterling Software. In the buyout, it went from 25 to 50 employees, became a divisional headquarters in Fairfield, and is now the eighth largest software company in the nation.
"The community has always been very healthy in terms of software jobs for people with backgrounds in computer sciences or who are computer literate," says Malloy. Many computer programmers are working as independent consultants to the large local companies. According to Mark Sprenger, head of the Fairfield and Oskaloosa Iowa Department of Employment Services, Fairfield in particular is computer savvy. "I'm sure it's because of Maharishi University of Management that most of the jobs we get in require computer skills and computer-related skills." USA Global Link has everyone tested for their keyboard skills. Telegroup also requires typing tests. "If all the businesses here with computer jobs available were to list them with our service," said Sprenger, "Fairfield would match the needs of larger cities like Cedar Rapids and Des Moines."
Mayor Rasmussen feels that the growth in Fairfield in the last five to ten years has been in the service areas, like Copperfield Chimney, which has an office in town that coordinates shipping orders from suppliers here and outside of Iowa to other parts of the country and the world. Telegroup and USA Global Link are hot at the moment. Telegroup grossed over $130 million in 1995, $40 million of that from domestic customers. One of next year's goals is to turn that $40 million into $90 million. To realize this they need to hire more sales agents. This year USA Global Link sold 20 percent of its equity interest for $20 million to the largest phone-time provider in Indonesia. Hiring is brisk for both companies.
Another star on the Fairfield horizon is Express Shipping, a UPS shipping service with counters in over 4000 grocery stores nationwide. They currently have 70 employees in Fairfield and they boast 1996 projected revenues of $20 million.
Because of these companies, jobs are available in a wide range of skills. As a result, Fairfield attracts many people. One key option in a rural setting like Fairfield is that there are jobs available for two members of the family. If one is a professional or semi-professional, like a nurse, lawyer, or teacher, the other can get an $8-10 per hour job at one of these places without any unusual professional training. That has helped the economy a lot.
"We have proven our ability to survive," Rasmussen said. That, in part, can be attributed to the many businesses that have started in Fairfield over the past 16 years. There has been great growth and diversity in the business community. Those businesses that have taken root and are still in business today have been transformed from young start-up companies to mature second- and third-stage companies. They have grown in the areas of personnel and human resources, and the management demands from all these companies has increased dramatically.
"One of the biggest opportunities in the community is the growth of middle and upper management. Those are the kinds of opportunities that have been available, and there has been a lot of outside hiring for people to fill those kinds of qualifications," said Malloy. "That's been a big trend."
For many years, according to Malloy, there were a lot of people working in the community who were not employed at the level of their skill and background. That has leveled off to the point where many people are settled in their careers and making progress. This creates room from the outside for new job opportunities, particularly in the areas of management, computer sciences, finance, accounting, and&emdash;depending on the business&emdash;very specific high-tech skills, like TV production.
Companies like Telegroup and USA Global Link, both with over 370 employees, are always hiring representatives all over the world as well as independent contractors. They are both diverse companies in terms of the skills that they need. They both specialize in international business and have the need for people with backgrounds in foreign languages, government, and foreign currencies. Donatech continues to be a vital software development company contracting to Fortune 100 companies. They currently have about 40 employees. They are always hiring, looking for people with specialization in computer software design.
Medical Resources International, with over 30 employees, specializes in recruiting physical therapists internationally for the U.S. market. They are new and growing.
A great construction boom in Fairfield has created a need for high-level skills. In the last three years, new construction industry&emdash;both commercial and residential&emdash;grossed over $23 million. One beautiful new hotel, The Mansion, located at the Maharishi Center for Perfect Health and World Peace, is currently hiring in all areas of hotel management.
Fairfield also has plenty of jobs typical of small midwestern towns. Although the jobs change every day, there is always a range of jobs available, from laborers, housecleaners, grounds keepers, machine operators, carpenters, waiters, cooks, painters, food service workers, and farm equipment operators, to telemarketers, purchasing agents, sales representatives, bookkeepers, accountants, receptionists, hotel managers, software testing engineers, and technical writers. Whether you want to pitch hay and pick strawberries, or sell discount phone time to Indonesia, Fairfield is a haven of diversity. New companies are starting almost every week. And according to a survey conducted by Iowa State University, of 1,008 businesses in 30 small towns in Iowa, 77 percent considered their enterprises successful. "The fact that Fairfield has three large banks and a fourth one just opened says a lot about community confidence," says Rasmussen. So why not take part in the Fairfield business boom? It's a great place to grow.
