Officials say to expect expansion and growth from MM Composite

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

It?s fitting that MM Composite Inc., Mt. Pleasant?s newest manufacturing plant, chose St. Patrick?s Day, March 17, as the day for its grand opening. The day coincided with the company?s base color of green.

MM Composite, a Denmark-based company, began operations in the former spec building in November of 2015. The company manufactures composite parts for Siemens, which produces blades for wind turbines. Siemens has a large plant in Ft. Madison and also one in Tillonburg, Ontario, Canada.

The Mt. Pleasant plant is MM Composite?s only facility in the United States.

Company officials said they were ?sold? by the Mt. Pleasant community into locating here. ?We?re already located in Ft. Madison and there was just a positive ?can do? attitude displayed in Mt. Pleasant,? Martin Olesen, director of new business for MM Composite, said. ?Mt. Pleasant officials put together a great proposal, and we felt this is the place it can happen.?

Currently, the 55,000 square-foot facility employs 24 people, but Olesen and Kent Bollingtoft Madsen, MM?s chief operating officer, said this is just the beginning.

?We have no concrete plans to expand immediately, but we will expand within the next three years,? Olesen said, although he offered no details on how many additional workers will be hired when the company expands.

?We have plans for growth,? Madsen agreed. ?Even though we are a Danish company, we have great expectations in the United States. I am confident about the future and growth of the company.?

Madsen said Mt. Pleasant?s geographical proximity to Ft. Madison was another significant reason for purchasing the spec building. ?Siemens is the reason we are here. We started (manufacturing in the United States) two-and-one-half years ago when they (Siemens) gave us space in Ft. Madison. We have a very, very good relationship with them.?

He also said MM Composite is ?in dialogue with a company involved with aluminum parts that wants to locate here.?

Plant General Manager George Juvinall, also one of the speakers at the grand opening, echoed remarks by Olesen and Madsen. ?We feel very welcomed by the Mt. Pleasant people, and we are very thankful for this?There has to be a partnership for it to work well, and we have a very good partnership with Siemens.?

Travis Kraus, executive vice president of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, said the company is a welcome addition to Mt. Pleasant?s Crossroads Industrial Park, located east of North Iris Street.

?I am happy and pleased to welcome MM Composite,? Kraus began. ?I am thrilled to have you here and look forward to working with you. We?re excited about the work to be done here. This is truly what economic development is about, and we look forward to all the great things MM Composite will do.?

Wind energy is huge in Denmark, company officials said, noting that 64 percent of the energy needs in the country come from the wind.

The production area of the Mt. Pleasant plant is climate controlled, because of the parts manufactured here, maintaining a temperature of between 68 and 72 degrees.

Madsen said the people make the company. ?MM Composite is made up of a lot of people who are dedicated. I think we have solid footing in the United States. I am very proud to be part of this.?

Because MM Composite is in the renewable energy sector, it is not quite as vulnerable to a recession as some firms. Olesen, however, says it is a volatile industry. ?It is a growing industry, and we expect long-term high activity in the future. We focus on diversifying, so we can withstand a recession. Everybody needs power, so we can withstand a recession better than some other companies can.?

Asked whether MM Composite had difficulty finding workers, Olesen answered yes and no. ?It is easy to find available people, but finding people with the right mentality and the skills needed are always challenges.?

He said that the Mt. Pleasant plant draws workers from Fairfield, Ft. Madison and Burlington in addition to Mt. Pleasant.

Currently, the plant is running multi-shifts, generally two or three shifts, Olesen said.

The spec building, acquired by MM Composite, was the second one built in Mt. Pleasant and was vacant for seven years before the company purchased it.

Juvinall said the company was looking to make parts for other Siemens? plants and possibly pick up additional new clients this year and beyond. ?Our objective is to supply innovative, simple and cost-effective solutions to our customers,? he noted.