On Oct. 27, CIVCO broke ground on a new $15 million, 96,000 square-foot facility which will centralize departments and create opportunity for wider growth in the corridor. The facility is expected to be up and running by 2025.
Since 1981, the Coralville-based company CIVCO Medical Solutions has designed, manufactured, and marketed image-guided medical products, specifically catered toward ultrasound equipment, and distributes them across 100 countries.
CIVCO has two locations in Iowa that will be consolidated into one new establishment to house CIVCO’s 180 Iowa-based employees. The two current Iowa CIVCO locations include its corporate headquarters located at 2301 Jones Blvd. in Coralville, and its manufacturing facility in Kalona, Iowa.
The new facility will be built by Des Moines-based contractor Hubbell Construction Services, at 750 Lois Lane on Altmaier Acres in Coralville. The facility will have an additional 40,000 square feet outside of the 96,000-square-foot structure. The extra space allows CIVCO to continue to grow, CIVCO President Robin Therme said.
CIVCO had to build extra space at its corporate headquarters in 2017 to keep up with its growth. SouthGate Property Management owns and developed the property at 2301 Jones Blvd. and helped with space needs.
SouthGate President Caleb Wilson said the Jones Boulevard location was built in 2011 and only had 11,000 square feet at the time. In 2017 an additional 9,000 square feet were added because of continued growth.
Wilson said SouthGate has partnered with CIVCO to get the new location that will allow for growth for many more years.
“We’re really proud to be a part of it because we do think CIVCO is a great company and we’re proud to be a part of keeping a really good company like this in the corridor and helping be a part of them growing,” Wilson said. “That’s what we’re most excited about.”
Along with growth opportunities, Therme said the new location will bring an opportunity for economic growth in the area. Altmaier Acres has hotels, restaurants, and medical service providers which can be used by employees and traveling customers, Therme said.
“For us, it’s kind of a new era,” Therme said. “We’ve celebrated over 40 years in business and we’re just looking forward to having everybody under one roof again in a facility that will support our growth. As far as what it means for the city, I think it’s a win-win for both of us.”
Vice President of Operations at CIVCO Ryan Swartz said the new location’s proximity to Interstate 80 is ideal for distribution. Swartz also said that being near the university allows students to have unique occupation opportunities in engineering and business fields.
Swartz said CIVCO has an average of five to 10 engineering co-ops or interns per year from the university which primarily come from engineering and business schools. Engineering co-ops are similar to interns and are responsible for assisting with the engineering work assigned by their department.
Approximately 20 percent of CIVCO’s current engineering staff started at CIVCO as a co-op or intern, according to Swartz.
Greater Iowa City Inc. is a network of business leaders who collaborate to support local companies and has been involved in supporting CIVCO through the transition. Therme is the Transition Executive Board chair for Greater Iowa City Inc.
Greater Iowa City Inc recently merged the Iowa City Area Business Partnership and the Iowa City Area Development Group in September.
Austin Korns, senior director of economic development for Greater Iowa City Inc., said the new facility may entice future investment in medical products and production around Coralville.
“CIVCO is a leader not just locally, but a worldwide leader in medical devices and med tech,” Korns said. “That’s a huge vertical that we see as a place where we compete in growing our economy and where we see future success. It’s a great proof point that we have a future in med tech in the area.”