The Hastings Economic Development Corporation has a strong history of working with companies to help them find the property, resources, and support they need to grow and succeed in Hastings, Nebraska. Below you'll find just a few examples of successful companies in our area.
Governor Hails Plan to Turn Former Ammo Bunkers Into Data Storage
Gov. Dave Heineman visited the site of what
could become the largest data center in the world Tuesday afternoon.
�This is exciting,� he said. �This has
great potential.� Prairie Bunkers LLC has the option to develop 184 bunkers on
760 acres at the former Naval Ammunition Depot site, located adjacent to U.S.
Highway 6, nine miles east of Hastings.
Heineman said he was excited to hear about
the possibility of converting the bunkers into use for data storage. �This
shows Nebraskans� ingenuity at its best,� he said. �Our people think outside
the box.� Pam Brown of Omaha, the chief executive officer for Prairie Bunkers,
said if the area was fully developed, it would be the largest data storage
center in the world. �We�ve gone from bomb storage to byte storage,� she said. Brown
said the central and secure location, along with access to electricity and
fiber optic communication lines, made the former NAD a great place to house computer
servers for companies to store backup data.
She said only a minimal staff would be
needed to operate and maintain each bunker, but the business would benefit the
entire area. �The jobs that will be created will be very highly technical,� she
said. Brown and partners Gary Hultquist, an investment banker from San
Francisco, and Omaha based Great Plains Data Center Builders hope to break
ground on the project in June 2009.
While no companies have committed to purchasing or leasing
a bunker from Prairie Bunkers yet, Hultquist said it is just a matter of time.
He said it can be hard to predict when companies will make such decisions. Along
with the potential to become the largest data center, Hultquist said the land
in the area will allow the center access to renewable energies, such as
geothermal.
�This is going to be the greenest data center in the United
States,� he said. Gene Arnold, chairman of the Clay County Board of Supervisors,
said increasing the tax base for the county without an environmental impact is
a good idea. �It�s all clean and safe and they�ll be able to utilize those buildings
that are just sitting here,� he said.
Arnold, who worked at the NAD in the late 1940s and early
1950s, said the bunkers appeared to be in good condition despite their age and should
serve well as data storage units.
�I think it�s a great opportunity for the county and the whole
state,� he said. For more information, call Brown at 402-960-4238.
Menards Home Improvement Stores Choose Hastings
In summer 2005, north Hastings was beginning to experience a building boom. Construction on a brand-new Super Wal-Mart store was just about complete. Nearby, Dial Properties was working on plans to build the 91,000-square-foot Cimarron Mall immediately south of the Wal-Mart store.
And as many other cities have seen, soon five other commercial developers were starting to take a look at the retail potential of north Hastings, attracted by the knowledge that new Wal-Mart stores typically generate new traffic patterns and more customers.
By July, the HEDC was in discussions with one local landowner, Dr. John Yost, and a representative from Menard Inc. about possibly locating a Menards store on Yost�s land in north Hastings.
Privately held Menard Inc. is a Wisconsin-based retailer of hardware, fixtures, and other home supplies and services. It is a steadily growing company with Menards stores across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Soon, both the Yost family and Menard Inc. had agreed on and signed a purchase agreement, thanks to support and involvement of HEDC. The land was officially acquired in March 2006, and the City of Hastings approved a development agreement with Menard Inc. as well. That gave the company the green light to go forward with the development of a new 226,000-square-foot Menards supercenter store.
Construction on the store began in early summer 2007. And the Hastings Menards is expected to open in 2008, located in north Hastings at 3400 Osborne Drive East.
Thermo King Celebrates 25 Years in Hastings
When Thermo King Corporation was looking to expand its manufacturing operations in the early 1980s, company executives evaluated over 100 locations.
But the place where they found everything they needed � a top-notch work force, energy costs among the lowest in the nation, assistance in reducing start-up costs, and more � was Hastings, Nebraska.
Celebrating 25 years in Hastings in 2007, Thermo King took over part of the Hastings Industrial Park West. Developed with industrial revenue bonds, the park featured a 106,800-square-foot speculative building that had been constructed in 1979 to help further market Hastings as a community of choice for Fortune 500 manufacturers.
On a handshake, then-Thermo King president Jim Sheehan had the owners of the speculative building add 130,000 square feet to the original building. Trust and honesty was offered from the company, and trust and honesty is what has continued as the driving force between the community and the business.
Thermo King Corporation started with 30 employees and now has over 350 loyal, skilled employees today. Thermo King asked for no incentives when they located in Hastings Industrial Park West, yet the company has given back endlessly to the community.
In addition, the success of Thermo King in Hastings has led to other successful businesses being attracted to Hastings through our speculative building program and care in developing quality industrial parks. Today, Hastings Industrial Park West hosts 14 different businesses, including Thermo King.
Thermo King Corporation, a business unit of diversified industrial firm Ingersoll Rand Company Limited, was founded in 1938 and manufactures transport temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, shipboard containers and railway cars. The company operates 10 manufacturing facilities, including the one in Hastings, Nebraska, at 1800 Centennial Ave.
