The darnedest thing was happening to production employees at Cedar Rapids-based Diamond V Mills Inc. For some reason, every year their health insurance premiums held steady, even as other companies were seeing double-digit increases. At the same time, the workers were using so few sick days that they lobbied successfully for a paid-time-off system.

Company officials discovered why the workers were healthier:Tthey were inadvertently inhaling dust from an animal feed supplement they were packaging designed to boost immune systems. That led to further research and the launch last year of Embria Health Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamond V. Embria’s flagship product is EpiCor, a human dietary supplement that increases the amount of immunoglobulin A, which improves the body’s first line of defense against disease.

On Sept. 8, Embria officials plan a ceremonial groundbreaking for a $10 million factory in Ankeny to manufacture that product, epiCor, along with a selenium mineral supplement, eXselen. The 36,000-square-foot building will be located on a 5.1-acre site in the Metro North II industrial park east of Interstate 35, whose major tenants include Tone Bros. Inc. and Monsanto Co.

The company chose Ankeny for its headquarters after conducting a national search for locations, said Paul Faganel, Embria’s president. After researching several states’ tax laws and regulations, “we came back to Iowa as a good place to do business,” he said.

Among other considerations, Ankeny was chosen because of the availability of industrial park space in that city, which Cedar Rapids “really didn’t have,” Faganel said. Ankeny also has good access to the research facilities of both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.

Additionally, locating Embria in a separate city provides Diamond V some backup production capability in the event of a natural disaster. “Diamond V would have no trouble covering Embria’s needs,” he said. “We wouldn’t be large enough to cover Diamond V’s needs, but at least it would be something.”

Both EpiCor and eXselen are made through a “very clean” fermentation process,

Faganel said. “For the most part, no one will probably know we’re doing any manufacturing inside the building.”

Embria will receive more than $1 million in economic development incentives from the state and the city of Ankeny if it creates the 40 jobs it expects within the next five years. The average pay level for the manufacturing positions will be $22 an hour, including benefits.

Embria, which has grown from two employees to eight in the past year, expects to have about 20 people on board when its Ankeny building is completed in July 2007. The company’s goal is to reach revenues of between $3 million and $5 million by the end of 2007.

“Our plan is to grow that up fairly significantly,” Faganel said. “We’d like to be a $50 million company by the next five to seven years. Is it a stretch? Yes, but it’s doable. The way we’re approaching the market with good solid science and people, it’s doable. We’re optimistic.”