Vermeer Corp. plans to build a 300,000-square-foot production facility in Bondurant and create 182 jobs, significantly increasing the Pella-based company’s footprint in Iowa and allowing for future expansion to meet the demand for the company’s agricultural and industrial products.

The project will be a “game-changer” for the fast growing community of about 9,400 people, its city administrator said.

Vermeer will acquire 186 acres in Bondurant to build the facility, which will initially employ more than 300 people, including those that will be created, to support demand for the company’s industrial equipment and parts.

It will be located on the Timmins Certified Site on the city’s southeast side, adjacent to Interstate 80, and open up the area for future industrial development, Oliver said.

The project got a boost last week from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which awarded more than $5.13 million in incentives for the project, which represents more than $102.65 million in investment by the company.

It was one of five companies that were the first awarded incentives under the state’s new Business Incentives for Growth, or BIG, program.

According to IEDA documents, the Vermeer project will also include 12,000 square feet of office space, parking and shipping and receiving space. The jobs that will be created will pay $35.11 per hour.

“I’m incredibly proud of this business my grandfather, Gary Vermeer, began 78 years ago and the team doing the work to equip Vermeer customers around the world,” said Jason Andringa, president and CEO, in a news release. “While Pella will always be home to our headquarters, the need for Vermeer equipment has continued to grow and the innovation coming from Vermeer requires continued investment both in Pella and beyond.”

The announcement of the Bondurant project comes three years after Vermeer opened its Des Moines operation, where 143 people work out of a 108,000-square-foot facility.

The Bondurant project is the most recent investment in the company’s growth strategy since 2016, the release said.

In addition to the Des Moines facility, Vermeer has added a 135,000-square-foot expansion at Vermeer MV Solutions in Greenville, S.C., opened a 312,000-square-foot Global Parts Distribution Center in Pella, reworked 127,000 square feet of operational space in manufacturing in Goes, the Netherlands and acquired significant ownership in a manufacturer located in Queensland, Australia.

The city of Bondurant will contribute more than $29.45 million in incentives, which include a six-year sliding scale property tax abatement, infrastructure, connection fee waivers and building permit discounts.

The city is investing in building a new road to the site, which will not only serve Vermeer but the general public as well, City Administrator Marketa Oliver said.

“It cracks open 500 acres of industrial development with infrastructure, and many of those sites are becoming certified sites, which means we have the due diligence in place [to] be development ready and to be flexible and adept at working with developers and companies that want to build,” she said.

Oliver said the Vermeer project will also help the city continue to create a better balance between its commercial, industrial and residential tax base.

“We’ve been working really hard to create a better balance and create more opportunities for people to live where they work, and creating that better balance so we’re not quite so heavy on our residential,” she said.

When the project is complete, Vermeer will be the third largest private employer in Bondurant, behind the Amazon distribution and Amazon sortation businesses, city officials said.