ABI LEGENDS IN MANUFACTURING AWARDS

100-300 Employees

Tim Bianco

President and CEO – Iowa Spring Manufacturing, Adel, Iowa

Tim Bianco was just 10 when his father, Jim, started Iowa Spring in 1977 after moving to Des Moines from central Illinois. Jim worked as a salesperson for a mechanical spring company, but when the company was bought out, he borrowed money from his father, mortgaged his house and took advantage of a small-business loan.

Jim operated his company with just one machine and one engineer when it started in 1977. Now, more than 40 years later, with Tim now at the helm of the Adel-based company, Iowa Spring has grown into a major producer of springs in the Midwest.

The company manufactures and delivers springs for overhead garage doors and the agricultural equipment, construction equipment, snowplow, dock leveler, lift gate, trailer and recreational equipment industries, to name a few.

But it’s Tim’s roots in the company in those early days and a belief in investing in the community that have helped fuel its growth.

“I was one of those kids that if you wanted to hang out with your dad, you had to go to work,” Tim said. “He was always at work. Even though I started working full time in 1989, I grew up working in the factory from the beginning. I always knew my career path.”

That career path led him to the top of the company in 2002, and since then the company has grown from 30 employees to more than 100 while seeing consistent 5% to 10% growth per year.

Their niche and expertise have positioned the company well for continued success, because, as Tim puts it: “People who make big products need big springs. They come find us.”