FarmChem in Floyd receives Renew Rural Iowa Award

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

FarmChem in Floyd received a giant honor recently, heralded as a company that is making a big impact in small-town Iowa.

FarmChem — which sells handling equipment for chemical, seed and energy products — is the latest recipient of the Farm Bureau’s Renew Rural Iowa Award.

Randy Heitz, regional manager for Farm Bureau, said that FarmChem is a business that has become a real “mover and shaker” in the ag chemical business. Heitz nominated FarmChem for the award.

The Floyd business also manufactures custom products to meet the specific needs of customers and provides tank level monitoring systems for liquid inventory tracking and product management.

“We’re very interested and very supportive of companies like this, who have made a huge capital investment in a rural place,” said Sandy Ehrig of Renew Rural Iowa.

The Iowa Farm Bureau gives out a Renew Rural Iowa Award periodically to businesses that locate in and invest in rural Iowa. Farm Bureau and WHO-Radio were at the company’s office in Floyd late last month to tape an interview with company management.

The Renew Rural Iowa Award is presented to a rural business or manufacturer that is making an impact in rural Iowa, preferably in a community with a population of 30,000 or less. Renew Rural Iowa looks for an enterprise that is growing and showing innovation, that has interstate commerce or international trade capacity, an interesting story of family and/or product development, and is a participant in any aspect of Renew Rural Iowa.

Winners receive an award and are highlighted on WHO’s “Big Show with Ken Root.”

FarmChem was founded in 1974 by Ray Murray, and sold chemicals for about a year, but eventually dropped the chemistry side of the business and concentrated on making the parts and pieces for storage and liquid handling, according to FarmChem Vice-President Justin Peterson.

The company changed overall structure in the late 1980s, expanded beyond the local level and pushed it to the national level.

FarmChem also builds inventory management systems for customers, and has added seed storage systems and seed treatment facilities as well as chemical and fertilizer storage systems, and fuel storage and transfer systems.

Peterson describes FarmChem’s customer profile as chemical manufacturers, distributors, retailers and implement dealerships.

The company employs about 80 people.

“The people at FarmChem are probably the best story. The people are FarmChem,” said Peterson. “One of the things we’re most proud of is the tenure of the people who have worked here.”

FarmChem stocks more than 15,000 unique items, with distribution facilities located in the Midwest and Mid-South. In 2011, FarmChem added a Memphis, Tennessee, facility, offering custom engineering services, research and development, injection molding and small manufacturing.

“We’re very focused on our current product lines, and adding value to our customer base,” Peterson said. “We see tremendous opportunity with the market consolidations going on, and new technology coming out in chem and bio.”