Congressman Loebsack visits Vermeer in Pella

by | Jul 10, 2017 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Congressman Dave Loebsack visited Pella manufacturer Vermeer on Monday to meet with employees and speak about how ongoing policy deliberations in Congress affect local manufacturers.

Loebsack met with Vermeer executives and employees during an I Make America event at the company. I Make America is the national grassroots campaign of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the trade association representing manufacturers of off-road heavy equipment, of which Vermeer is a member.

?We were excited to bring the I Make America campaign back to Vermeer to salute the jobs supported by this tremendous manufacturer, and the products they build right here in Pella,? said AEM President Dennis Slater. ?We are glad that Congressman Loebsack joined Vermeer employees to talk about how we can work together to support growth and job creation in the equipment manufacturing industry.?

?Vermeer was honored to host Congressman Loebsack and the I Make America campaign here at our headquarters today,? Vermeer Corporation President and CEO Jason Andringa. ?This was a tremendous opportunity to recognize our workforce for the contributions they make to our economy, and to learn about how public policy issues affect our business.?

Vermeer is a manufacturer of equipment used in the agriculture, construction, utility and forestry sectors. The company is a past winner of AEM?s Pillar of the Industry award, reflecting its consistent work through I Make America as an advocate for the entire equipment manufacturing industry.

Equipment manufacturers in Iowa support almost 72,000 jobs across the state and contributed about $11 billion to the economy in 2016. The $159 billion U.S. equipment manufacturing industry supports about 1.3 million jobs nationwide.

The I Make America campaign is a nationwide grassroots campaign to encourage equipment manufacturers and their employees to take action on behalf of industry issues. The campaign is in its sixth year and has over 40,000 grassroots supporters. Learn more about the campaign at IMakeAmerica.com.