GARNER — A North Iowa manufacturing company that began more than three decades ago in a two-car garage is now among just 10 businesses nationwide advancing in a major U.S. Small Business Administration competition celebrating American entrepreneurship and manufacturing.
Plas-Tech Tooling, Inc. of Garner has been selected as a semifinalist in the SBA’s Freedom 250 Patriot Pitch Competition, according to an announcement highlighted by the NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
The Garner company was selected from a field of 1,182 small businesses that submitted applications for the competition.
Five finalists are expected to advance to a live pitch event in Washington, D.C., in September, where they will compete for five prizes totaling $1 million.
Plas-Tech Tooling specializes in precision machining, injection mold design and construction, and plastic injection molding. The company produces custom tooling and plastic components used by customers across North America in industries including agriculture, heavy equipment, aerospace, defense and other industrial sectors.
The company was founded in 1993 by Dean and Marcia Sonquist.
What began in a two-car garage has grown into approximately 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Garner and developed into a multigenerational family business.
The Sonquists began the company with vocational training, several years of industry experience and plans to build a manufacturing business of their own.
“Plas-Tech’s success is thanks in part to our community, NIACC, and the SBDC, but also thanks to our employees and professional team who make us who we are,” Marcia Sonquist said.
Their sons, Andrew and Ryan Sonquist, later joined the business and have helped move the company further into advanced manufacturing technology.
Plas-Tech has invested in robotics, automation, digital manufacturing systems and artificial intelligence as it works to increase efficiency and precision while competing with manufacturers around the world.
“Technology isn’t replacing what we do, it’s helping us do it better,” Andrew Sonquist said.
He said investments in automation, robotics, AI and continual process improvements are helping demonstrate that American manufacturers can remain globally competitive while maintaining quality and reliability.
The company has also emphasized bringing manufacturing work and production of components back to the United States — part of a broader effort often referred to as reshoring.
Dean Sonquist said long-term planning and bringing the next generation into the company have been important to its continued development.
“Knowing the next generation is committed to our employees, our customers, and the company gives us confidence that Plas-Tech will stay strong for years to come,” he said.
Ryan Sonquist said the company views its employees as central to that future.
“Plas-Tech is more than a manufacturing company, it’s a family,” he said, pointing to employee training, career opportunities and workforce development as important parts of the company’s philosophy.
Plas-Tech has worked with a number of North Iowa and statewide economic development and workforce organizations during its growth.
Those partnerships have included the NIACC Pappajohn Center, North Iowa Area Small Business Development Center, Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service, Hancock County Economic Development and NIACC workforce training and certification programs.
Candi Karsjens, executive director of the NIACC Pappajohn Center, called Plas-Tech an example of Iowa entrepreneurship and said the company has consistently taken advantage of opportunities to improve its operations.
“They embraced every opportunity to improve, innovate, and grow,” Karsjens said.
The company has also worked with area schools and workforce development programs aimed at creating a larger pool of skilled workers for North Iowa manufacturing.
Garner Mayor Tim Schmidt said he has watched the Sonquist family build the company from its garage beginnings into a major local manufacturing operation.
“From day one, the whole Sonquist family has given back to the community of Garner,” Schmidt said.
Jill Kramer, executive director of Hancock County Economic Development, said the national recognition reflects both Plas-Tech’s business success and its contribution to the local economy through jobs and investment.
The Patriot Pitch Competition is part of the SBA’s Freedom 250 initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and highlighting small businesses that contribute to American innovation, job creation and economic growth.
Competition judges are considering factors including business performance, innovation, American competitiveness, job creation, economic impact and each company’s ability to execute future growth plans.
Plas-Tech must now make it through the semifinal round to become one of five companies invited to the September competition in Washington.
For a company that started in a Garner garage in 1993, reaching the final five would put the North Iowa manufacturer on one of the biggest stages of its history.
PHOTO: From left are Garner Mayor Tim Schmidt; Michelle Hanson of NIACC Business & Workforce Solutions; Ryan Sonquist; Dean Sonquist; NIACC President Joel Pederson; Marcia Sonquist; Andrew Sonquist; Brook Boehmler, regional director of the North Iowa Area SBDC; Candi Karsjens, director of the NIACC Pappajohn Center; and Jill Kramer, executive director of Hancock County Economic Development.
(TOP PHOTO: Photo from left: Tim Schmidt (Mayor of Garner), Michelle Hanson (NIACC Business & Workforce Solutions), Ryan Sonquist, Dean Sonquist, Joel Pederson (President, NIACC), Marcia Sonquist, Andrew Sonquist, Brook Boehmler (Regional Director, NIA SBDC), Candi Karsjens (Director, NIACC Pappajohn Center), Jill Kramer (Executive Director, Hancock County EDC))