Tim Bianco is the President & CEO of the Iowa Manufacturing. 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.

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.

Iowa’s Manufacturing 4.0 initiative began in 2020 after recognizing the critical need to examine and support manufacturers’ abilities to incorporate the advancing technologies and ensure businesses of all sizes continue to remain competitive in the global economy. With more than 4,100 manufacturing facilities employing 15% of Iowa’s workforce, it is important to focus on further enhancing productivity and innovation.