Procter & Gamble

Founded in 1955, Alpla is a worldwide leader in plastic packaging technology. Its products are omnipresent in daily life. They include bottles and caps for products in the cosmetics, food, household cleaner, laundry care, and oils and lubricants industries. Alpla has developed packaging and containers for such products as Nivea, Pantene shampoo, Heinz ketchup, Coca-Cola, Formula 409, Clorox and Shell oil. In addition to the aforementioned custom bottles, Alpla also offers standard preforms for water, soft drink, milk and oil bottles. Alpla employs more than 7,500 people in 95 production plants throughout the world, including one in Iowa City, Iowa.

Established in 1911, Whirlpool Corporation is a manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, with annual sales of more than $13 billion. The company s brands, which include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Brastemp, Bauknecht and Consul, are sold in more than 170 countries. Its products include refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, blenders, toasters, cookware and freestanding ranges. The company operates nearly 50 manufacturing and technology research centers worldwide. It was honored as the 2005 Energy Star Partner of the Year and the 2006 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award. In March 2006, Whirlpool announced its plan to merge with Maytag Corporation. Jeff M. Fettig has been the chief executive officer of Whirlpool for more than two years. He has been with the appliances manufacturer for over 25 years. Fettig earned BS and MBA degrees from Indiana University. Whirlpool Corporation employs more than 68,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Uniparts Olsen is a manufacturing company that provides a range of precision steel parts for original equipment manufacturers. Established in 1972, it is a privately held company that serves customers in the construction, agriculture and forestry industries. The company also supplies precision machined pins, bushings and structural bosses. Uniparts Olsen has a more than 138,000-square-foot facility to produce over 5,000 products. In addition, it offers induction heat treating and zinc plating services. The company has received ISO 9001:2000 certification. Uniparts Olsen operates in Eldridge in Iowa. It is a part of the Uniparts Group and maintains electronic data interchange systems.