MetalQuest not expanding in Hebron, building new facility in Idaho

HEBRON, NE — It’s a southeast Nebraska success story, an industry leader in a niche corner of manufacturing, and it is expanding… but not in Nebraska.

MetalQuest in Hebron scrapped its plans to grow locally early in 2020. Now, the company announced it is building a new plant in Post Falls, Idaho.

Scott Harms started MetalQuest back in 1996. He says this decision is about positioning the company to continue to grow.

“So as we look back at the last 25, we take 2020 into account, and we try to position ourselves - how are we going to survive the next 25 years?”

MetalQuest faces a challenge familiar to many rural Nebraska companies: declining populations leading to a skilled workforce shortage.

Hebron’s population peaked in 1950 at 2,000. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates it has just short of 1,500 residents now. Post Falls is just across the state line from Spokane, WA. The city’s population has more than doubled in the last 20 years.

“We’ve got to stop the trend of the outflow of population," Harms said. "A lot of people know it exists, they see it. Our future is dependent on the kids that move back into this area today. They’ve got to have reasons to do that.”

Workforce isn’t the only factor in choosing Idaho for expansion. Post Falls offers business incentives not available in southeast Nebraska.

“One of the big things is property tax exemptions, which is significantly reducing our overhead," Harms said. "Due to the cost of our equipment, property taxes are a very big deal.”

The expansion doesn’t mean MetalQuest’s Hebron operation is slowing down. Harms says it remains the heart of the company.

“We’ve got some really, really good people here, people I’m really, really proud to work with," Harms said. "Our intent is just to capitalize on what we’ve learned here and what we’ve done here and continue to build ourselves and redefine ourselves.”

But he has a challenge for leaders in rural Nebraska.

“You have to pay attention to truly what makes a community grow, what makes it evolve," Harms said. "Always set your goals to make sure that community will be there in 25 years, just like we’re making sure this company will be here in 25 years.”

MetalQuest hopes to start construction on the Idaho facility in the spring. It will employ 25 people.