A to Z Drying expanding

JASON W. SELBY Press News

In 1972, Al Penfold had a vision. With a partner, Penfold started A to Z Drying Inc. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, and like many industries in Mitchell County, it’s still growing.

“We’re more grateful than anything else,” said Penfold’s son, Jason Penfold, who is now president of A to Z.

Valent BioSciences

A to Z is a third-party custom manufacturing company. From the beginning, it has worked handin-hand with Valent BioSciences, which produces environmentally friendly products.

Jason Penfold said his company’s long-lasting partnership with Valent BioSciences is unique. It was A to Z’s presence in Osage that brought the Valent plant to Mitchell County. According to Valent Senior Marketing Communications Manager John Mandel, the main reason Valent chose Mitchell County was because of the company’s close relationship with A to Z.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Penfold said. “It’s a fantastic relationship. Valent BioSciences is a firstclass company.”

According to a press release, this relationship facilitates A to Z’s mission of providing cost-e ective manufacturing with custom spray drying, blending, packaging and warehousing of environmentally friendly products. A to Z values its partnership with Valent and looks forward to helping support their growth into the next 50 years.

“We utilize our expertise,” Penfold said of A to Z’s role in the partnership.

Jason Penfold graduated from Osage Community High School in 1992. At Iowa State University he studied finance. During the summers he worked at his father’s company.

His wife, Katie, is a senior manager. She is a 1999 graduate of St. Ansgar Community High School and studied at the University of Iowa before earning a master’s degree from Drake University.

She worked for Principal Insurance in Des Moines, but A to Z allowed her to continue to use her education while returning home.

A veteran of eight years, Katie Penfold oversees three departments at A to Z.

Growth

In 1972, A to Z began with only a few employees. Today, A to Z is expanding another shift and has a new product line. That will add at least seven new workers.

“It’s continuous growth,” Jason Penfold said. In 2014, the same year Valent began operation in Mitchell County, he oversaw a $5.7 million expansion, which brought many new jobs to Osage.

According to a press release, A to Z currently employs approximately 140 workers, including 20 managers with degrees in STEM-related majors and plant managers with advanced degrees such as chemical and industrial engineering. Along with o ce assistants and technical and production employees, they have turned visions of quality manufacturing into reality.

Jason Penfold describes A to Z employees as a big team.

“These are high-level jobs,” he said. “It provides an opportunity for someone highly educated to live in a smaller community.”

Many of A to Z’s employees graduated from Iowa State University. The pool the company draws from is large, focusing on instate talent, said Human Resources Manager Alyssa Slaichert.

“I enjoy the people I work for and work with,” said Slaichert, who is a 2012 graduate of Riceville Community High School and an ISU alum. “It’s very rewarding to watch the company grow.”

The key word is growth. In turn, city and county o cials hope to expand housing and day care to accommodate this growth.

Part of A to Z’s expansion is linked to Valent preparing to enlarge its workforce by more than 10 percent.

Foundation

Al Penfold was highly skilled. He studied industrial technology at ISU and had expertise in spray drying.

He was also willing to take risks. A to Z was a big risk.

“He wasn’t afraid to learn new things and new concepts,” Jason Penfold said, describing his father as semi-retired. “He kept moving forward from a technology perspective.

“He wanted to build something, and he took the risk. He was fortunate. You don’t always get to work with the same customer (Valent BioSciences) for over 50 years.”

The company’s cofounder was also entrepreneurial. He never worried about failing.

“From stories of employees who worked with him from the beginning, he always put the customer first,” said Katie Penfold. “That’s been engrained in the company since then. Quality is key for us. From a business standpoint, he researched if a new technology was a good fit for the company.

“He’s also pretty modest.”

Before they passed, Al Penfold’s wife, Marlene, and past plant manager Merle Boehmer were key to building the foundation of A to Z Drying as well.

“The foundation built by the A to Z team early on is remarkable,” Katie Penfold said.

Education

To ensure products are the highest possible quality, the company has earned the ISO 9001 certification and also works with OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute).

A to Z attributes its success to the dedicated employees that continue to perform exemplary work day in and day out.

Jason Penfold said Vice President George Weber has been a key to the company’s growth. Weber is an ISU grad with a chemical engineering background.

“He’s absolutely integral to A to Z Drying, not only to daily operations, but he also leads the research and development team,” Penfold said. “Everyone at A to Z must be hands-on. He’s a huge part of our team.”

As a proponent of STEM education, A to Z has also been a proud supporter of local robotics, Lego and E-sports leagues.

“Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are fundamental to A to Z Drying and help provide high-level engineering and technology positions to members of our management team,” said Weber. “It’s encouraging to see students engaging in STEM activities and being able to have access to those opportunities early in their education.”

Katie Penfold praises Osage Community School District Superintendent Barb Schwamman for encouraging STEM and developing a partnership between the school and local technological industries.

“We’re thankful the school system puts that much support behind it,” Katie Penfold said.

According to the press release, placing an emphasis on contributing to the community, the company is committed to giving back to the local police and fire departments, day cares, and area colleges such as North Iowa Area Community College, along with helping fund an inclusive playground, recent additions to the Mitchell County Regional Health Center and Cedar Summer Stock performances.

“The city of Osage and Mayor Steve Cooper have always supported our opportunities for expansion,” said Jason Penfold. “We greatly appreciate their support which allows us to meet the growing needs of our customer. We are proud to be a part of the Osage and Mitchell County communities.”

Jason W. Selby is the community editor for the Mitchell Country Press News. He can be reached at 515-9716217, or by email at jason. selby@globegazette.com.