Centurion Poultry, Inc. – Prairie Gold Hatchery earns Iowa Venture Award

Steve Hilleson, left, Centurion Poultry Inc. project manager, and Gijs Schimmel, president of Centurion Poultry Inc. stand with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey after accepting the Outstanding Business of the Year Venture Award in recognition of outstanding business achievement in Iowa.
The 2013 "Outstanding Business of the Year" Iowa Venture Award was presented to Centurion Poulty Inc. (CPI) - Prairie Gold Hatchery of Goldfield. The Iowa Area Development Group (IADG), on behalf of Iowa's rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and independent telecommunication companies, honored CPI and eight other distinguished Iowa companies at the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives' annual meeting at the Sheraton West Des Moines.
CPI, having existing operations in Iowa, decided to expand their Iowa presence by constructing a new 35,000 sqare-foot hatchery in Goldfield. This new state-of-the-art facility has production capacity of 18 million pullet chicks annually, three times that of the Wisconsin facility it replaces. The new facility will strengthen Iowa's leadership position in both egg production and processing. CPI - Prairie Gold Hatchery was nominated for a Venture Award by Prairie Energy Cooperative.
"The Iowa Venture Award provides an opportunity to uphold the courage, contribution, innovation, social responsibility and vision of Iowa entrepreneurs," said IADG President Rand Fisher. "IADG, on behalf of our sponsors, is proud to recognize these nine outstanding companies for their accomplishment and contribution to their community, region and state."