After flirting with a move to Iowa, Lyle’s Agri-Steel announced Monday that the company would stay in town and build a new facility.

The business, a manufacturer of agricultural steel products for many area farmers, will build a 19,000-square-foot facility with the help of a $98,490 grant from the Community Economic Development Association for the city of Lyle. The grant will help install new utilities in a sector of the city and assist Agri-Steel.

Agri-Steel co-owner Brian Helle said the expansion means the company can centralize its operations, and more employees can retain full-time work through the winter months, when some are often laid off. Helle hopes the expansion will begin within about a month and could be complete by May. The new building will serve as about 60 percent storage space, with the remainder manufacturing and painting space.

“The city of Lyle is extremely happy and excited to announce the expansion of local business Agri-Steel, owned by Jeff Helle and Brian Helle,” said City Clerk Diana Witt. “This business expansion means a local business is growing, which in itself is awesome, and it is the first business to be built in the city’s commercial district, and a few additional jobs will be created in our community.”

The grant will also allow for future industrial development by extending public utilities to the 11-acre development area. The total cost for the infrastructure extension is $196,980.

St. Ansgar, Iowa, hoped Agri-Steel would move there, where an industrial park already existed with necessary utilities.