The local company behind the brawn of Alabama Crimson Tide, the bulk of the New England Patriots, and the bravery of the Navy Seals is about to get bigger.

By DOUGLAS BURNS
d.burns@carrollspaper.com

After the success of D-Day, a reporter asked Ida Eisenhower, mother of the commander of the Allied invasion of Europe, if she was proud of her son.

“Which one?” replied Ida Eisenhower, who had seven sons — including President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Chris Conner, general manager of sports-performance-equipment manufacturer Power Lift in Jefferson, can relate to Ida’s answer.

What’s Conner’s favorite college or professional sports team?

“My favorite team is whoever is buying Power Lift,” Conner said last week during a tour of the growing Jefferson business.

Power Lift — which expects to expand its fabrication area to the east as soon as this spring — has outfitted training facilities for athletes’ personal residences. Among the high-profile customers: NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson; former NFL player and high-profile television analyst Howie Long; former New York Yankee Derek Jeter; and Triple H, the professional wrestler.

Then there are all the teams from the high school to college to professional level.

In Iowa, Power Lift has contracts with Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa as well as smaller colleges, places like Upper Iowa University, home of the Peacocks.

Weight equipment for Texas A&M’s football program was on the ready for shipping last week.

And Power Lift has provided weight equipment to 26 of the 32 NFL teams.

“We just did the Dallas Cowboys a couple of weeks ago,” Conner said.

During college football seasons, Conner could surely use a faster remote. One Saturday last fall, he counted 22 of the Top 25 Division 1 college football teams as clients.

Press him for a while, though, and Conner, a lean athlete himself who works out regularly on the Power Lift premises, will acknowledge a rooting interest for his alma mater, Iowa State University, as well as the University of Iowa wrestling program.

And then there’s the Alabama football team.

“Year in and year out Alabama is a powerhouse,” Conner said.

How can he not revel with beaming pride in the rolling of the Crimson Tide?

Some of the most meaningful business, though, is with U.S. military clients, the Army Ranger and Navy SEAL training and warfare readiness facilities. That’s life-and-death stuff, providing fighting men with more agility, speed and strength.

Power Lift, the brainchild of Jeff Conner, Chris’ father and the CEO of the company, began in 1999 with a plan to manufacture Olympic lifting platforms for athletic and sports-performance facilities.

A $100,000 loan from Home State Bank seeded what is now an eight-figure company, Jeff Conner recently told Gov. Terry Branstad on a tour

Over the last 17 years, the company has grown substantially.

Power Lift prides itself on being an innovator in an exclusive market. Key components to the success: a precise engineering process, as well as the high quality of manufacturing.

Last week, on a tour with The Jefferson Herald, Chris Conner said the company employs 55 people. That includes sales representatives in the United States and Europe.

Why operate Power Lift in Jefferson?

Aside from the strong family roots in Greene County, the Conners see many business advantages to the location.

First is trust.

“My dad grew up with a lot of the guys that work here,” Chris Conner said. “We try to control the manufacturing process as much as possible at Power Lift. It’s small-town people that take pride in their work.”

He added, “A lot of our employees wear many, many hats. It’s key to do this business in Jefferson. You find good, hard-working people.”

Then there’s the location, less than an hour from Interstates 80 and 35.

Power Lift has its own trucking operations.

As for the expansion next spring, parking is expected to be added along with production-area improvements.

Power Lift and The Rock

HBO’s popular series “Ballers,” now in a second season, features actor and former University of Miami football player Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Power Lift is also part of the show.

In the opening montage showing sports figures, football practices and iconic Miami locations, viewers also catch an athlete lifting using Power Lift equipment — a half rack to be exact.

Coaching changes mean business

It’s not like Power Lift cheers when coaches from major college and professional sports teams lose jobs.

After all, the Jefferson business has developed strong relationships with many coaches and other team leaders.

But at the same time, General Manager Chris Conner said, coaching changes mean opportunities for Power Lift.

When coaches leave programs and head to another, whether it’s a promotion or different move, they want their strength coaches to come with them.

That can mean a major retrofitting of weight rooms with Power Lift equipment, Conner said.

Strength coaches have among the closest connections day to day with players at the college level, he said.

“They are a large player in their lives for those four or five years,” Conner said.