When AML Riverside LLC came to Fort Dodge in 2016, it took advantage of a unique, existing asset and quickly went to work making veterinary medicines.

To meet the requirements of some government incentives it received, the company had to create 30 jobs by the end of 2019. It easily exceeded that figure, and now employs about 80 people.

The unique asset that it breathed new life into is a sprawling building along East Riverside Drive. A company like AML Riverside can’t easily set up shop in any large building. But the structure on East Riverside Drive has a long history with the veterinary pharmaceuticals business. That history is summed up by a big metal sign on the north wall of the building which says Fort Dodge Laboratories. That company is gone, but it and its successors left a facility perfectly suited for its current occupant.

Now, AML Riverside is getting ready to grow again. Its building won’t be getting any bigger, but its staff will. The company plans to add 12 positions and about $720,000 worth of payroll.

Within the building there will be some changes and equipment will be added so that the company can expand its research and development work. It will be about a $6 million investment.

AML Riverside develops, licenses and manufactures products for other companies which are then sold under the names of those companies. That’s why no one ever sees anything in a local veterinarian’s office that has an AML Riverside logo on it.

The Fort Dodge City Council recently moved to aid the expansion by forgiving a $100,000 loan it gave the company in 2015 to help it get started. Forgiving the loan was a smart move. Essentially writing off $100,000 to get $720,000 in new payroll in the community has got to be one of the better deals of recent history.

AML Riverside is an existing company that is about to add more good paying professional jobs. That’s the kind of growth we want to see in Fort Dodge.