For more than four decades, Hawkeye Molding has been quietly shaping the world from the heart of Iowa. What began in 1979 as a rural custom thermoplastic injection-molding shop has grown into a diversified manufacturing operation supplying components for everything from coffee makers and lighting fixtures to agricultural and industrial equipment. Today, under the ownership of Ryan Gruhn and Lana Leander, Hawkeye Molding is a model for how rural innovation and community investment can thrive side by side.
Hawkeye Molding’s story starts in Albia, Iowa, where the company earned a reputation for precision and reliability in molding parts for appliance, housewares, and furniture manufacturers. After being acquired by Innovative Lighting in 2008, the business continued under its own name, building a strong presence in the regional manufacturing ecosystem.
The next big chapter came in 2021, when husband-and-wife team Ryan Gruhn and Lana Leander purchased the company, determined to keep its legacy alive in Iowa. “We wanted to build something lasting in a community where people know each other and take pride in what they do,” says Leander. “Rural Iowa is full of skilled, hardworking people—it just needs companies willing to invest in them.”
Gruhn brought more than a decade of experience in plastics engineering and leadership in manufacturing to the helm. His early career in engineering gave him a firsthand appreciation for precision molding and process improvement. Leander, who previously owned and operated monument businesses across the Midwest, contributed her background in operations, management, and customer relationships. Together, they have steered Hawkeye Molding through a period of strategic reinvestment and growth.
The company now operates from its Roland, Iowa facility, running 24 hours a day, five days a week, and employing about 45 people. Its products reach markets nationwide; some under customers’ brands and others under its own, including snow sleds and two-child toboggans that became top sellers on Amazon. “A lot of people don’t realize how many everyday things start in Iowa,” Gruhn said. “You might have a part in your coffee maker or your boat that was molded right here.”
Hawkeye Molding’s impact goes beyond the factory floor. The company has earned recognition for its contributions to rural economic vitality, including the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur Award and designation by Senator Joni Ernst as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Both honors celebrate the company’s ongoing commitment to local jobs and community development.
As global supply chains faced disruption in recent years, Hawkeye Molding saw opportunity in domestic production. By expanding its in-house mold-building capabilities, most recently through the 2024 acquisition of a Sully-based mold business. “We believe in doing as much as we can right here,” says Gruhn. “It keeps our quality high, our lead times short, and our people working.”
That people-first mindset extends to Hawkeye Molding’s inclusive employment practices. The company provides meaningful jobs for individuals with special needs; a tradition started by a previous plant manager and proudly continued by Gruhn and Leander. “Everyone here has a role to play,” Leander says. “When we create opportunities for all abilities, the whole team grows stronger.”
From its small-town roots to its growing national reach, Hawkeye Molding demonstrates the staying power of Iowa manufacturing. For Gruhn and Leander, success isn’t just measured in output, it’s in the pride of keeping production local. “We’re proof that world-class products can come from small-town Iowa,” Gruhn says. “That’s what keeps us motivated every single day.”