For international companies expanding into the United States, choosing the right location is about more than geography.

It’s about finding a place where incentives, partnerships and long-term support align to make growth possible.

For Graepel, a German-based manufacturer supplying components to the agricultural and construction equipment industries, that place turned out to be Omaha.

“Where do you go in the U.S. if you want to do business in the agricultural machinery sector?” said Mark Zumdohme, Chief Executive Officer at Graepel North America Inc. “That is the Midwest, right?”

That search placed Nebraska alongside other Midwestern states. But what ultimately differentiated Omaha wasn’t just proximity to customers — it was how the state and local partners engaged early in the process.

It started with outreach to German companies looking to expand into the United States to consider Nebraska. That proactive outreach helped put Nebraska on the map for a company that, like many international firms, may not have initially considered Omaha.

The company began visiting and engaging with local partners, and the advantages became clear.

Graepel’s initial footprint in Omaha was modest — a small office and warehouse space to support early sales. But what followed over the next two decades is where incentives played a critical role.

“Over those 20 years, we’ve been able to take advantage of multiple different incentive programs,” Zumdohme said. “The Greater Omaha Chamber as well as the Nebraska Department of Economic Development did a great job.”

Graepel has expanded from leasing space to building and growing its own facility, and incentive programs helped support each phase of investment.

Each program aligned with a different stage of growth — from early investment to facility expansion to job creation.

Graepel’s growth tells that story clearly: from a 5,000-square-foot startup presence to an 85,000-square-foot manufacturing operation employing 65 people.

Those incentives didn’t replace the fundamentals of running a business, but they made a measurable difference in how — and how quickly — the company could scale.

“I think it’s part of the toolbox that every state or every city needs to have to attract or support businesses, and we appreciate it for sure,” Zumdohme said.

“It’s good to know that incentives are out there, and they can make a difference,” he said. “They can really help to buy that or to build that building and not lease anymore and to buy that extra machine.”

Equally important is how those incentives are delivered. For Graepel, coordination between the state, local partners and the Greater Omaha Chamber made the process accessible and actionable.

“For our business, the Omaha Chamber helped us tremendously at the time with finding spaces,” Zumdohme said.

That hands-on support — from site selection to navigating incentive programs — reflects a broader advantage companies find in Nebraska.

“You can probably buy everything. You can buy your building and your equipment and your tools… but if you don’t have the right people and the right work ethic and the right network, you know, that’s all not worth anything,” he said.

That combination of incentives, relationships and long-term partnership has shaped Graepel’s trajectory in Omaha and reinforced its commitment to stay.