In 1982, Ben Steffensmeier took over a small welding shop in Pilot Grove, Iowa, offering repairs for local farmers and businesses. Ben, his wife, and their five children lived above the shop for a while, but in 2010, Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing upgraded to a 40,000-square-foot facility. The company offers a wide array of services, including laser, shear, or saw cutting; machining; welding; fabrication, including bending and forming; and painting, with a significant percentage of its orders stemming from the agricultural industry. In addition, the company takes on custom projects of all sizes.
Ben’s wife, Jenny, a former X-ray technician and sonographer, assisted the company’s secretary and, throughout the years, took on more responsibility with the family business. Living with frontotemporal dementia, Ben found himself becoming less involved in operations until he was unable to continue running the facility altogether. When he passed away in 2015, Jenny began leading the company. She told Fearless that she was just doing what she had to do: “Get educated, figure it out. Whether it was the dementia or the business, you just figured it out. It’s almost like not having time to be scared. You’re just doing.” In a podcast interview, she explained the decision: “I didn’t quit caring for him. And so I’m not going to quit on this business.”
Photo Courtesy Steffensmeier Welding & Mfg., Inc.
Jenny introduced many positive changes over the years, including organizational restructuring and expanding its customer base. However, one of her most significant decisions was to become 100% solar-powered in 2016, after an employee suggested it. Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing installed a 430-kilowatt ground-mount array, from Fairfield, Iowa-based Ideal Energy, on a local lot. It consists of 428 solar panels, which the business expects to produce energy for 30 to 40 years.
Generating 550,209 kilowatt hours of energy per year, the installation produces enough energy to power all of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing’s operations. The company expected it to be the “first fully solar-powered manufacturing and fabrication facility of this size in Iowa.”
The company highlighted the clear benefits of the array, noting that it “saves energy for Steffensmeier Welding & Mfg., Inc. and will undoubtedly pay for itself.” In fact, the company now saves about $91,495 on energy annually, with monthly bills down from about $7,000 to about $20. Plus, the company fully paid off the loan system last year. The panels, covered by a 25-year warranty, will continue to contribute to long-term savings. “I think, maybe, I’d be silly not to do this,” Jenny remembered thinking at the time, when she realized the project would translate into $2.5 million in cost savings over its lifetime.
Solar operations not only save money but also contribute to a healthier, cleaner Iowa. This installation will avoid 8,937 metric tons of carbon emissions over a quarter century. That same amount would be saved by planting 229,154 trees or refusing to burn 9,599,356 pounds of coal. “It’s really very cool. We have this giant solar facility, and that matters to people. Sustainability is a big deal, and it’s not going away,” Jenny told the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
Photo Courtesy Steffensmeier Welding & Mfg., Inc.
The company’s work is vital to the town and the surrounding areas. “This region needs what we do. We support a lot of folks. I’m on all the time. I feel a lot of weight with the responsibilities that come with this business,” she told the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program. “From economic development here in Lee County to the state level to Washington, DC, we’re providing opportunity for Iowa and for this country.”
Jenny also uses her platform to advocate for other small businesses. She even became a member of the National Leadership Council for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, an initiative that helps small businesses advocate for policies that will benefit them and their communities. According to a 2025 survey, small businesses are planning to grow and create new jobs, but a majority say they are worried about raising enough capital or believe that regulatory red tape is blocking them. “Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy, and in rural America, we’re also the community’s heartbeat,” Jenny explained. “While many small businesses face similar challenges, the solutions can’t be one-size-fits-all. From the Farm Bill, to expiring tax provisions and far-reaching regulations, Washington has ample opportunity to help unleash rural small business growth.”
Photo Courtesy Steffensmeier Welding & Mfg., Inc.
To this day, the company continues to honor Ben’s legacy of hard work and dedication to his community through “their work ethic, dedication to quality service, and a commitment to the greater good of the team,” the company described. “Our team is unlike any other. We are all so unique, yet we all share the same vision. It’s a privilege to work alongside the team here at SWM,” Jenny added. In a promotional video, she explained, “I’m proud of not just the opportunities we provide our existing workforce, but also the next generation, as we partner with other businesses, schools, and economic development to bring awareness to the trade Ben was so passionate about.”
Photo Courtesy Steffensmeier Welding & Mfg., Inc.
