Veterans United Home Loans, the nation’s largest VA purchase lender, opened its first non-veteran loan division in Springfield.
The new company, Paddio, will be headquartered in the Queen City. Ryan Kluttz, director of production, said Springfield attracted them because of its workforce and business climate.
A great city and great workforce
When they were looking at Springfield for the potential headquarters, Ryan Mooney, senior vice president of economic development, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, called Dean David Meinert to speak to the group.
“We were looking for someone from MSU to talk about the type of students that are attending and graduating from MSU. Paddio was particularly interested in College of Business graduates, but this is an ongoing effort we’ve been doing for some time,” Mooney said.
President Clif Smart serves on the Springfield Area Chamber Board of Directors, and Dean Meinert serves on the Chamber’s Voice of Business Committee. This collaboration helps offer insight into the potential workforce for companies considering locating to Springfield.
“We wanted to find a great city, a city with a reputation for a fantastic workforce. And a place big enough to feed a vision that could be rather large. Springfield checked a lot of the boxes,” Kluttz said.
Kluttz was impressed by the reputation of the College of Business and the size of Missouri State.
A win-win
In August, Paddio opened their doors at 1930 W. Bennett St., and has hired more than 50 employees. Of those, more than one-third graduated from Missouri State.
“MSU graduates have shown us exceptional talent, and we’re going to continue to invite new graduates to grow with us,” Kluttz said.
Paddio has committed to creating 100 jobs over a five-year period.
“We will be as aggressive as our success allows,” Kluttz said.
These are great jobs with growth potential, said Mooney, and the collaboration was a win-win.