Creative Edge of Fairfield, which cut glass in the United Airlines tunnel at Chicago's O'Hare Airport (above), has also worked for the likes of Ford Motor Co., Monsanto and Amana.

Fairfield Software develops software for some of the top companies in the world, including Apple, Microsoft, Ashton-Tate and Oracle. Specializing in the development of custom software applications, their projects cover a broad range, including graphics, animation, image processing, database systems, connectivity, and business productivity tools.

Glazier Electronics Systems Group has achieved a national reputation for its work in the formalized testing and develop­ment of complex software programs. This includes the testing of real-time software applications, which manage the likes of factory robots, missile guidance systems and telephone switching equipment.

Vital Images, Inc. develops computer graphics tools for scien­tific visualization which allows engineers, scientists, and clini­cians to examine any object or phenomenon of interest as a three-dimensional image on their computer screens.

With many of its facilities designed with growth in mind, Fairfield's basic infrastructure can handle considerable expansion. Future plans call for a new four-lane highway connecting Des Moines and Burlington and an interstate highway called "Avenue of the Saints" between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul Minnesota, which will both pass near Fairfield.■

During the last decade, Fairfield, Iowa, has experienced an economic transformation that is without equal in Iowa and the Midwest. Over 50 businesses which sell products or services in regional, national and international markets have been moved to or founded in Fairfield, covering such diverse areas as manufac­turing, financial services, telemarketing and executive recruit­ing-Creative Edge uses an innovative, computer-operated abrasive waterjet cutting system for design possibilities with hard, difficult-to-cut materials. Customers include Ford Motor Co., Amana and Monsanto. The company also cuts titanium hip joints as well as optical encoder rings for CAT scan machines.

Great Midwestern Ice Cream was selected by People, Play­boy and Newsweek magazines as the best ice cream in the country. Ronald Reagan served Great Midwestern ice cream on the White House lawn.

Copperfield Chimney Supply, Inc. is one of the largest distributors of woodstove supplies in the country.

The Granitech Corporation, which manufactures granite-composite panels, won the Institute of Business Designers (IBD) National Product Design Award (1987). The panels are used across the U.S. and the company plans to market in Japan.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, a longtime friend of the community, recently called Fairfield "one of the economic superstars of Iowa."

At the heart of Fairfield's renaissance is computer software development. Fairfield's software industry alone employs more than 200 professionals and sells more than $20 million in products and services each year.

Computer Associates, Inc. (CA), the largest independent software company in the world, runs its software develop­ment and support teams out of Fairfield. The $1.3 billion international organization supplies software products for mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers.