Governor Mike Pence and executives from 16 companies announced new investments across Indiana expected to create a combined 2,153 new jobs over the next few years.
“Indiana’s strong economy, fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies make days like this possible,” said Pence. “Today’s announcement includes some of the nation’s fastest-growing companies, and they have all either launched in Indiana or are choosing to move here. From tech developers to manufacturing powerhouses, the collective energy of these Hoosier businesses will help power our economy into 2015, creating jobs, promoting opportunities and investing in our future.”
The news comes amidst the state’s record-breaking year of economic development results. In 2014, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) secured job commitments from 285 companies from across the country and around the world, an increase from 261 companies in 2013 and more than any other year on record. The 285 companies anticipate investing $4.38 billion in their Indiana operations and creating 25,317 new jobs in the coming years. The new positions, which companies anticipate to hire over the next five years, pay an expected hourly wage of $21.75, above the state’s current hourly wage of $20.17.
“Looking through the numbers, I see another promising year in Indiana’s future,” said Pence. “Following last year, when we implemented the largest state tax cut in history, this year our corporate income tax began its decline. Meanwhile, companies here at home, across the nation and around the world are committing at record levels to locate their new jobs here. Indiana's unemployment is dropping, showing some of the largest declines in the nation even while our labor force is growing. It’s a great time to be a business in Indiana and an even better time to be a Hoosier.”
Heavy-equipment parts manufacturer AMI Industries, Inc. will invest $4.2 million to equip and expand its agricultural component production at a 100,000 square-foot facility in Plymouth, creating up to 250 new jobs by 2015. The company also plans to invest $4.35 million to equip and renovate its automotive manufacturing lines, creating up to 225 additional new jobs by 2017. Currently operating out of its main facility and satellite sites, the expansion will allow AMI Industries to bring satellite operations in house, providing the opportunity to expand into new customer markets.
With more than 100 years’ experience as a manufacturer of custom-designed AC and DC fractional horsepower motors, this year Bluffton Motor Works is launching more than 30 new motor ratings for the pool and spa industry. This growth is projected to generate an increase of nearly 100,000 additional motors manufactured at the company's headquarters in Bluffton, creating up to 70 new jobs by 2017. Investing $3.6 million into its 400,000 square-foot Bluffton operations, the company currently employs more than 400 full-time associates, including 325 Hoosiers.
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, health care services company Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) will construct and equip a 64,000 square-foot facility in Indianapolis, creating up to 85 new jobs by 2017. Dedicated exclusively to manufacturing Bayer Healthcare’s Xofigo ®, the new facility is expected to be complete in 2017. The $91-billion health care services company operates two medical products distribution centers and several radiopharmacies in Indiana, which employ more than 240 Hoosiers. Cardinal Health will begin hiring specialized manufacturing roles, chemists, engineers and other professional positions when construction on the facility is complete.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM), CloudBlue will invest $3.74 million to lease, renovate and equip a 110,000 square-foot processing center in Indianapolis, creating up to 50 new jobs by 2017. Providing enterprise information technology asset disposition, onsite data destruction and e-waste recycling services, CloudBlue has more than 100 locations and more than 1,000 customer organizations across the globe.
Diester Machine Company, which specializes in the manufacture of vibrating equipment for the mining, quarrying and aggregate industries, plans to invest $2.8 million to equip its 250,000 square-foot facility in Fort Wayne, purchasing two CNC lathes and a 750 ton press brake, which will be largest in the area. With the new equipment expected to be installed by March 2015, the 102-year-old, family-owned company has already begun hiring for machining and fabricating positions, creating up to 110 new jobs by 2018 to grow the company's workforce beyond its current team of 198 Hoosiers.
Founded in 2012, Middlebury-based Grand Design RV is a manufacturer of fifth wheel trailers and travel trailers, recognized as the fourth largest manufacturer of towable recreational vehicles in the industry with 2014 sales of more than $200 million. To meet the need for more manufacturing capacity, the company will invest $6.9 million to add 48 acres and infrastructure improvements to its current 67-acre campus, creating up to 330 new jobs over the next few years. Grand Design currently employs 548 full-time associates at its Elkhart County campus.
Indiana Limestone Company, the largest Indiana Limestone quarrier in North America, plans to invest $9.37 million to equip its combined 4,500-acre quarries in Oolitic and Bloomington, creating up to 75 new jobs by 2017. Indiana Limestone Company anticipates expanding its quarry capabilities by more than 40 percent in 2015, allowing it to supply builders with a limestone mix to support growth of Indiana Limestone as a key building material, which today can be seen on structures including the Empire State Building, the Pentagon and more than one third of the U.S. state capital buildings. Indiana Limestone Company, which currently employs more than 130 associates, plans to begin hiring by March.
Homegrown-Hoosier company iSALUS is a provider of a fully-unified electronic health records and practice management cloud-based platform. Expanding upon its 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, iSALUS plans to invest $485,100 to lease and equip its 5,280 square-foot office at the Stutz Business Center in downtown Indianapolis, creating up to 136 high-wage jobs by 2023. Hiring software engineers and members for its customer service, sales and administrative staffs, iSALUS currently employs 26 full-time Indiana associates and plans to begin hiring next year.
Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group is a full-service, vertically integrated real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, operation, management, leasing, acquisition, construction, redevelopment and development of neighborhood and community shopping centers. Following the company's merger with Illinois-based Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust earlier this year, Kite Realty plans to invest $205,000, expanding its corporate offices by 5,865 square feet in June and creating up to 69 new jobs by 2018. Now one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the nation, Kite Realty employs more than 140 associates, with 115 based in Indiana.
Memory Ventures, a portfolio of direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands, plans to relocate its headquarters from Los Angeles, California to Fishers, creating up to 134 new jobs by 2018. Memory Ventures will launch Indiana operations next year in a 2,500 square-foot temporary office, with plans to be fully operational by 2016 in a 10,000 square-foot office for Memory Ventures’ portfolio brands. Memory Ventures was originally founded in 2007 with its first brand, ScanDigital, and has been featured on the Inc. 500 and Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 lists. The company's new headquarters in Indiana will allow it to increase its service capacity, decrease shipping costs and expand its customer base across the country, which currently includes more than 50,000 consumers a year as well as large clients such as Rubicon Project and Google. In addition, the company is launching a business incubator called Eureka!, where it seeks to partner with entrepreneurs who wish to create new businesses under Memory Ventures' platform.
Named earlier this year one of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the United States by Inc. Magazine, Midwest Automotive Designs converts vans and trucks into luxury vehicles, specializing in the Mercedes Benz Sprinter platform. With plans to create up to 80 new jobs by 2017, the company operates in a 65,000 square-foot facility in Elkhart and will expand by more than 25,000 square feet within the next 36 months. Midwest Automotive Designs currently employs approximately 100 full-time associates.
An email marketing solutions provider, nimblejack plans to invest $555,000 to lease and equip its current 4,000 square-foot office space in downtown Indianapolis, creating up to 185 new jobs by 2019. Providing consulting, campaign management, automation, custom coding and systems integration and reporting and analytics, nimblejack has locations in New York and Phoenix, Arizona serving customers across the country and was recently presented with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Services Partner of the Year award.
Indianapolis-based Probo Medical purchases, repairs and resells refurbished medical equipment to the healthcare industry. The company, which launched operations earlier this year, plans to invest $835,000 into its business, creating up to 62 new jobs by 2018. Its north side facility is located at 9855 Crosspoint Blvd. Probo Medical was founded by David Trogden, the former president of Ultra Solutions, a California-based ultrasound equipment business with 55 employees when the company was sold in 2013. Probo is currently hiring for positions in sales and technical roles.
Ryno Strategic Solutions is a full-service nationwide Internet marketing company, primarily serving the HVAC, plumbing and other service industries. Formally known as Brickyard Marketing, the company plans to expand its national sales headquarters in a 20,000 square-foot office facility in central Indiana, creating up to 127 new jobs by 2023. Offering services such as search engine optimization, content management, website and app development, call tracking and monitoring, the company is currently hiring for sales, marketing, programmers and client services positions.
SmartIT, an information technology firm delivering staffing and technology solutions for some of the largest companies in the country, plans to invest $4.5 million to expand into a new 40,000 square-foot headquarters facility in Zionsville, creating up to 85 new jobs by 2018. With plans to be operating in the new offices by its 10th anniversary in June, the company currently employs 160 Hoosiers.
South Bend Modern Molding, a manufacturer of custom molded rubber products founded in 1942, plans to make significant investments to expand production capacity and add new product lines at the company's 100,000 square-foot facility in Mishawaka, nearly doubling employment by creating up to 80 new jobs by 2023. The company, which was named a 2014 Indiana Company to Watch, is currently experiencing exponential growth from its new products using recycled rubber materials, with up to 50 percent of its sales coming from these product lines. South Bend Modern Molding currently employs approximately 100 full-time Indiana associates and plans on expanding employment more than 50 percent over the next three years.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered AMI Industries, Inc. up to $1,500,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans of up to 250 new jobs by 2015. Also, AMI Industries was offered up to $800,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans of 225 new jobs by 2017. Bluffton Motor Works LLC was offered up to $450,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Cardinal Health 414, LLC was offered up to $925,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. Deister Machine Company Inc. was offered up to $935,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. Grand Design RV, LLC was offered up to $2,950,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. In addition, the IEDC will provide the Elkhart County with up to $250,000 in infrastructure assistance from the state's Industrial Development Grant Fund. Ingram Micro Services LLC was offered up to $195,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $98,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. iSALUS, LLC was offered up to $2,040,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $60,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. KRG Management, LLC was offered up to $1,000,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $140,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. ScanDigital Inc., a subsidiary of Memory Ventures, was offered up to $865,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $90,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Midwest Automotive Designs was offered up to $560,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $140,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Nimblejack LLC was offered up to $2,275,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $120,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Probo Medical, Inc. was offered up to $325,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $175,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Ryno Strategic Solutions, LLC was offered up to $1,550,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $60,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Smart IT Staffing, Inc. was offered up to $900,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. South Bend Modern Molding, Inc. was offered up to $335,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the companies are not eligible to claim incentives.
The city of Indianapolis supports the projects of Cardinal Health, Ingram Micro Services LLC, iSALUS, KRG Management, LLC and nimblejack at the request of Develop Indy, a business unit of the Indy Chamber. The city of Plymouth approved additional incentives for AMI Industries projects at the request of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation. The city of Bluffton supports Bluffton Motor Works’ project at the request of Wells County Economic Development. The city of Fort Wayne will consider additional incentives for Deister Machine Company’s project at the request of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. Elkhart County supports Grand Design RV’s project at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. Lawrence and Monroe counties will consider additional incentives for Indiana Limestone Company’s project. The city of Elkhart supports Midwest Automotive Designs’ project at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. The town of Fishers supports the projects of Memory Ventures and Probo Medical. The town of Zionsville and Boone County will consider additional incentives for SmartIT’s project at the request of the Boone County Economic Development Corporation. The city of Mishawaka supports South Bend Modern Molding’s project.
About IEDC
Created in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Mike Pence. Victor Smith serves as the Indiana Secretary of Commerce and Eric Doden is the president of the IEDC.
The IEDC oversees programs enacted by the General Assembly including tax credits, workforce training grants and public infrastructure assistance. All tax credits are performance-based. Therefore, companies must first invest in Indiana through job creation or capital investment before incentives are paid. A company who does not meet its full projections only receives a percentage of the incentives proportional to its actual investment. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.