Beck’s, the nation’s largest family-owned, retail seed company, announced plans to expand its headquarters and production operations in Hamilton County, creating up to 56 new jobs by 2022.
“Agriculture has long been foundational to Indiana’s economy, and today the industry continues to grow and propel new innovations forward, thanks to the dedication of companies like Beck’s,” said Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, Indiana Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Our agriculture and agbiosciences companies not only contribute billions of dollars to the Hoosier economy, they are responsible for developing the products that farmers need to fuel and feed the world. We are thankful for Beck’s contributions to agriculture and its commitment to Indiana, which will create more quality careers and opportunities for Hoosier families.”
The Indiana-based company will invest more than $62 million in its Atlanta, Indiana, operations, enabling Beck’s to double its processing capacity of high-yielding corn and soybeans for farmers across the Midwest. The expansion will include a new seven-story, stand-alone processing tower, five new warehouses for seed and equipment storage, as well as office space for additional employees. With this growth, Beck’s will increase its processing capacity from three million to six million units per year over the next six years. Construction will begin immediately and is expected to be complete by 2022.
Beck’s, which employs more than 661 people across its 16 facilities, including 375 full-time employees in Indiana, is hiring for positions in production, processing, research and data and development. Interested applicants may apply online.
“Indiana is an easy state to do business in,” said Sonny Beck, CEO of Beck’s. “And because of that, we decided to build here in our home state. The foresight of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Hamilton County officials to upgrade the roadways near our plant will allow us to double the soybean capacity at our headquarters, improve safety and decrease traffic congestion. Not only will this increase capacity and add jobs here in Indiana, it will allow us to better serve the needs of all our customers throughout our 11-state marketing area.”
Founded in 1937, Beck’s began when Lawrence Beck and his son, Francis, planted hybrid parent seed corn developed by the Purdue University botany department. Since 1992, Beck’s has achieved tremendous growth, doubling in size every 6.5 years. Today, Beck’s has not only become the No. 1 selling corn and soybean seed brand in Indiana, but the third largest corn and soybean brand in the United States. The family-owned and operated business has additional Indiana facilities in Sharpsville, Waveland and Noblesville as well as operations in Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio.
"Hamilton County is thrilled to support the expansion of Beck's headquarters," said Brad Beaver, president of the Hamilton County Council. "We have worked with Beck's many times in the past and hope to again in the future. Beck's is an important part of our community, and we are grateful for their dedication to Hamilton County and excited to be a part of their continued growth."
The IEDC offered Beck’s up to $560,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company's job creation and investment plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is not eligible to claim incentives until qualified investment has been made. Hamilton County has approved additional property tax abatements.