Businesses Plan Record Number of Jobs During Pandemic

January 7, 2021 Ken Hartman Local News Comments Off on Businesses Plan Record Number of Jobs During Pandemic

Thursday, Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced the end of a fourth consecutive, record-breaking year for economic development in Indiana, with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) securing 282 commitments from companies to locate or grow in the state. Together, these businesses plan to invest more than $5.6 billion in their Indiana operations and create up to 31,300 new Hoosier jobs with average wages of $28.13/hour – marking the highest annual record for new job commitments and the second-highest annual record for average wages since the IEDC was established in 2005.

“Despite being an incredibly challenging year for Hoosier businesses in many different ways, I’m extremely encouraged and inspired by the perseverance of our business community,” said Gov. Holcomb. “Achieving another record-breaking year for economic development in 2020 shows us that Indiana is on the right track and that better times are ahead for Hoosiers, with more than 31,000 new career opportunities over the next few years.”

These 31,300 new positions are expected to offer average wages of $28.13/hour, or nearly $58,510 annually, which is above the U.S. average wage and 22% higher than the state’s average wage of $23.01/hour (BLS, 2018). Moreover, of the 282 commitments made, 186 have committed average wages at or above the county average wage, and 65 are between 80-99% of the county average wage.

Businesses announcing the largest growth commitments, based on the number of new jobs or capital investment planned, in 2020 were:

Growth Trends:

  • NEW TO INDIANA: The IEDC, in partnership with local communities, secured 78 commitments from businesses in 2020 to establish new operations in Indiana. Of these, 13 were new companies committing to locate startup operations in Indiana, and 65 were companies already established and headquartered elsewhere in the U.S. or around the world; together, they plan to invest approximately $2.71 billion and create up to 14,448 new jobs (+58% from 2019) in Indiana.

    Commitments include: Pond Alliance Inc. (Illinois-based, LaPorte County), Kenco Logistic Services LLC (Tennessee-based, Clark County), RDI Corporation (Ohio-based, Fayette County), Ekos Window + Wall LLC (Illinois-based, Porter County), General RV Center (Michigan-based, Elkhart County), Sortera Alloys (Texas-based, Allen County), Contour Airlines (Tennessee-based, Marion County), Phenix Specialty Films LLC (Florida-based, Warrick County), Corsicana Mattress Company (Texas-based, LaPorte County), and Milwaukee Tool (Wisconsin-based, Johnson County).

  • FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: In 2020, 36 foreign-owned businesses headquartered in 14 countries and territories committed to locating or growing in Indiana. Together, these firms plan to invest $1.85 billion in Indiana and create up to 5,228 new jobs, accounting for 13% of the total new jobs committed in 2020.

    Commitments include: Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A. (Switzerland, Marion County), Ardagh Metal Beverage (Luxembourg, Porter County), ContiTech USA (Germany, DeKalb County), INOX Market Service (Italy, Delaware County), Kainos Worksmart, Inc. (United Kingdom, Marion County), POINT Biopharma (Canada, Marion County), Taranis (Israel, Hamilton County), and NewCold (Netherlands, Boone County).

  • AEROSPACE & DEFENSE: In 2020, the IEDC secured 27 commitments to locate or expand in Indiana from aerospace and defense companies and companies that have contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense. Together, these businesses plan to invest more than $612.7 million and create up to 4,046 new jobs in Indiana. 

    Commitments include: Premium Rock (Elkhart County), Artisan Electronics (Daviess County), and Incipio Devices (Huntington County).

  • LIFE SCIENCES: In 2020, the IEDC secured 36 commitments from life sciences companies to locate or expand in Indiana. Together, these businesses plan to invest more than $890 million and create up to 5,447 new jobs (+50% from 2019) in Indiana.

    Commitments include: 3OE Scientific (Hamilton County), Genezen Laboratories (Hamilton County), Incipio Devices (Huntington County), MWI Animal Health (Boone County), Nextremity Solutions (Kosciusko County), and Project Process (Hamilton County).

  • MANUFACTURING: This year, 145 manufacturers committed to investing more than $3.75 billion to grow their operations here and create up to 17,792 new Hoosier jobs (+23% from 2019) with average salaries above the state’s average wage. These job commitments, which account for 56% of the total 31,300 new jobs committed in 2020, represent growth plans across a number of manufacturing sub-sectors, such as automotive and RV, steel, food and beverage, hardwoods and machinery.

    Commitments include: Aluminum Insights (Elkhart County), Barletta Boat Company (Elkhart County), Do It Best Corp. (Allen County), Forest River (DeKalb and LaGrange counties), General RV Center (Elkhart County), Indiana Face Mask (Jasper County), Parker-Hannifin Corporation (Clark County), Premium Rock (Elkhart County), Thor Industries (Elkhart County), TrueCore (DeKalb County), and West Fork Whiskey Co. (Hamilton County).

  • TECHNOLOGY: In 2020, 47 tech and tech-enabled firms committed to growing in Indiana, planning to create up to 3,779 new jobs (accounting for roughly 12% of the total jobs committed) with average hourly wages exceeding $41.00 for new positions.

    Commitments include: Advanced Agrilytics Holdings (Marion County), Artisan Electronics (Daviess County), Civic Champs (Monroe County), Edify Labs (Hamilton County), Encamp (Marion County), FullStack (Marion County), GadellNet Consulting Services (Hamilton County), Healthcare Inc. (Marion County), Highbridge (Hamilton County), and Lumatic Imagery (Marion County).

  • SMALL BUSINESS: Along with these 31,300 committed jobs, the IEDC also works to support entrepreneurs and small businesses through the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). In 2020, the Indiana SBDC, along with supporting small business COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, assisted in 333 new business starts and in the creation of 1,459 new jobs. Additionally, the Indiana PTAC registered 418 new clients and helped secure more than $365.6 million in federal government contracts that allowed businesses to grow and create 519 new jobs for Hoosiers.

  • VENTURE DEVELOPMENT: Elevate Ventures supports the efforts of the IEDC by providing assistance to high-growth, high-potential startups and innovators, making capital more accessible and attracting additional private co-investment. Utilizing the state’s 21st Century Research & Technology Fund, Elevate Ventures committed to investing $15.5 million (minimum 1:1 co-investment) in 109 Indiana companies in 2020. Since inception, and across all investment funds, Elevate Ventures has invested $113.2 million in Hoosier businesses, attracting $830.1 million in private co-investment (7.3-to-1 investment leverage ratio).

    Elevate Ventures also assists small businesses in applying for grants through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs, which encourage R&D and technology commercialization, and securing state matching funds. In 2020, Elevate Ventures committed $1.24 million in state matching funds to leverage $5.29 million in federal SBIR/STTR grants secured by 24 Indiana companies.

IEDC incentives offered for these 282 commitments are conditional, meaning a company must create new jobs or provide workforce training in order to be eligible to receive incentives, and are based on new payroll for Hoosiers in order to protect taxpayer money while simultaneously attracting high-wage jobs and new investment to the state. The IEDC offered an average incentive of $0.22/new payroll dollar committed in 2020.

About IEDC
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) leads the state of Indiana’s economic development efforts, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the state. Governed by a 15-member board chaired by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, the IEDC manages many initiatives, including performance-based tax credits, workforce training grants, innovation and entrepreneurship resources, public infrastructure assistance, and talent attraction and retention efforts. For more information about the IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov. 

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