2014 Annual Report

500 South A Street, Suite 2 • Richmond, Indiana 47374 • 765-983-4769

www.edcwc.com

OVERVIEW - Jim Cohen, 2014 ChairFirst and foremost, I would liketo thank the board of directors
for offering me the opportunity
to serve Wayne County as the2014 Chairman of the Board of
the EDC. It is a distinction that
I will cherish for a long time
to come. Additionally, I would
like to thank the staff andmembers of the board for theircooperation, diligence, andcommitment to task in their service to our community
during my tenure. I am pleased to report that 2014
was a very productive year for the EDC. By following
the 2014 Work Plan, which was based on the 5-year
strategic plan created in 2013, the EDC was able to
make significant progress.
Through outreach programs on several fronts, the
EDC strengthened existing community partnerships,
developed a regional alliance, and made new contacts
on both national and global levels. Building on work
begun in 2013, the EDC, along with WorkOne, Ivy
Tech Community College, and the Wayne County Area
Chamber of Commerce took Manufacturing Mattersfrom the germ of an idea to a solid, successful, nationallycredentialed program that is producing work ready
employees for Wayne County’s industries. A more
forward thinking approach to developing an educated2014 PROJECT SUMMARY
New Job Commitments
Jobs Retained *Total Annual Payroll
Average Wage per Hour
New Private Investment
Total Incentives Awarded
TIF Incentives Awarded
EDIT Incentives Awarded
Incentives Awarded per Job
Public/Private Leverage
Total Expenditures(Incentives and Administration)
Public/Private Leverage with
Administration

247
84$11,488,725$16.69$45,843,933$1,212,000$1,011,000$201,000$3,661.63$1.00/$37.83$1,634,273$1.00/$28.05

Graph shows data collected on projects, incentives and investment for 2014.
*Claimed only if there was a threat of losing the company.

and skilled labor force is the EDC’s work toward earning
the ACT Certified Work Ready Community designation.
The Work Ready Community process uses strategies
that link workforce development needs of the area’s
employers directly to the specific educational and skill
development necessary for each job, and helps to match
potential employees to jobs based on their skill levels.
Another local partnership that we have nourished is the
Food Business Council. This is an active group that iscomprised of all seven food companies located here inWayne County and meets quarterly to discuss topics ofinterest and issues that concern their industry.
The EDC reinforced its position as a regional player
and extended the ability to gain wider recognition of site
selectors by joining the East Central Indiana Regional
Partnership, formally known as Energize-ECI. Under the
new leadership of Richmond native Mindy Kenworthy, theregional partnership is providing marketing collaboration
for ten counties through a new website and new marketing
tools in an effort to develop project leads. Additionally, byparticipating in regional and national events hosted byorganizations like the Indiana Economic Development
Corporation, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Hoosier
Energy, Mid-American Economic Development Council,
Site Selectors Guild, Industrial Asset Management
Council and Indiana Economic Development Association
we have effectively enhanced our visibility beyond our
local region to include the state and national stages.
We’ve begun to expand our global presence throughour affiliations with the German American Chamber ofCommerce and the Japan American Society of Indiana.
By the end of 2014, the EDC helped facilitate 6 projects
representing $45.8 million in new, private investment.
Even though the Sugar Creek and Wolverine projects
date back to 2012 and 2013 respectively, both paid
significant dividends in 2014. Wolverine’s move into its
new shared services facility resulted in over 100 new
jobs created in 2014. The Sugar Creek project started
out as a $27 million investment with an intended 70,000
square foot expansion. Instead, in 2014, Sugar Creek
amplified the plan for their new Cambridge City plant
into an over $100 million, 300,000 square foot, stateof-the-art facility, slated to become operational in thesummer of 2015.
Finally, as we move into a new year, following a newwork plan based on our 5-year strategic initiative, I haveevery confidence that the EDC will continue to develop
the new skills, capacities, and relationships necessary tohelp boost Wayne County’s economy.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTPARTNERSHIP AWARD
The EDC often partners on projects or initiatives withother organizations throughout our county or region.
Each year we like to recognize a partner who has
worked with us to increase economic opportunity andpotential in Wayne County.
In 2014, both ASG and WorkOne staff were integral toefforts to develop Manufacturing Matters and to assist
in organizing our efforts to pursue the Certified Work
Ready Community designation. They continue to haveimportant roles in both initiatives. WorkOne staff arealso integral members of the site visit team assembled
when site selectors and company representatives
Together these three entities, through their come to evaluate our community for new projects andrelationship with the Indiana Department of Workforce expansions.
Development, provide oversight, managementand delivery of services that assist employers with These three entities work together to assist in
their hiring and training needs and help individuals preparation of the region’s workforce based on thestrengthen their employment potential. The Region 6 demands of employer needs and worker skills. Their
WIB provides oversight and guidance to assist ASG efforts on behalf of workforce development are integral
in setting direction for programs and initiatives carried to the success of our community. We would like tothank them for their continued commitment in helping
out at the local level by WorkOne.
to improve our local and regional economy.
This year the Economic Development PartnershipAward goes to three entities that work closely together
to strengthen the skills of East Central Indiana’s
workforce: the Region 6 Workforce Investment Board(WIB); the Alliance for Strategic Growth (ASG); andWorkOne in Wayne County.

SPECIAL THANK YOU
The EDC would like to recognize outgoing board institutional knowledge andmember Gary Hackman for his extended service on
the EDC Board of Directors. Gary was appointed to theboard in 2006 by Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton as areplacement for a previous appointee. Gary served theremainder of that term and was reappointed by Mayor
Hutton for two more consecutive three-year terms.
During his tenure on the board, Gary served in several
capacities. In 2008 and 2009, Gary was elected to serve
as Secretary. In 2010, he was elected as Vice Chair. In
2011, he served as Chair and Past Chair the following
year. During his last two remaining years, 2013 and2014, he served on the Industrial Park Committee.

community experience will
be missed by many. It was apleasure to serve on the EDC
board with him!”

EDC
president,
Valerie
Shaffer appreciated Gary’s
willingness to be an advocate
for the EDC. “Gary understood
our mission and he believedin the work we were doing. I also appreciated hishonesty and straightforward approach. He expressed
concerns and asked tough questions about projects
Each board member brings a unique set of skills and and initiatives he supported, as well as those he had
perspectives to the board. Gary is no exception. Board reservations about.”member Tracie Upchurch, who was chair in 2013,
worked with Gary on several issues. “Gary definitely The EDC was lucky to have Gary’s participation during
brought a unique perspective to the table. He was his time on the board. While he will be missed, we hopespecific and clear minded, but always able to give us he won’t be a stranger. We want to take this opportunitya chuckle in an otherwise serious moment. Gary’s to say thank you for all you have done for the EDC and
the Wayne County community.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The EDC was pleased to partner with 6 companies some of the barriers that hinders their efforts to hire

expanding or locating in Wayne County in 2014. These
projects represent a diverse number of industry sectors
including manufacturing, distribution and logistics, andhealth care. Collectively they represent $45.8 million in
new investment and 247 new job commitments.

Vandor Corporation, Inc.

The company invested nearly$4.9 million to develop two new
product lines in their automotive
injection molding division andtheir cremation division. As aresult of the expansions, Vandor
Corporation is projecting thecreation of 30 new jobs. The
company plans to promote fromwithin to train existing employees
on higher skilled jobs and hire new employees toreplace vacancies created by promotions. To assist
with the project the company received an Economic
Development Income Tax (EDIT) grant in the amountof $56,000 for expenses related to the purchase of new
manufacturing and IT equipment, as well as training for
new and existing employees. Gerald Davis, presidentof Vandor Corporation said, “We appreciate the workof the EDC and others who support companies such as
Vandor. Over the next few years we hope to build evenmore opportunities in the future.” Vandor Corporation is
located at 4251 West Industries Road in the Midwest
Industrial Park. Established in 1972, Vandor Corporation
began production of precision die cut casket interior
components. Since then the company has added
numerous patented products that are sold throughout
North America to non-funeral related industries.

Dot Transportation, Inc.
A Division of Dot Foods, Inc.
Dot
Foods,
likemany
companies
nationwide, struggle
to find qualified truck
drivers. To help solvethat
problemthecompany developed apilot training program
geared at removing

qualified drivers. Company representatives believe
one of the biggest barriers to finding drivers is theunpaid time spent in training to receive a commercial
driver’s license (CDL). In addition, Dot Foods provides
new drivers an additional eight weeks of training tolearn the company’s processes and procedures. The
pilot program will provide $500 per week for eachdriver while they are working to earn their CDL andreceive their Dot Foods training. The company plans
to hire drivers at an annual base pay of $50,000 andhopes to hire 35 new drivers as well as purchase 35
new semi-trucks. The company will invest $945,000
in training and $3.5 million in the purchase of thesemi-trucks. To assist with the pilot program the
EDC provided a $75,000 EDIT grant to use toward
training costs. Dot Foods, Inc. is the largest foodredistributor in the United States with nine distribution
centers serving all fifty states. The company offers
over 100,000 products and delivers in LTL (lessthan-truckload) quantities to distributors nationwide.
Their Indiana distribution center is located at 14600
Gateway Road in the Gateway Industrial Park outside
Cambridge City.

Primex Plastics Corporation

New manufacturing equipment, a new enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software system, and a
Human Capital Initiative were part of Primex Plastic
Corporation’s expansion project in 2014. The Human
Capital Initiative was developed to reduce employee
turnover and to provide training to all levels within
the company, including supervisor training as wellas quality control, Lean and inventory training,
manufacturing cross-training, and professional skills
enhancement. As part of the initiative, 12 existing
employees were promoted to full-time trainers. The
company plans to hire new employees to fill thevacancies created by the promotions. In addition,
Primex Plastics purchased a new bubble guard
machine that will allow the expansion of their productlines. The new ERP software system will integrate
and streamline many of the company’s core business
operations to increase efficiencies and effectiveness.
The company plans to create 19 new jobs and invest$4.7 million in the three-phase project. The EDC
provided a $70,000 EDIT grant to assist with theproject. Darin Dubbs, Director of HR at Primex said, “Asan organization we are committed to the continuous
development of the skills set of all our employees. We
appreciate the support of the EDC of Wayne County
as well as the Wayne County Commissioners andlocal government. We will be celebrating our 50th
anniversary in 2015 and this partnership enhances ourlong term growth strategy.” Primex Plastics started in1965 with three machines. It has grown into a multifaceted plastic extrusion operation with more than 100
extruders in facilities located across the United States.
The Richmond facility is located at 1235 North F Street
and is the location of the new John J. Farber Innovation
and Technology Center as well as the company’s
headquarters.

Mainstreet Richmond, LLC

Indiana-based Mainstreet is in the process ofconstructing a new 48,000 square foot, short-termtransitional care facility at 400 Industries Road. The
company develops, finances and jointly operates
transitional and long-term care properties. Mainstreet
plans to invest approximately $12 million in the 70-bed
facility and anticipates creating over 100 permanent
jobs, 65-70% of which will be full-time positions. The
EDC worked with the company to evaluate incentive
programs best suited for the project. While no EDIT
funds were used the company received $246,000 fromthe Richmond Redevelopment Commission in Tax
Increment Financing (TIF) funds. The funding will be
used to extend a water line to the property. Mainstreet
Richmond will attract patients within a 50-mile radius fortransitional care services. The company says medical
services, speech, occupational and physical therapy,
and counseling will be among positions needed at the
new facility, which will be managed by Trilogy Health
Systems.

Johns ManvilleJohns Manville produces
fiberglass insulation atseveral plants across the
U.S. including their plantin Richmond. In 2014
they began evaluating
investment opportunities
that
would
rebuild,

replace, repair and upgrade components of a plant intheir system that would, in turn, make the plant viable
for another 5 to 7 years. Richmond was fortunate
to secure this investment in 2014 that will result in$18.8 million in capital expenditures. The majority ofthe project includes refurbishing existing equipment,
but there will also be new equipment purchased alongwith building construction to accommodate the new
equipment. The project will retain 84 full-time jobs andcreate 13 new full-time positions. While no EDIT funding
was provided for this project, the EDC did assist in
evaluating the best opportunities for the community topartner in the project. Johns Manville is located in a Tax
Increment Financing (TIF) district which allowed a newbond to be issued for the project. The EDC worked withthe company in going through the approval process
which involved action by the Richmond Redevelopment
Commission, the Economic Development Commission
and Richmond Common Council. The company has
recently paid off a 2007 bond which assisted with aprevious expansion project. The EDC appreciates
Johns Manville’s continued investment in Wayne
County.

Berry Plastics
Corporation

Berry Plastics is theleading
manufacturer
and marketer of plastic
packaging products. With
over 60 manufacturing
facilities worldwide, thecompany serves over
13,000 customers ranging
from large multinational
companies
tosmall
local businesses. When the decision was made toclose Berry’s manufacturing plant in Alsip, Illinois,that production was spread out among four plants in
Indiana, including their location in Richmond. As aresult, equipment valued at $1 million was relocatedto the Richmond manufacturing plant. It was estimatedthat 50 new positions would need to be filled to run
the new equipment. This expansion at the Richmondoperation compliments Berry’s 2012 expansion project.
The community is fortunate to have Berry continuing toinvest in their future in Wayne County.

CERTIFIED WORK READYCOMMUNITY INITIATIVE
Workforce skills continue to be a national, as well Nettle Creek School District has made a commitment toas local, focal point. The EDC, and our partners inworkforce and economic development, continue towork toward earning ACT’s Certified Work Ready
Community (CWRC) designation. Wayne County was
accepted into ACT’s county-level pilot program in 2014.
This program provides a framework for counties tobuild an economic development and community based
approach to identifying, measuring and closing skills
gaps among workers and job seekers. The deadline
to achieve the CWRC designation is May, 2016 andto date we’ve achieved over 40% of our goals toward
certification.
Based on county demographic data, ACT develops
goals for each county to achieve the CWRC designation.
Goals are targeted toward three areas: encouraging
individuals to earn a National Career Readiness
Certificate (NCRC) through WorkKeys testing, providing
important data regarding the skill level of our workforce;building employer recognition and support; and theinclusion of area school districts in the initiative.

the initiative that will be a big step toward accomplishingour certification goals. The EDC is excited to partner with
Nettle Creek by providing up to $3,822 from our Grant
Administration Fund used for community development
projects to assist with the implementation of WorkKeys
testing. The testing results will provide juniors andseniors with important data they can use at this criticaltime in career planning.
Continuing our work to reach our CWRC designation
will become an important objective for the EDC’s newly
created manager of existing business and education
position. The individual hired to fill this position will work
closely with our partners to help promote the CWRC
initiative and to achieve our certification goals. We lookforward to working with our partners to make substantial
progress toward our CWRC designation in 2015. For
more information about the CWRC designation or ACT
go to www.workreadycommunities.org.

MANUFACTURING MATTERS
Manufacturing Matters, East Central Indiana’s Among new features to be added to the program include
fast-track training program, celebrated its firstanniversary in January of 2015. The program aims
at increasing the skill level of the region’s workforce
by providing training based on needs identified byarea manufacturers. The EDC partners with many
employers,
economicdevelopment
agencies,
workforce training organizations, and funding partners
in the region which includes Fayette, Rush, Union,
Franklin and Wayne Counties in Indiana, with outreachto Darke and Preble Counties in Ohio.

expanded use of hands-on training tools, increased
employer engagement in the classroom and paid job
shadowing experiences, along with improvements tothe enrollment process. Looking ahead, a Stakeholder
Strategic Doing Session in 2015 will aid in mapping
new goals and pathways for the program. For more
information go to www.manufacturingmatters.info.

MANUFACTURING MATTERS STATS
272 People have applied to the program
50 Have entered training in four cohorts
91% Have received Certified Production Technician credential
44% Have been placed in manufacturing positions
33% Of those placed have been with employer partners

In 2014, Manufacturing Matters through Ivy Tech
Community College, received a $150,000 three-year
grant from the Walmart Foundation in support of the
Job Ready, Willing and Able initiative to provide middleskills training and industry recognized credentials.
The grant funding will be used to increase training $11.21 - Average wage of those placed in manufacturing
opportunities as well as expand awareness efforts topost training
increase participation from qualified candidates.

$11.55 - Average wage of those placed with employer
partners post training

BRIGHTSIDE
Let’s face it. The news in the world today can be 2014 helped us expand and define the direction we’reoverwhelmingly bad. It’s easy for us to get lost in a
bleak cloud and forget that while there is a lot that isnegative happening, there is still a lot happening thatis positive. Brightside is dedicated to reminding us wehave great people and places in our community to be
proud of and to celebrate.
The focus of Brightside’s stories has expanded overthe course of the year. At first the initiative focused onstrictly business-related topics. We came to realize thatbusiness is just one thread among many interwoven
into the fabric that makes up our community. Just as
business benefits nonprofits, projects and initiatives
through their financial support and employee’s time
as volunteers, those same activities benefit businessby improving the livability of our community. The EDC
wanted to be able to share all the positive things
happening as it presents a more complete picture of
our community.

taking with Brightside. Mike Bennett, author and former
Palladium-Item reporter, along with professional
photographer, Dave Eggen have worked hard to bringto the forefront a diverse selection of positive stories.
In 2015, we hope to continue to bring a diverse andinteresting mix of stories as well as to expand thenumber of people who read those stories.
We invite you to take a walk on the bright side byvisiting the website at www.abrightside.org. If you
have a story idea, feel free to email us. If you’d like toreceive a monthly email notifying you when new stories
are posted you can sign up on the website. You canalso keep up with Brightside by following us on Twitter@EDCofWayneCo. So take a walk on the bright sideand help us spread the news about the great things
happening in our community!

EDC BOARD OF DIRECTORSAND THEIR APPOINTING ENTITIES2014 Officers
Chair – Jim Cohen (Cambridge City Town Council)
Vice Chair – Nancy Green (City of Richmond, Mayor)
Treasurer – Lee Elzemeyer (Wayne County Commissioners)
Secretary – Paul Witte (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
Past Chair – Tracie Upchurch (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)

2014 Board
Kyle Clark (Wayne County Commissioners)
John Meredith (Wayne County Council)
Gary Hackman (City of Richmond, Mayor)
Brett Guiley (Richmond Common Council)
Johnnie Barrett (Centerville Town Council)
Robert Warner (Hagerstown Town Council)
Bill Quigg (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)

OUR COMMUNITYPARTNERS INECONOMICDEVELOPMENT
The EDC would like to thank our community
partners who support us financially. Without
their continued support we would not beable to facilitate growth and investment inWayne County.

Staff

Cambridge City

Mount Auburn

Valerie Shaffer – President
Renee Doty – Manager of Community Affairs
Alaina Geres – Development Coordinator

CentervilleRichmond

EconomyWayne County

Hagerstown