Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County

2012

Annual Reportwww.edcwc.com
500 South A Street, Suite 2
Richmond, Indiana 47374
765-983-4769
Fax: 765-966- 8956

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
In 2012, the EDC of Wayne County participated in 8 projects creating or
retaining 458 jobs. Related payroll associated with these projects reached$12.8 million. Private investment as a result of these projects was close to $75million. (For more information please see EDC Project Successes located on
the following page of this annual report.)
Business Retention and Expansion
Golden Engineering, Incorporated

Earlyin2012,GoldenEngineering, Inc. initiated aproject with the EDC of Wayne
County that would expand theirfacility by 6,400 square feet,purchase new equipment, andupgrade their infrastructure,investing a little over $700,000.
The project would also create
2 new, full-time jobs. The
EDC provided an Economic
Development Income Tax (EDIT)
grant of $15,000 to assist with theconstruction, purchase new equipment, and provide training for staff. Golden
Engineering manufactures portable X-ray machines and related equipment thatis used in industrial, security, and forensic investigation applications. Roger
Golden says Wayne County has been a very good location for their business.
“We have found a talented and loyal workforce here. The location is convenient
for transporting our products to customers around the world.” The expansion
allows the company to keep all their operations in one location and gives themthe space necessary to reach their manufacturing potential.

Silgan White Cap Corporation

In 2012, Silgan White Cap closed
out their ﬁrst expansion project with
the EDC and approached us witha second expansion project. Thecompany purchased new equipmentthat would increase efﬁciency andallow the manufacture of a newproduct. The new technology will
also help the company remaincompetitive in a tough industry. The EDC provided an EDIT grant of $29,000
to assist with the purchase of the new equipment, and provide training for
employees using the equipment. Silgan produces metal and plastic caps forthe food and beverage industry. The Richmond plant has the capability of
producing steel, aluminum, and composite extruded products, and is one of themost diversiﬁed metal operating facilities in the Silgan system.

Transilwrap Company, Incorporated

This company saw anopportunity to increase theirtechnological and competitiveadvantage with the purchaseof new equipment. The EDC
provided an EDIT grantof $27,000 to assist withthe purchase of the newmachinery, which also led tothe creation of 8 new, full-timejobs. Transilwrap’s Richmondfacility manufactures laminatesand extrusion coatings for adiverse number of products on
a global scale. The facility has
been in Richmond for over 20years. This was their second
expansion project with the EDC in two years. The company successfully
closed out their ﬁrst project several months ahead of schedule.

B & F Plastics, Incorporated

B & F Plastics has come a longway since their opening in 1988
as a screen printing company that
focused on signs and displays.
Today the company makes
their own substrate and custom
compoundedmaterials,
andmanufactures a diverse number of
products from thermoplastic andrecycled rubber as well as custom
sheet extrusion. The company
added new equipment to expand
their product line investing close to $700,000 that will lead to the creation of 8
new, full-time jobs. The EDC provided an EDIT grant of $13,000 to assist withthe purchase of the equipment. This is the second EDIT grant the company hasreceived. In 2010, the EDC provided an EDIT grant of $200,000 to assist witha local management group’s efforts to purchase the company keeping 56 existingjobs in Wayne County, and creating 36 new jobs by the time the company closed
out the grant, 10 more jobs than originally planned. The company manufactures
products for the construction, auto and truck, RV and recreation, gardening, andagriculture industries, among others.

Suncall America, Incorporated

This company needed to expand their facility, purchase and install new
equipment, and provide training for employees when they were awarded thecontract for “new model” work producing two new automotive parts. Thecompany invested $3 million and will create 10 new, full-time jobs once theproject is complete. Hiring is expected to begin in 2013 following completionof construction which started in 2012. The EDC provided an EDIT grant of$68,500 to assist with the cost of construction, purchase and installation of newequipment, and the training of new employees. Suncall America is a Japanesecompany founded in 1943. The American division consists of facilities locatedin Indiana and South Carolina. The Richmond location is a Japanese automotive
Tier 1 and 2 supplier.

Berry Plastics Corporation

Berry Plastics was able to add a
new line to their production attheir Richmond facility. They
invested over $4.3 million in theproject that will create 10 new,full-time jobs when complete.
The EDC provided an EDIT
grant of $71,850 to assist with thepurchase and installation of the
new equipment, and to assist withthe training of employees. This is
the second expansion project since2009 for the Richmond facility.
In their previous expansion
they added 26 new, full-time
employees and invested over $2.6 million. Berry Plastics Corporation is theleading manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. The company
is a major producer of a wide range of products including open top and closed
top packaging, polyethylene-based plastic ﬁlms, industrial tapes, medicalspecialties, ﬂexible packaging, heat-shrinking coatings and specialty laminates,
among others. With over 60 manufacturing facilities worldwide, the company
serves over 13,000 customers ranging from large multinational corporations
to small local businesses. Company headquarters are located in Evansville,
Indiana.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition Indiana, Incorporated

The EDC provided Hill’s Pet Nutrition Indiana a $6,000 EDIT grant to assist
with training. The company plans on hiring 12 new operating technicians at theRichmond plant. The EDIT grant will be used to provide partial reimbursement
to the company for training costs associated with the hiring of new employees.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition is a global company specializing in quality pet food fordogs and cats throughout all stages of their lives, promoting good nutrition andhealthcare.

New Investment

MARKETING & COMMUNICATION

Sugar Creek Packing Company
When a state-of-the-art food processing plant
became available in the Indiana Gateway
Industrial Park it was anyone’s guess as to theidentity of the future occupants. The empty facility
was a stark reminder of the disappointment felt by
many throughout the community. Fortunately, theidentity of the future owner of the empty facility
didn’t remain a mystery for long. Sugar Creek
Packing Company announced in September of2012 they would be purchasing the facility, investing $28.5 million, installingﬁve cooking lines, and creating 400 full-time jobs by 2016. The EDC awardedthe company a $265,000 EDIT grant, $200,000 to assist with the expansion
and upgrades to the existing facility, and $65,000 to be used in the trainingof employees. Original plans called for a 70,000 square foot expansion to
the existing facility, along with the construction of a wastewater treatment
plant. Since the announcement, plans have been expanded now including a
170,000 square foot expansion, increasing the scope of the original project.
Total anticipated capital investment is now reaching $64 million. The Indiana
Economic Development Corporation partnered in the project providing up to$2.2 million in conditional tax credits and up to $175,000 in training grants
based on the company’s job creation plans. Sugar Creek Packing Company
is a privately-held corporation with facilities in Washington Courthouse,Dayton and Hamilton in Ohio and Frontenac, Kansas. The company also
has support facilities in Bloomington, Illinois and Carthage, Missouri. Thecompany focuses on proteins with products including pork and turkey bacon,bacon bits, meatballs, pizza toppings, and chicken products. They also produce
sandwiches for retail and wholesale channels, meal components, and made-toorder specialty products. Many of these products are co-packed for some of
the nation’s largest and most successful food companies, while others are soldthrough food service or private label products. The company uses state-of-theart food safety procedures and has a USDA-certiﬁed food safety lab, as wellas highly trained staff and the latest in food safety technology. Sugar Creek
Packing Company has approximately 1,500 employees nationwide. Wayne
County is proud to be the company’s ﬁrst Indiana location.

Increased communication has been one of the top goals for the EDC in 2012 andhas carried over into 2013. The EDC completely redesigned the homepage ofthe website (www.edcwc.com) to allow for the addition of new blogs and othercommunication tools. Shortly after starting in her new position of president,
Valerie Shaffer began sharing her experiences in a new blog called “From theDesk of the President – The First 60 Days”. Shaffer shared her observations
with the community as she settled in. The EDC also started another blog called“Open Lines”. This blog is designed to be ﬂexible and allow the posting ofmany different types of information including reports, original content, andreposting of relevant articles. A third communication feature was added titled“Ask the EDC”. This feature is designed to allow anyone to email an economic
development-related question to the EDC. Answers are posted, along with thequestion, on the EDC’s website. In addition to the blogs, information is also
sent out via email regarding topics of interest. Trafﬁc to the EDC website has
doubled since the adoption of the blogs and other communication tools. Board
members and staff have worked together to increase communication about
EDC activities and projects. Efforts were made to work more closely withlocal media, elected ofﬁcials and the business community to provide more
information about programs, initiatives and activities.
Continuing the communication strategy, in 2013 a LinkedIn company page wasadded for the EDC. Plans include the addition of a Twitter account as well. The
EDC’s website will also be upgraded. The upgrade will consolidate some of
the information on the website to make searches easier. It will also improve theperformance of the website on mobile devices.

INDUSTRIAL PARK DEVELOPMENT
Phase II – Midwest Industrial Park

BY THE NUMBERS- EDC Project Successes
In 2012, the EDC partnered with 8 companies creating over $75 million innew, private investment in Wayne County. For every $1.00 of EDIT funding
expended in 2012, $62.07+ from the private sector was invested. Throughthese projects 458 jobs are projected to be created or retained.

2012 EDC PROJECTS

2012

Projects Closed

8Jobs Created

450
8$12,816,102$74,999,236

Jobs Retained *Related Payroll
Private Investment
EDIT Incentives
EDIT Incentives per Job$495,350$1,082Public/Private Leverage$1.00/$151.41

EDC EDIT Expenditures(Incentives and Administration)
Public/Private Leverage withAdministration$1,208,232$1.00/$62.07+

Graph shows data collected on projects, incentives and investment for 2012.
*Claimed only if there was a threat of losing the company.

With Phase I of the Midwest Industrial Park nearly full, work began in 2010

to prepare additional greenﬁeld space in Phase II. Phase II consists of 166 acresof bare ground and is adjacent to Interstate 70 and a Norfolk Southern Railroad
mainline. The EDC partnered with the City of Richmond and Beals-Moore &Associates to design and manage the construction project. The EDC invested$41,600 for design and engineering and the City invested $1.4 million toconstruct a roadway, storm water detention and extend utilities to serve lots 1 to
5. Construction wrapped up in the summer of 2012 completing this effort. PhaseII has also received Shove Ready Certiﬁcation from the Indiana Economic
Development Corporation. Certiﬁcation helps to expedite the location andpermitting processes for business development. Shovel Ready sites are also
listed in the state’s Site Locater Database for easy access by site selectors andcompanies looking for greenﬁeld sites. Development of Phase II provides muchneeded greenﬁeld sites for Wayne County’s attraction and expansion efforts.

2012 YEAR END REVIEW
2012 was a year of transition for the EDC of Wayne County.
We were facing a change in leadership as well as a signiﬁcantreduction of our operating budget. After the decision was madeto have a joint executive position for the Wayne County Area
Chamber of Commerce and EDC in 2011, both organizations
returned to the former model of leadership with two separate
executives in 2012. Negotiations with elected ofﬁcials ona new four-year EDC contract led to a leaner and smallerorganization going into 2013, reducing staff from four full-time
positions and one part-time position to a total of three full-time
positions. EDC board members tackled some difﬁcult issues in
the absence of a president, setting the foundation for increasedtransparency and communication for the organization. A search
for a new president began in September, and by November thecommunity welcomed back former vice president of businessdevelopment, Valerie Shaffer as the new president for the EDC.
Valerie had worked as a senior project manager with the Indiana
Economic Development Corporation. With a new president
in place, the board and staff continued to work on increasing
communication and transparency for the organization.
2012 proved to be one of the most challenging years in ourorganizational history, but through it all we’ve become wiser

and stronger. We have developed new relationships and haverenewed and revived existing relationships. With so many
challenges facing an organization it would be easy to say thatwork on our core mission of economic development suffered.
However, that would not be the case. In 2012 we closed eightprojects with commitments of creating or retaining over 450
jobs. Those projects resulted in nearly $75 million in new,private investment and a related payroll of over $12 million peryear by the end of 2016. For every $1 dollar of public money
invested, nearly $62 was invested from the private sector inWayne County. We know we have a lot of work to do. We know
we have challenges. But we also have some great resources
at our disposal. We’re working to address some of our issues
with initiatives begun in 2013, including addressing the skills
gap issue. We’re working with elected ofﬁcials to develop astrategic plan as called for in our new contract. We’re involvedin many other initiatives working to strengthen our community
to improve quality of life and create a more vibrant economic
environment such as the Positive Place Initiative. If we want
what is best for our community we know we need to continue
to promote Wayne County as a great place to live and work.

PARTNERS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Cambridge City

East Germantown

Hagerstown

Mount AuburnWhitewater

Centerville

EconomyMiltonRichmondWayne County(Represents our partners for the 2009 to 2012 contract.)

EDC BOARD OF DIRECTORSAND THEIR APPOINTED ENTITIES2012 Ofﬁcers

Chair – Mark Smith (Centerville)
Vice Chair – Tracie Robinson (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
Treasurer – Jeff Jackson (Wayne County Council)
Secretary – Jim Cohen (Cambridge City)
Past Chair – Gary Hackman (City of Richmond, Mayor)

2012 Board

Kyle Clark (Wayne County Commissioners)
Lee Elzemeyer (Wayne County Commissioners)
Nancy Green (City of Richmond, Mayor)
Brett Guiley (Richmond Common Council)
Chris LaMar (Hagerstown)
Kevin Ahaus (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
Bob Powell (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)

2013 Ofﬁcers

Chair – Tracie Robinson (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
Vice Chair – Jim Cohen (Cambridge City)
Treasurer – Lee Elzemeyer (Wayne County Commissioners)
Secretary – Nancy Green (City of Richmond, Mayor)
Past Chair – Mark Smith (Centerville)

2013 Board

Kyle Clark (Wayne County Commissioners)
John Meredith (Wayne County Council)
Brett Guiley (Richmond Common Council)
Gary Hackman (City of Richmond, Mayor)
Robert Warner (Hagerstown)
Kevin Ahaus (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)Paul Witte (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)

EDC Staff

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