Holcomb releases stellar 2018 Hoosier economic report card

December 18, 2018 Annie Nunley

Indianapolis, In. — Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has announced the end of a second consecutive, record-breaking year for economic development with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) securing 320 commitments from companies across the country and around the world to locate or grow in Indiana. Together, these businesses plan to invest more than $7.38 billion in their Indiana operations and create up to 31,112 new Hoosier jobs in the coming years – the highest annual commitment in IEDC history.

“I’m thrilled to announce back-to-back record years for new job commitments as we work every day to ensure that more Hoosiers have the opportunity to grow and thrive here in Indiana,” Gov. Holcomb said. “From our nationally ranked pro-business climate and newly revamped skilled workforce development system to our culture of innovation and global partnerships, Indiana continues to advance as an attractive destination where companies of all sizes and from all corners of the world want to do business. While the numbers speak for themselves, the long-term career opportunities that come with them are even more meaningful.”

These 31,112 new positions are expected to offer average wages of $26.84/hour, or nearly $56,000 annually. This average is more than 20 percent above the state’s average wage of $22.32/hour (BLS, 2017) and is the second-highest annual average wage of jobs committed to the IEDC. Moreover, of the 320 expansion commitments made, 221 have committed average wages at or above the county average wage, and 58 are between 80-99 percent of the county average wage.

Businesses announcing the largest growth commitments, based on the number of new jobs or capital investment planned, in 2018 were:

Growth Trends: 

  • ATTRACTION PROJECTS: The IEDC, in partnership with local communities, secured 74 commitments from businesses in 2018 to establish new operations in Indiana. Of these, 16 were new companies committing to locate start-up operations in Indiana, planning to create 911 new jobs in the coming years. Fifty-eight were companies already established and headquartered elsewhere in the U.S. or around the world; together, they plan to invest $3.51 billion in Indiana and create up to 9,117 new jobs in Indiana – a 41 percent increase from 2017.

    Commitments include: Alliance Steel (Illinois-based, Lake County), Blue Dot Safes (California-based; Lake County), Daifuku Wynright (Illinois-based; Lake County), J & R Used Tire Service(Illinois-based; Vermillion County), Mobile Initiative (Kentucky-based; Clark County),  Rockwell Automation (Wisconsin-based; Boone County), Rural Sourcing (Georgia-based; Allen County), Sazerac (Louisiana-based; Floyd County), Terraboost Media (Florida-based, Marion County), and United Collection Bureau (Ohio-based; Clark County).

  • FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: Indiana is home to more than 950 foreign owned business establishments that together support 193,000 Hoosier jobs – a number that continues to grow. In 2018, 47 foreign owned businesses headquartered in 15 countries and territories committed to locating or growing in Indiana. Together, these firms plan to invest $3.2 billion in Indiana (+77% from 2017) and create up to 6,521 new jobs.

    Commitments include: dormakaba (Switzerland; Marion County), DS Smith (UK; Boone County), ElringKlinger (Germany; Allen County), Filtrec S.p.A. (Italy; Delaware County), Infosys (India; Marion County), Monosol (Japan; Boone County), NTN Driveshaft (Japan; Bartholomew County), Omen USA (Israel; Wayne County), RB (UK; Vanderburgh County), SalesPond(Australia; Marion County), SF Motors (China; St. Joseph County), SMC Corporation of America(Japan; Hamilton County), Solinftec (Brazil; Tippecanoe County), and Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (Sweden; Allen County).

  • AGBIOSCIENCES: In 2018, in partnership with local communities, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and AgriNovus Indiana, the IEDC secured 36 commitments (+89% from 2017) from agriculture and agbiosciences companies to locate or expand in Indiana. Together, these businesses plan to invest $923 million in the Hoosier state and create up to 2,713 new jobs (+28% from 2017) in Indiana.

    Commitments include: Circle City Kombucha (Marion County), EnviroKure (Wells County), Frito-Lay (Clinton County), golfo Di Napoli (Huntington County), Inari (Tippecanoe County), Niagara Bottling (Clark & Hendricks Counties), Pike Lumber (Fulton County), Premier BioSource (Jasper County), Solinftec (Tippecanoe County), SugarCreek (Wayne County), Tipton Mills Foods(Bartholomew County), and Verdure Sciences (Hamilton County).

  • MANUFACTURING: This year, 166 manufacturers committed to investing more than $5.7 billion to grow their operations here and create up to 14,143 new Hoosier jobs with average salaries above the state’s average wage. These job commitments, which account for 45 percent of the total 31,112 new jobs committed in 2018, represent growth plans across 53 counties and a number of manufacturing sub-sectors, such as automotive and RV, steel, food and beverage, hardwoods, and machinery.

    Commitments include: Aardvark Straws (Allen County), ATTC Manufacturing (Perry County), Berry Plastics (Vanderburgh County), Delta Faucet Company (Decatur County), Driven Innovations (Kosciusko County), FCC (Adams) (Adams County), Jasper Group (Orange County), Master Spas (Allen County), Oji Intertech (Wabash County), Satellite Industries (Elkhart County), Vanair (LaPorte County), and Winnebago of Indiana (Elkhart).

  • TECHNOLOGY: This year, 62 tech and tech-enabled firms committed to growing their operations in Indiana, planning to create up to 5,721 new jobs in the coming years. These 62 companies plan to offer an average wage of $38.35/hour, or more than $79,700 annually (up from $76,000 in 2017), for new positions.

    Commitments include: Cheetah Digital (Marion County), HighPoint Global (Marion County), Infosys (Marion County), Powderkeg (Marion County), Rural Sourcing (Allen County), Skyepack (Tippecanoe County), Socio (Marion County), and Ultimate Automation (Hamilton County).

  • SMALL BUSINESS: Along with these 31,112 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). So far this year, the Indiana SBDC has assisted in 308 new business starts and in the creation of 1,196 new jobs. Additionally, the Indiana PTAC registered 350 new clients and helped secure more than $80 million in government contracts that allowed businesses to grow and create 280 new jobs for Hoosiers.

IEDC incentives offered for these 320 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 $0.20/new payroll dollar committed in 2018.

Indiana’s business climate ranks first in the Midwest and fifth in the nation (Chief Executive, 2018), offering companies the tools they need to grow their businesses. As part of Gov. Holcomb’s 2019 Next Level Agenda, the state will continue to work to cultivate a strong and diverse economy by modernizing economic development tools to increase competitiveness, economic diversity and flexibility.