City, Talent Attract Fort Wayne Metals Expansion

(photo courtesy Fort Wayne Metals)

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A key executive at Fort Wayne Metals says the city’s ongoing downtown investment and increasing ability to compete for talent makes it a great place to operate and grow. The company announced this week it is investing $50 million in its Allen County operations, creating more than 330 jobs, and Senior Director of Human Capital Evan Wood says the city is creating a culture that is critical to attracting young talent.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Wood said Fort Wayne’s efforts are allowing the company to compete with other businesses on the coasts. "Fort Wayne, downtown, what they’re doing around the river, is starting to provide for those aspects that the workforce is looking for and I think (that) is significant for us to be able to retain that Indiana-grown talent in an area like Fort Wayne."

Wood credits the state’s education climate for creating that talent.

"We are blessed to have the educational resources from the K-12 through to the universities with the major universities that we have, but even a lot of the smaller, private universities," Wood said. "The state (has) phenomenal educational outlets that have produced talent that then we’re able to invest in further and develop and give them a specialized knowledge." 

Wood says, even though unemployment is low in Indiana, he doesn’t anticipate any difficulty in filling the jobs expected to be created through the company’s expansion. He says they’re looking for people that are willing and able to learn and the company will then train and develop them to provide the specific knowledge needed for the jobs.

The company’s expansion project includes an addition to its corporate office and a new building. Construction is expected to begin later this year.