Rosenberg: Statewide business growth ‘critical’ to Indiana’s success
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana’s new secretary of commerce says in order to continue the state’s economic development momentum, spreading such deals around the state is “absolutely critical.”
David Rosenberg was appointed to the post last month after Brad Chambers’ two-year contract expired. He served as chief operations officer for the IEDC since Chambers began his tenure in 2021, and said his experience over the last two years will be a big benefit for him.
“Joining when when Brad Chambers was secretary over two years ago, implementing the 5E strategy, building and growing the IEDC team, the market has responded to that strategy and what the teams offered,” he said. “And so I think right now, the opportunity that the Indiana has over the next 16 months is really unlimited.”
Rosenberg said he plans to continue the state’s focus on the 5E plan, which stands for Environment, Economy of the Future, Entrepreneurship, Energy Transition, and External Engagement.
“As we look at the economy of the future, Indiana ranked the number one place to start a business. We’ve had over $33 billion of cap-ex in just the last six quarters. That’s a figure that normally would have taken six years to achieve, but we’ve been able to do it in six quarters. And those jobs bring higher average wages.”
Indiana saw $22.2 billion in economic development deals in 2022, which was the sixth consecutive year of record investment. Rosenberg said he believes the state can and will continue that momentum.
“I think our overall pipeline is right around $100 billion, and that’s not just wishful projects; these are projects that are in some stage of development that either the companies have come visited or are negotiating PSAs. We’ve had active conversations with them. And so these are projects that are that are moving, that are active, We’ll continue to see that historic investment in the state.”
And it’s the statewide nature of the projects that Rosenberg said are critical to Indiana’s growth.
Recent projects include the $2.5 billion EV battery plant in Kokomo from Stellantis and Samsung SDI, the $3 billion EV battery plant in Kokomo from General Motors and Samsung SDI, as well as the $1.5 billion manufacturing campus from Entek in Terre Haute, for which ground was broken last week.
Rosenberg said he wants all 92 counties to be successful, and the potential in Indiana is great, particularly over the next 16 months.
“I think Indiana, we’re punching above our weight class, and there’s more that we can do,” he said. “And why not us? I mean, we have the talent, we have the educational institutions, we have the community, we have global leaders and global businesses. So we’re really excited what we can do in the next 16 months to attract more than our fair share, and make sure Indiana is set on trajectory over the next 2030 years to be the place to do business.”