Conco expansion highlights growth in southern Indiana
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The vice president of economic development at One Southern Indiana says the recent announcement of Louisville-based manufacturer Conco’s $71.4 million expansion of its facility in Scottsburg brings an air of excitement in the region.
The company, which manufactures ammunition containers for the U.S. military, plans to add 150,000 square feet of space to its facility and add 175 jobs.
John Launius says the project is an example of the work being put in by smaller communities, especially in southern Indiana.
“I think there’s something special about some of the smaller communities that are having their time and getting a degree of interest and looks and affirmation of what they’ve been doing and building towards,” Launius said. “This is just a strong indicator that Scott County, Scottsburg, and our entire region, are kind of reaping the rewards of some of the work that’s been done over the years.”
Launius said efforts such as beautification, creating gateway districts into the community, and investing in residential housing are key to attracting businesses to the area.
“The communities have really embraced some of the the neighborhood development that’s happening,” he said. “They’re investing in their neighborhood parks, and those things are really what are driving economic development wins now, and obviously that fits into a larger value proposition that southern Indiana and greater Louisville really has to offer.”
Conco’s expansion comes just over a year after the company said it would invest nearly $55 million to purchase, upgrade and equip the former Tokusen USA facility in Scottsburg and create up to 175 jobs by the end of 2026.
Launius said the workforce is there, and the region’s efforts toward housing, again, provides benefits.
“I sometimes drive that point home by recognizing that every morning you have 50,000 people that wake up and work in a state that they don’t live in,” he said. “So that really kind of draws to bear the opportunity that we have to really leverage our bi-state region because of historical development.”
The Conco expansion is slated to be complete in 2026. Launius said the project builds on continued growth in southern Indiana.
“Over the past 18 to 20 months, we’ve just been ecstatic to announce right at $2.5 billion worth of capital investment into our market,” he said. “That is not in just one singular community or municipality; that actually represents nine different municipalities and nearly 4,000 jobs that are either online or will be coming online in the coming years. So it’s really an exciting time.”