Cook CEO: Goodwill Project Just Us Doing Business
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The president of Bloomington-based Cook Medical says as construction of the company’s manufacturing plant on the near northeast side of Indianapolis begins to wind down, residents in the economically challenged neighborhood will soon begin to see benefits. In a newly-issued report, Indiana University’s Public Policy Institute is estimating the Cook Medical manufacturing facility will have an economic impact of nearly $26 million annually once it is fully operational. Cook President Pete Yonkman says he hopes the PPI study offers a roadmap for other businesses to follow.
In in interview with Inside INdiana Business, Yonkman said the $15 million facility, in partnership with Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, is not about philanthropy.
“Philanthropy for us is we’re having to give dollars. We’re having to find people to volunteer. This is just us doing our business, and but doing it in an intentional way that says, ‘we’re going to do our core business, things we do every day, [but] we’re going to put those in a community that needs some help,’” said Yonkman.
The Bloomington-based medical device maker specifically chose the location at 38th Street and Sheridan Avenue because it was trying to improve the impoverished neighborhood.
Cook, Goodwill and other stakeholders asked the IU Public Policy Institute to provide concrete data to policy makers and other companies that could invest in impoverished neighborhoods about how this project could bring about change to residents.
“We brought in Indiana University in to help us provide that data in an academic scientific way and be able to demonstrate the real benefits in terms of numbers. It helps the policymakers and those sorts of things to understand how on a macro level, this is impacting the community,” said Yonkman. “We hope that the PPI study offers a roadmap for other businesses to follow.”
Cook says the project was constructed using 100% local and diverse vendors. It also intends to hire its 100 employees from the surrounding neighborhood, with the eventual plan to employ 200 Hoosiers. They will be employees of Goodwill Commercial Services.
Yonkman says the plant employees will not only earn a paycheck, but the facility will offer “holistic employee services,” such as mental and physical health support. It will also provide soft skills training and other services.
In its report, PPI dubs the relationship between Cook and the neighborhood partners as “unique,” calling out Cook’s interest not only in the success of the facility but in the success of the residents, with an emphasis on improving quality of life.
“It’s one thing for us to provide an opportunity to people. It’s another thing for somebody to take that step and say, ‘I’m going to be brave, and I’m going to I’m going to walk through that door,’’ said Yonkman. “And when you see it, they almost always say I’m doing it for my children. I want them to see the benefit of education, I want them to see the benefit of what having a job means. That’s the part that you just you want to do that over and over again.”
Yonkman says construction on the 40,000-square-foot plant is set to be complete the first week of February. Following another month of set-up, Yonkman expects product to be out the door in early March. Click here to learn more about the PPI report.
In a conversation with Inside INdiana Business reporter Wes Mills, Yonkman shares what the report reveals and what drives his passion for the project.