Fort Wayne Momentum Helped Seal Sweetwater Deal
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSweetwater founder Chuck Surack says Indiana had some competition when it came to landing the company’s $76.4 million expansion and more than 1,000 jobs. "Economically, the states of Nevada and California were pulling really hard and offered us quite a bit of incentives," said Surack, who adds Fort Wayne’s downtown revitalization helped keep the expansion at home. Sweetwater, which currently employs 1,300 in northeast Indiana, recruits from around the globe. "We have 48 states represented, seven different countries and they all Google Fort Wayne before they come there," said Surack. "It’s great that we really have a great quality of place, from the riverfront development we’re doing, our Landing, new hotels, it’s a whole new downtown for Fort Wayne."
In an interview on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Surack talked about the expansion and doing business in Indiana.
Surack was joined by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in making the expansion plan public October 2. Ground was broken the following day for a project that includes a 350,000 square foot warehouse complex and a conference center that will accommodate events for up to 1,000 people.
Surack says the more than 1,000 hires Sweetwater plans to make over the next five years go far beyond the warehouse and will include sales engineers, information technology, marketing and accounting positions.
Construction is expected to be complete by the summer of 2020.