IEDC: ‘Record-Breaking’ Year for Economic Development
(photo courtesy: Amazon.com)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Economic Development Corp. has released its 2020 scorecard for business development in the state. Despite the economic upheaval from the pandemic, the Hoosier State had what the IEDC calls a “record-breaking” year.
The agency says it secured 282 commitments from companies to locate or grow in Indiana. The businesses say they plan to invest more than $5.6 billion in their Indiana operations and create up to 31,300 new Hoosier jobs over the next few years.
“Despite being an incredibly challenging year for Hoosier businesses in many different ways, I’m extremely encouraged and inspired by the perseverance of our business community,” said Governor Eric Holcomb. “Achieving another record-breaking year for economic development in 2020 shows us that Indiana is on the right track and that better times are ahead for Hoosiers.”
The IEDC says it secured commitments from 78 businesses last year to establish new operations in Indiana. Thirteen of those were new companies that plan to create startup businesses. The other 65 are established companies, headquartered elsewhere, but plan to invest $2.7 billion and create nearly 14,500 new jobs.
The IEDC says the job creation in 2020 is a 58% jump from 2019. The state says 13% of the new jobs stem from foreign direct investment.
IEDC says there were jobs announcements in a cross-section of industries, including aerospace & defense, life sciences, manufacturing, and technology.
Businesses announcing the largest growth commitments, based on the number of new jobs or capital investment planned, in 2020 were:
- Amazon.com Services LLC (800 committed jobs in Hancock County),
- Barletta Boat Company (250 committed jobs in Elkhart County),
- Corsicana Mattress Company (350 committed jobs in LaPorte County),
- Elanco Animal Health Inc. (537 committed jobs in Marion County; 1,600+ jobs retained statewide),
- Electric Last Mile Inc. (960 committed jobs; $300 million investment in St. Joseph County),
- Forest River (369 total committed jobs in DeKalb and LaGrange counties),
- INCOG BioPharma Services (150 committed jobs in Hamilton County),
- Inteva Products (400+ committed jobs in Wells County),
- Milwaukee Tool (450 committed jobs in Johnson County),
- Mission Foods (544 committed jobs in Hendricks County),
- NewCold (202 committed jobs in Boone County),
- Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. (350 committed jobs in Tippecanoe County), and
- Walmart (1,000 committed jobs; $600 million investment in Hancock County).