SEP: Location Key to Choosing Westfield for HQ
rendering of SEP's new Corporate HQ in Westfield (photo courtesy of SEP)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowBy this fall, Software Engineering Professionals plans to break ground on a $25 million, 70,000-square-foot headquarters on the north side of Westfield. Currently based in Carmel, the software development firm says it needs additional space.
Westfield offered a 20-acre piece of green space that caught the attention of the company.
“Our culture is so important to us…most important to us, which is why we seek out special locations and amenities,” said Traci Dossett, SEP chief operating officer. “It’s a beautiful site, a wooded area, a wetland. It’s just so unique.”
SEP says the new facility will allow it to more than double its central Indiana footprint. The company also plans to add up to 65 new jobs by the end of 2025. It currently employs about 140. Dossett says the expansion will allow for up to 300 employees.
According to the company, the average annual salary is $87,000.
“SEP is the kind of company that Westfield is trying to attract,” said Mayor Andy Cook. “It brings a workforce and wage that is desirable to any community. I am equally as excited about the ‘intangibles.’ The innovation this team will bring to our community is unrivaled.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered SEP up to $1.1 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans.
Cook said SEP plans to formally announce its intention to locate in Westfield to the Westfield City Council on June 8. He says the council could consider additional incentives.
“SEP is ready to build our forever home, which is why we’ll be a 50/50 partner and owner with Pure Development to develop this special campus,” said SEP President and Chief Executive Officer Raman Ohri.
SEP was named in February as a Best Place to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, an honor it has received for nine consecutive years.
“When we find good people and we bring them in, they like to stay,” said Dossett. “Which just speaks to our culture and how we do things.”
The company also credits Indiana for having an abundance of tech-focused schools in which to draw talent. It says about 90% of its graduates come from schools in the state, such as Purdue University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
“We love being able to keep Hoosier students here in the state. You hear about the brain drain and going to the coast,” said Dossett. “We try to engage with our local universities because they really are some of the best of the best and we get great candidates.”
SEP says construction is expected to begin in September and plans to complete the project by the end of 2021.
SEP Chief Operating Officer Traci Dossett shares the company’s view of employee retention.
Dossett explains how SEP is trying to keep Indiana-educated students in the Hoosier State.