State Details ‘Historic’ Economic Development Year
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWith more than a month left to go, Governor Eric Holcomb says Indiana is on its way to a record economic development year in 2017. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the state has secured 270 commitments from businesses planning to create nearly 29,000 jobs, the best numbers since the IEDC was established in 2005. The state says the average wage of the planned new jobs is more than 27 percent higher than the state average, also representing a record.
The IEDC says the 28,846 new committed positions have an average hourly rate of $27.38, or $57,000 per year. That tops the state’s average wage of $21.52 per hour.
The largest announcements this year include:
- India-based Infosys (NYSE: INFY), which is planning to create up to 2,000 jobs at a tech and innovation hub in Indianapolis
- UPS (NYSE: UPS), which says it will invest more than $260 million into a new hub in Plainfield and create nearly 580 jobs
- India-based engineering company AXISCADES, which will bring its North American headquarters to Indiana and create up to 500 jobs
- Illinois-based HMD Trucking Inc. announcing plans to relocate to Gary and create up to 500 jobs
- China-based BeijingWest Industries Co. Ltd. investing more than $80 million to launch a Greenfield operation and creating up to 441 jobs
- The parent of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc. investing $600 million in its Princeton plant and planning 400 new jobs
- Elkhart-based Forest River Manufacturing LLC announcing a $6.7 million expansion, with plans to add up to 425 jobs
- Indianapolis-based Knowledge Services planning to add 400 jobs over the next to years
- Carmel-based KAR Auction Services Inc. (NYSE: KAR) announcing a headquarters expansion, expected to create 400 jobs
The IEDC says Indiana’s traditional strengths continue to perform well, with manufacturing companies planning more than $5 billion in investment and over 10,000 new jobs and logistics companies committing to more than $343 million in investment and over 2,800 jobs. The state’s technology industry also continues to grow, with 58 commitments from tech and tech-enabled firms accounting for nearly 7,000 planned new jobs.
The state is also reporting strong numbers in international investment (34 companies planning to invest more than $1 billion and create up to 5,230 jobs) and small business investment (222 new business starts and 687 new jobs).