Development News From Southwest Indiana - Southern Indiana

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Chambers Partner to Launch Trip to China
Business groups in southern Indiana are planning a trip to China. The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana says it will be the first chamber trip from Indiana to the Asian nation. Groups from the Henderson area, Spencer and Warrick counties are expected to take part.

For even more information about the Chamber Trip to China, please visit www.ccswin.com or contact Laurel Meny, director of marketing, at 812.425.8147 or via e-mail at lmeny@ccswin.com.

Jasper Company Lands Defense Contract
InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report Jasper-based Krempp Lumber Co. has been awarded a defense contract worth more than $10 million. It is part of a previously awarded multiple
construction contract for an addition to the electronics/communications engineering complex at the Secured Electronic Warfare Systems Engine Facility at Naval Support Activity, Crane. The project is expected to be finished by February 2010.

Vincennes Based AME Group 100% Employee Owned
The AME Group, a Vincennes, Indiana-based IT consulting group, is now 100% owned by its employees. Earlier this week, owners Steve Burkhart, Vance Olson and Carl Koenig passed on the remaining shares of the business they founded more than 23 years ago to the employees of the company.

Since 1998, the company's shares have been continually distributed to the employees. After seeing the benefit of the ESOP over the last 9 years, Burkhart, Olson and Koenig decided to create a plan to sell their remaining shares, making The AME Group 100% employee owned. Earlier this year, the Board of Trustees began negotiations to have employees acquire the remaining shares. For further information visit www.theamegroup.com

Huntingburg Airport receives FAA Grant
HUNTINGBURG, IN – The Huntingburg Airport, owned and operated by the Dubois County Airport Authority (DCAA) received notice from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that a $574,500 grant requested to assist in resurfacing the county Airport has been approved. The FAA will pay for 95% of the project costs, with 2.5% to be paid by the Indiana Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation (INDOT) and 2.5% to be paid locally by the Dubois County Airport Authority.

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World's tallest water ride coming to Holiday World
SANTA CLAUS, Ind. — The world’s tallest water ride — the $4.3 million Pilgrim’s Plunge — is coming to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari next spring. The classic “shoot the chute” ride will use an open elevator to swiftly lift 10-passenger boats 135 feet in the air. The 15-foot-long boats will pause briefly and then rapidly descend a record 131 feet at a 45-degree angle, creating a wall of water splashing 45 feet high and 90 feet wide.

University Appoints Liaison With Incubator
A former general manager for Jasper-based Kimball International has been hired by the University of Southern Indiana (USI) to work with Evansville's business incubator. Gene Recker has been named a manager of education and entrepreneurial support at USI. His duties will include providing administrative, consulting and networking services for clients at Innovation Pointe.

Duke and American Electric Plan $1 Billion Power Transmission Investment
Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) and American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) have formed a joint venture to build and operate more than 200 miles of extra-high voltage transmission lines in Indiana. Pioneer Transmission LLC will link Duke's Greentown Station near Kokomo with AEP's Rockport Station near Evansville. The project has an estimated cost of $1 billion.

The project will expand extra-high-voltage transmission to
• Improve the reliability of the nation’s transmission grid
• Enhance the efficiency and reliability of the region’s transmission operators – Midwestern Independent System Operator (MISO) and PJM Interconnection (PJM)
• More efficiently link the region’s power plants and provide improved interconnections for new power plants in central Indiana, including the more than 3,000 megawatts of wind energy planned for the region.

Building more extra-high voltage 765-kV transmission lines in Indiana provides significant economic and environmental benefits. A 765-kV transmission line requires less land to carry more power than lower voltage lines.

Knox, Perry and Vanderburgh Counties have new "Shovel Ready" certification
The US Highway 41 Industrial Park in Vincennes, Tell City Industrial Park and the Vanderburgh Industrial Park have earned the title of 'shovel ready' paving the way for businesses to quickly locate new operations on property ready for development.

The sites joins other 'shovel ready' sites identified by the state since 2006 that have undergone extensive title work, proof of ownership, legal and environmental review and qualify for expedited permitting with state regulatory agencies.

"With more and more companies looking for sites where they can have a shovel in the ground as quickly as possible, this program gives Indiana an advantage when it comes to competing with other states for new investments and new jobs," said Nathan Feltman, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. "This is another vital tool in our economic development toolbox that will help give Indiana the edge when attracting new and promising investment to the state."

Designed to lower the cost of site development, improve efficiency of state permitting and enhance the marketability of sites statewide, the program has already begun to achieve success, said Brad Moore, shovel ready project manager for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Passed in the 2005 legislative session as part of Governor Daniels' jobs agenda, 'shovel ready' sites are certified by the state's Fast Access Site Team that consists of representatives from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Governor's Office, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana State Department of Health, Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Indiana State Department of Homeland Security.

Certified sites have been eligible for matching grants to assist with eligible costs associated with applying for the shovel ready program.

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Work Starts on New Duke $2.35 Billion Power Plant
Jim Rogers, Duke Energy's president and CEO, told Gov. Mitch Daniels and local officials that the 630-megawatt plant's technological innovations were akin to the United States' manned lunar program that beat the former Soviet Union to the moon in the 1960s.

"With this plant we're taking a giant leap for our country," he said.

Low-sulfur coals are currently being shipped in from other states to reduce air pollution at Indiana's power plants because much of the state's coal has a high sulfur content.

Daniels said the Duke Energy plant would boost southwestern Indiana's economy.

Unlike traditional coal-fired power plants that burn coal to produce electricity, coal gasification converts coal into a synthetic gas that's processed to remove pollutants such as mercury and sulfur.

That gas is then burned in a traditional turbine power plant to produce electricity.

Rockport Hoping to Land Natural Gas Project
The City of Rockport held a public meeting to inform residents about Indiana Gasification LLC's proposed gasification-to-substitute natural gas project. Lincolnland Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Tom Utter says the $2.1 billion project would create 150 permanent jobs and 1,000 construction-related jobs.

Indiana Gasification officials say the facility could produce enough substitute natural gas to save Indiana ratepayers $200 million per year. The facility would use clean-coal technology to gasify coal into substitute natural gas and provide it to participating Indiana natural gas utilities.

Indiana Gasification has not announced an official site.

BERRY PLASTICS TO ADD $27.9 MILLION IN EQUIPMENT
Berry plans to add equipment used to build food containers. It wants to hire 27 more workers by the time the project is finished and 60 or more within five years of the completion. They would make between $16.96 an hour and $26.50 an hour.

In 2007, about 1,200 employees worked at the Berry Plastics headquarters. Brent Beeler, the chief operating officer of the company, said the abatements Berry has received over the years have been essential to its growth in Evansville.

“With the other operations we have across North America, we have other options... outside Evansville,” he said.

Throughout the world, the company employs over 14,000 workers in about 70 factories.

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2008 REGIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT
Business and government leaders from Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky will convene in Evansville on November 20 and 21, 2008 to study the new economic model of future growth. The 2008 Regional Economic Summit will feature nationally-recognized business experts and economists who will discuss the current economic climate and realities facing a 26-county region, as well as outline the steps necessary for prosperity, wealth creation, and economic vitality in the 21st Century. For details, visit http://www.regionaleconomicsummit.com/

HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT BEING CONSIDERED FOR NEWBURGH LOCK & DAM
An Idaho-based company is exploring the idea of building a hydroelectric power generating facility using the Newburgh Lock and Dam.

The company, Symbiotics LLC, of Rigby, Idaho, is in the process of applying to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit that would allow it to officially study the project for up to three years.

VECTREN FLY ASH TO BE TURNED INTO CONCRETE
Fly ash produced at two power plants in Southwest Indiana will soon go into making concrete.
Vectren Corp. has agreed to provide Geocycle US with as much as 200,000 tons of the ash - a byproduct of burning coal - each year. The agreement will take effect in 2009 and last for the next decade.

The fly ash will come from Vectren's two power plants in Southwest Indiana: The A.B. Brown plant, in Posey County, and the F.B. Culley plant, near Newburgh.

MEAD JOHNSON UTILIZES LANDFILL METHANE
Decomposing waste in Laubscher Meadows Landfill generates enough methane gas to equal about 70,000 barrels of crude oil or 15,000 tons of coal each year.

Mead Johnson Nutritionals plans to use this gas from the landfill to replace most of the current natural gas consumption at its Evansville manufacturing facility.

"Today, we are taking another big step toward helping improve air quality in the Evansville area," said Mead Johnson President Steve Golsby on Tuesday.

He said the natural gas usage that will be eliminated by the project represents a shift from the use of fossil fuels to energy that comes from a renewable source. He said the company anticipates the landfill on North St. Joseph Avenue will provide enough gas to power the facility for at least 15 to 20 years.

RED SPOT SOLD TO JAPANESE FIRM
Fujichem Inc., is in the process of buying Red Spot Paint & Varnish Co. Inc., one of Evansville’s oldest manufacturers for $63.2 million. Red Spot will mark its 105th anniversary in December.
Fujichem is a subsidiary of Fujikura Kasei, which produces and sells derivative products of acrylic resins, similarly to Red Spot.

Both Red Spot and Fujikura, a Japanese company with which it has done business for 36 years, are global leaders in advanced coatings for plastics, and supply the automotive industry, including Toyota, and other industries.

Halling said the Red Spot name and the company’s Evansville headquarters, which include manufacturing, research, sales and administrative facilities, will be retained. He said all 345 Red Spot employees also will be retained.

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US 231 widening to continue this spring
The next phase of a project to expand travel lanes on US 231 in Spencer County will begin this spring as part of an $18 million contract reached this week, transportation officials announced this morning.

The work, part of Gov. Mitch Daniels' Major Moves statewide highway construction initiative, will continue expanding US 231 to a four-lane roadway from Indiana 162 in Gentryville to Indiana 62 in Dale and is scheduled to begin construction in the Spring.

VU to receive $365,000 in Federal Funding
VINCENNES, IND. – Vincennes University will receive $365,000 in federal funding to provide simulation-based training for heavy equipment operators in surface and underground mining. The funding was approved as part of the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations measure approved by both chambers of Congress in December.

VU President Dick Helton said the training program aims to address current and future Indiana labor shortages for trained miners. “The expansion of mining operations in the state combined with the expected retirement of experienced miners means that there are great employment opportunities in mining. This training will help ensure that Hoosiers acquire the skills needed to be a more productive and safer workplace. It is also an investment in Indiana energy,” Helton said.

Helton praised Indiana’s elected representatives for their support of including the training funds in the federal budget. “I am particularly grateful to U.S. Representative Brad Ellsworth, Senator Richard Lugar, and Senator Evan Bayh for their hard work on behalf of VU’s request. Area families and communities will greatly benefit from job skills acquired by Hoosiers thanks to this funding,” Helton said.

Ivy Tech settles on location for Gibson County expansion
Ivy Tech has chosen a location for the Gibson County expansion. The new center will be in a 12,000-square-foot building in the Gibson County Warehousing Inc. industrial park at 2431 S. Crabtree Drive in Princeton, Ind.

More than 250 of Ivy Tech's approximately 5,600 students at its Evansville campus are from Gibson County, said Dan Schenk, chancellor of Ivy Tech of Southwestern Indiana, when the center was announced last month.

The new facility is slated to be open by July and will employ a full-time director and at least one part-time support staff.

The facility will have the capacity to offer advanced manufacturing, computer application, health care and energy technology training, as well as continuing education, distance learning opportunities and a location for certification and employment testing.

Warrick County economic development chief hired
Larry Taylor, who recently retired as senior vice president of Accuride, has accepted the position as Warrick County Economic Development Director and said he is passionate about the county and the community.

Taylor said he is looking forward to promoting the county so more businesses will come to the area.
Taylor said there has already been a lot of groundwork done by the county in the area.

"It's an ideal time for anyone stepping into this," he said.

The first item on his agenda is developing a strategy for economic development.

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Jobs on the move in Dubois County
OFS Brands announced an $81 million expansion of its manufacturing operations in Huntingburg. The expansion will add more than 300 new jobs to the area economy.

State and local leaders helped the project along by providing some $2.7 million in incentives and tax credits. The incentives included $1.9 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $300,000 in job training grants from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. Meanwhile, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs will provide Huntingburg with a grant of up to $500,000 for off-site infrastructure improvements.

Land of Lincoln Ind. officials support Spencer County artist's depiction
Spencer County artist, Thomas Kennedy's montage depiction of Abraham Lincoln's life received a high-profile boost when it was unveiled in Indianapolis.

Suellen Reed, state superintendent of public instruction, will present a canvas print of Thomas Kennedy's painting in her capitol office at 1:15 p.m. EST as part of a literacy campaign promoting reading about the 16th president.

Kennedy, who has given oversized prints and reproductions of the montage to Reed and Gov. Mitch Daniels, attended the event along with an entourage of supporters bused to Indianapolis from Spencer County.

The showcase is more than just a "thanks" for the gift, however.

It was a first public showing in a campaign to put Kennedy's painting in Indiana classrooms, and to make it an official image for the state and national commissions planning celebrations of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2009.

Reed has said she would like to see less expensive lithographs of the painting, a collection of scenes from Lincoln's life, go up in every school across Indiana.

She sees it as an eloquent biography presented without pages of text.

Reed intends to work with Connie Nass, executive director of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, to push for the art to be adopted by both the state and national commissions.

"It just tells the whole life story of Abraham Lincoln in pictures," Nass said.

For a look at the i mage, or more information on Thomas Kennedy, visit www.thomaskennedyart.com

Artist Thomas Kennedy, of Rockport, designed and painted the ornament for Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial following suggestions from the park with four vignettes of the Lincoln story in Indiana. The four vignettes are: the Lincoln cabin, the Indiana sculpture from the Memorial Building, the tombstone from Nancy Hanks Lincoln’s grave, and a youthful Abraham Lincoln.

Kennedy attended the reception for the artists on Nov. 28 at the White House

US Highway 231 is on the Fast Track
Spencer County has an agressive approach to economic development and is becoming even more accessible to businesses looking for a prime location.

The State of Indiana is "fast tracking" the improvements to US Highway 231 as a super connector. Following is a brief outline of the updated completion schedule.

• U.S. 231 in Spencer and Dubois County, $46.7 million.
• Estimated completion: fall 2007.

• Scope: New interchange at U.S. 231 and SR 62, new pavement from SR 62 to CR 2050N, new bridges and ramps at interchange.

Port's directors approve site-use plans
TELLCITY, IN - The board of directors for the Perry County Port Authority approved a resolution and memorandum of understanding concerning the move of a boat-building company into the former Maxon Marine site they occupy.

The memorandum of understanding was drafted by Tell City officials and defines the space the port-rail agency will continue to occupy and on which part of the property along Boundary Way, south of Gutenberg Street in Tell City, the company will set up its operation.

In recent weeks, owners of Corn Island Ship Yard have worked toward opening their own boat-building firm there. That company plans to build a variety of boat types.

The company plans to rebuild a dock at the port to accommodate a 250-foot crane and will replace a pig-iron storage pad.

The company's move into the site will not result in any costs for the port authority.

The plant will be designed for expansion up to 200 million gallons from its present design capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol per year. Its initial operating phase, scheduled for groundbreaking near Rockport, Indiana this summer, will achieve full operating capacity within 24 months.

Lincolnland Economic Development Corp., Spencer County's economic development organization, recruited the Biofuels project in response to the county's strategic development plan for value-added agricultural processes.

New Inter-modal Port Announced for Spencer County Indiana
Spencer County, Ind., officials announced plans for a new river port predicting it will be among the best-positioned facilities on the nation's inland waterway system between Pittsburgh and St. Louis. 

Plans for the port, to be part of an industrial park and logistics center on the riverfront in Rockport, were revealed at the Lincolnland Annual Meeting in Rockport. I & M President and Chief Operating Officer, Helen Murray said that I & M will transfer about 600 acres of property along the Ohio River near Rockport to MidAmerica Terminals to construct an intermodal operation that will be open to agriculture, steel, furniture manufacturers and mining sectors. 

Construction is expected to start this summer. Lincolnland Economic Development Corp. and MidAmerica Terminals, in  cooperation with Spencer County government, say they are already negotiating more than $160 Million in additional new investment into the river port.

Over 600 turnout to lend support for Duke Energy's $2 billion Knox County project
BICKNELL - Over 600 supporters of Duke Energy's planned coal-gasification power plant attended a public hearing at North Knox High School

There was no sign of opposition to the Charlotte, N.C.-based company's plans to build the state-of-the-art plant at Edwardsport, and the hearing conducted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management ended around 7:30 p.m., easily two and a half hours earlier than IDEM officials had expected.

Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protogere has said the plant is expected to boost Duke Energy customers' rates an average of about 16 percent by about 2012.

She said that could rise higher, however, if the utility installs equipment to remove some of the plant's carbon dioxide emissions.

Evansville's Berry Plastics buys Canadian plastic company
Berry Plastics Corp. announced that it has bought the outstanding stock of a Canadian plastics company.

Berry Plastics, which has its headquarters in Evansville, has purchased 100 percent of the available stock of MAC Closures.

MAC Closures makes plastic caps used by companies that produce pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, personal care products and industrial chemicals, among other things.

Ira Boots, Chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics Corporation, stated "The acquisition of MAC Closures is a continuation of Berry's strategic plan to expand our North American position by combining with industry leading companies to provide a full product offering of plastic packaging to our customers."

Berry Plastics has 56 factories throughout the world and employees around 12,700 people.

2008 start eyed for I-69
The federal court decision that cleared a hurdle for building Interstate 69 in Southwestern Indiana also removed an obstacle for the roadway's extension through suburban Indianapolis.

With the court ruling, the DOT now remains on schedule to break ground on the 13-mile-long first section from Evansville to Oakland City, Ind., in late summer or early fall 2008, said DOT spokesman Andy Dietrick. Before that, officials anticipate the Federal Highway Administration will issue its "Record of Decision," which is expected any day. It essentially will be the final regulatory hurdle to allowing federal funds to be used on the project.

Some of the proceeds from the $3.85 billion Major Moves lease of the Indiana toll road in 2006 have been allocated to fund construction of I-69 from Evansville as far north as the Crane warfare center.

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Evansville's AT&T call center surpasses intitial employment expectations
The number of employees hired to work at a new AT&T call center has exceeded the original expectation, the president of the company's Indiana division announced.

George Fleetwood, president of AT&T Indiana, told members of the Evansville Rotary Club that about 600 people are now answering questions about service matters at the call center.

AT&T opened the center in a Vogel Road building that formerly contained a Sam's Club. In an announcement made in April, AT&T officials had said about 570 employees would work at the center, making about $20,000 a year and getting fringe benefits.

Now it seems possible that even more than 600 will be added, Fleetwood said.

Alcoa's new production facility will bring 50 new jobs to Warrick County
Alcoa Warrick Operations dedicated a new Lithographic Cleaning Line, celebrating the creation of 50 new jobs at the plant, an additional $47 million to the local tax base, and a diversification of products.

Installation of the Lithographic Cleaning Line (Litho Line) started early in 2007 with equipment and installation costs totaling $47 million. The line is designed specifically to clean, level, and trim lithographic sheet that is used in the high end printing market for products including magazines, periodicals, brochures, and newspaper inserts. Alcoa customers for litho sheet include Kodak, Fuji, AGFA, Anocoil, and others.

Evansville-base CMC signs agreement with Texas bank
Evansville-based CMC (Card Management Corp.), a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, has signed a card servicing and processing agreement with Woodforest National Bank of Woodlands, Texas, outside of Houston.

Under the agreement, CMC - a line of business within Fifth Third Processing Solutions - will process credit cards, debit cards, store-value cards, plus provide other operational support services and processing for Woodforest operations, which has locations in Wal-Mart Supercenters .

CMC's processing and operational support includes a data entry for a Discover Network-branded credit card that is issued by Woodforest, said Thornbury.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions purchased CMC in January 2006. The solutions organization is a division of Fifth Third Bancorp.

Intermodal study for Southwest Indiana still on track
PRINCETON- Gibson County and other area leaders are examining a Southwest Indiana intermodal freight terminal's feasibility. Todd Mosby said Gibson County is working together with representatives of water port projects in Spencer County and Evansville to get grant money to pursue the concept.

The chamber spearheaded a 2005 feasibility study with a $147,000 state grant, learning that there's a demand for a new intermodal freight terminal in this area if a delicate combination of users and investment is achieved.

That study evaluated market demand for a freight terminal, transportation infrastructure, potential sites and proposed a business case for the project.

The study suggested a model project involving 80 to 120 acres of track, storage and parking, implemented in $15 million and $26 million investment phases.

Consultants presented the study in September 2006, reporting there's potential for long-term profit, if the right combination of capital and ownership is attained.

Consultants further recommended the county pursue forming a freight advisory council which could include agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, distribution and logistics providers to work on the project.

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