Development News From Southwest Indiana - Southern Indiana

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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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