INDIANA SPOTLIGHT
|
Hoosier State Homegrowns Contribute to Big Numbers
Among the large- scale projects announced in Indiana in 2006: • IBM announced a 1,000- person back- office project at a yet- to- be- named location. The accoutrements are almost as attractive: IBM will double capacity of a supercomputer owned by Indiana and Purdue universities, start a technology design center at IUPUI and donate 400 hours of economic development consulting to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. Meanwhile, Gov. Mitch Daniels, pending public hearings on the subject, favors awarding a major contract to an IBM- led coalition that would privatize welfare- support services and decision- making. • One week after the IBM announcement, a similar two- way street was being paved: Pharmacy and managed care Medicaid firm WellPoint Inc. announced it would create 1,200 new jobs in Indianapolis through the relocation of its PrecisionRx Specialty Solutions operations from Mason, Ohio, to the former Indianapolis Maintenance Center of United Airlines at Indianapolis International Airport. The move comes as the firm continues to expand its Medicaid services operations in Indiana to provide health care benefits to enrollees in the state's managed care program. "Not only are we celebrating the tremendous expansion of a homegrown, industry- leading company and ushering in 1,200 new, good paying jobs," said Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. "We're further strengthening our life sciences sector and establishing another great reuse for the former United facility." In December, an 11- year lease was signed by WellPoint for 117,500 sq. ft. (10,916 sq. m.), which will be home to a national call center as well as order fulfillment space. • In mid- October, medical device capital Warsaw welcomed still more capital to its cluster from a homegrown firm: Biomet Inc. executives chose the community over a competing site in New Jersey for a $21- million two- phase expansion and the creation of approximately 260 life science jobs. "The commitment and cooperation from both the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Kosciusko County, the low cost of doing business in Indiana and the high- quality and dedicated work force made Indiana the best location for this expansion," said Daniel P. Hann, interim Biomet president and CEO. • The state's logistics sector shows no sign of slowing the project pipeline. The year 2006 saw projects from, among others, Dick's Sporting Goods in Plainfield ($35 million, doubling of space, at least 90 new jobs). The SYSCO Corp. project in the Starke County city of Hamlet will create 500 new jobs with the building of a 700,000- sq.- ft. (65,030- sq.- m.) redistribution center on a 320- acre (130- hectare) site, which won out over sites in Illinois and Michigan. The redistribution center is the third site location of as many as nine planned facilities throughout the United States as part of SYSCO's Supply Chain Initiative project. The first one began shipping products in February 2005 from Front Royal, Va., to 14 of SYSCO's broad line distribution companies in the Northeast Region. The Hamlet facility will also serve 14 broad line facilities, located in nine states. "The site is strategically located for redistribution activities, is a product of sound public planning and utility infrastructure, and provides ready access to three Interstate highways and railroad systems," said Kenneth J. Spitler, executive vice president of SYSCO and president of North American foodservice operations, at the February 2006 announcement. |
