Month: February 2019

Radius Indiana Economic Development Course Returns to French Lick

BEDFORD, Ind. (Feb. 25, 2019) – Radius Indiana released the list of speakers for its third regional Economic Development for Community Leadership Program being held March 26-28, 2019 at the French Lick Resort.

The sessions include economic development experts, marketing consultants, and legal advisors. Speakers and sessions include:

  • Introduction to Economic Development with Jim Plump, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation;
  • Real Estate/Site Development with Chelsey Manns, Manns Consulting;
  • Business Finance & Incentives with Matt Eckerle, Umbaugh and Associates;
  • Business Retention & Expansion with Jason Hester, Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation;
  • Local Government Finance with Dr. Larry DeBoer, Purdue University, College of Agriculture;
  • Rural Housing with Matt Rueff, RATIO Architects;
  • Strategic Planning and Community Relations/Collaboration with Wendy Dant Chesser, One Southern Indiana.

“Continuing to provide regional economic leadership and education into 2019 is a major objective for Radius and we are pleased to once again host this event,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “This year’s group of speakers is very well-rounded in the economic development field and I can’t wait to hear what the attendees take away from this year’s course.”

Registration for the Radius Indiana Economic Development for Community Leadership Program, which takes place March 26, 27 and 28, is available at www.radiusindiana.com. Registration for leaders in the Radius eight-county region is $450, and $475 for those who live outside the region. Radius expects the course to reach capacity in the coming weeks, so early registration is recommended.

Local Economic Development Organizations, elected officials and community leaders interested in attending are encouraged to contact the Radius Indiana office soon to learn more about scholarship opportunities in their area.

###

ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

Radius Indiana Completes First Regional Wage and Benefits Study

BEDFORD, Ind. (Feb. 12, 2019)–A comprehensive survey of businesses in southwestern Indiana reveals positive news about the labor market in the region.  Radius Indiana’s regional survey of wages and benefits showed that 71 percent of companies in a 15-county region expect to add workers in the next year, while only 5 percent anticipate potential layoffs.  

Employers also anticipate increases in labor costs; 94 percent indicated that they expected to deliver pay increases in the following twelve months. And the employers reported that they added a median average of more than five new employees in the preceding six months, they averaged zero layoffs in the same period.

Radius carried out the survey of 76 companies in September and October of 2018, gathering information on wages and benefits for 14,640 employees in 63 occupational categories. No employee names or other personal information was reported to Radius in the production of the report.

Information gathered is intended to help the local companies that participated in the survey have up-to-date, real-world information about the labor market, to help them best hone their competitive compensation packages. The companies that responded to the survey were heavily, but not exclusively, representative of the manufacturing sector.

A sampling of 17 common positions that were covered by the survey showed that in the Radius region, 10 of the positions received lower mean salaries than the state and the national averages, while in five categories, the Radius mean salary was between the state and national averages, and in two cases, the Radius regional mean salary was above both the state and the national averages.

“Information from the wage and benefits survey allows us to better understand how local companies are positioned in the labor market. It is imperative that we stay up to date regarding compensation trends and, most importantly, use this data to be more impactful in economic development decisions,” said Shance Sizemore, CEO of the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council.

Radius average salaries for positions like Human Resource Manager and Plant Manager were below state and national averages.  Office managers and forklift operators were between the state and federal levels in the Radius region, while IT/Technical Support employees earn a higher median salary in the Radius region than the state and national averages.

“Radius appreciated the opportunity to work with the Southwest Indiana Development Commission on this survey, and we also worked on behalf of our partner organization, Regional Opportunity Initiatives, to develop a comprehensive and valuable tool for our part of the state,” Radius CEO Jeff Quyle reported.  “We want to help our local economic development organizations prove their value to their local business communities by helping to carry out a collaborative project such as this. It’s a part of our region’s culture for us to want to work with one another.”   

###

ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

Radius Indiana Takes the Region to Indianapolis Site Selectors

BEDFORD, Ind. (Feb. 4, 2019) — Radius Indiana economic development leaders took information and insights about their southern Indiana region north for a day as hosts of an educational session in Indianapolis with eight site selectors. The session is the first of 2019 and part of Radius’s continued outreach program to raise awareness about the business strengths and opportunities in the eight-county region.

Radius President Jeff Quyle, other Radius staff members, and six economic development leaders from Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Lawrence, Orange, and Martin counties joined Quyle to discuss the latest news about the regional economy.

“Site selector events such as this are a great opportunity to sit down, network, and learn from others in the industry,” said Bryant Niehoff, the newly appointed Executive Director of Daviess Economic Development Corporation. “These opportunities are invaluable in marketing each of our communities, and I’m looking forward to attending events like this in the future.”

The leaders from southern Indiana gave informative presentations to business advisors to showcase their communities, as well as the demographics and the quality of the workforce that powers the existing businesses in the eight counties.

“Personal relationships are key in this industry, and being able to meet people from the region face-to-face matters as I meet with companies looking for new locations,” Tim Conrad, President of Stimulus Economic Development Advisors said. “It’s great to hear about recent developments that are in the line of interest of clients, like the available shell-spec building in Washington in Daviess County. Learning about different projects at events like this really helps me continue to be successful in my work.”

This is the third annual Indianapolis site selector event and is the latest in a series of regional and national visits Radius Indiana has facilitated on behalf of the eight-county region since starting this program in 2016. The outreach efforts will continue into 2019, with sessions scheduled in Columbus, Chicago, Cleveland and Atlanta.

“Meeting with site selectors continues to be an important part of our outreach program for Radius,” Quyle said. “Being able to showcase our top industries and initiatives that are important to our counties helps spread awareness and educate a larger audience about our region.”  

Quyle added, “We were able to provide local information that otherwise flies below the radar, regarding our regional work on site certification and marketing, a new wage and benefits survey, a possible “Quick Start” workforce training program and the work of our Regional Opportunity Initiatives partners.

###


ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.