Month: March 2019

Crawford County Receives Indiana Site Certified Silver Designation

LEAVENWORTH, Ind. (March 15, 2019) – A 96-acre industrial park in Crawford County, Indiana is bidding to expand the Louisville business construction site market to the west along the I-64 corridor.

Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs joined officials from the Crawford County Economic Development Corporation yesterday to announce an Indiana Site Certified Silver designation to the Crawford County Industrial Park. Owned by the Crawford County Redevelopment Commission, the property has all utilities installed and could be used for business services, general/light manufacturing, transportation, distribution and logistics.

This certification is the first for a site in Crawford County, and one of five in the immediate surrounding areas. The 96-acre site is in Leavenworth, and is located adjacent to I-64, a 35-minute drive from Louisville across the untolled Ohio River bridge.

Indiana’s Silver tier of business development site defines boundaries with a clear title, establishes a fixed maximum price, documents utility capacity available at the site, demonstrates executive level local government support, and provides documentation such as Phase I environmental assessment, ALTA, topographical, and property layout.

The Certification process entails a rigorous review of the infrastructure and preparedness of the site which makes it “ready to go”.  If a company should want to locate there, Crawford County Economic Development can accommodate the company faster with the pre-work planning already complete, letting businesses start construction and begin their operations with less time and expense.

Mike Thissen, executive director of Crawford County Economic Development, looks at the certification as a much-needed boost for the county and allows him and his staff to be able to market the park effectively and with purpose.

“It has been a rewarding process to position our community for growth and this certification will assist in becoming an attractive place for business development and expansion,” said Thissen. “We are strategically positioned just 35 minutes away from the Louisville Metro workforce and the UPS Worldport. We are going to be able to leverage our certified shovel-ready park to attract businesses who can capitalize on the region as we are really the Southern Gateway to the heart of Indiana. We are grateful to our State and Regional partners for their support.”

 

Radius Indiana Unifies Region with New Tourism Initiative

BEDFORD, Ind. (March 13, 2019) — After a year-long effort, Radius Indiana has unveiled its new tourism initiative: ‘Discover Southern Indiana’. The region-wide tourism drive is the first of its kind for the area and gives an identity to the opportunities the Radius region has to offer to its visitors.

Tourists looking to visit the Radius region will soon be able to visit the ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ website, a one-stop shop for all and any resources they may need to plan a trip to the region. From luxurious accommodations to outdoor recreational adventures, the region has vacation activities for people of all ages.

Unifying the tourism initiative across the region allows community leaders and tourism businesses to cost-share practices to more effectively implement the branding because multiple counties are likely to be visited by a single visitor. The communities recognize the need to work together to invite travelers to the Radius region.

According to Rockport Analytics, tourism is one of the leading industries in the Radius region, accounting for $290.4 million in tourism spending and providing 3,930 jobs in 2017. With such a level of economic impact on the region, tourism serves as a large economic driver for jobs and quality of place initiatives.

Radius Indiana worked with Duane Knapp of BrandStrategy, Inc. to develop The Promise for Southern Indiana, the branding for this initiative. Through visitor surveys, Knapp examined how travelers compared Southern Indiana to several other regions throughout the midwest, as well as how they viewed the Radius region itself. Based on the results, Knapp and the Tourism Strategy Team were able to deliver The Promise:

Delightful discoveries in Southern Indiana

Charming down-home feel, natural explorations, one-of-a-kind resort experiences

Your pleasant surprises await

Radius’ Director of Tourism and Quality of Place Blaine Parker led a team of 10 committee members to create a unified tourism effort for the Radius region. The committee is made up of members of the region’s eight counties, the French Lick Resort, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The Tourism Strategy Team met throughout 2018 to bring the idea of a region-wide joint tourism venture to life.

“Duane did an excellent job leading us through the process,” said Kevin Manley, Dubois County Visitors Center and Tourism Commission Executive Director. “We are very excited about our Brand and Brand Promise and look forward to rolling it out in our region.”

Parker plans to meet with tourism businesses from the Radius counties this spring to hold teaching sessions on how to implement ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ in their marketing efforts, as well as distribute learning guides. Parker hopes to have the new logo unveiled in communities throughout the region by summer 2019.

“This initiative was grassroots driven with the team being heavily involved in every step of the decision-making, from the consultant and the Promise, to the logo and taglines,” said Parker. “It would not have been possible without this team.”

To learn more about ‘Discover Southern Indiana’, visit www.discoversouthernindiana.com.

 

Radius Indiana Releases Update to Manufacturing Index

BEDFORD, Ind. (March 12, 2019) – Radius Indiana released a quarterly update today to its Radius Manufacturing Index (RMI). The new index showed continued growth in the eight-county region, powered by an increase in manufacturing employment in the region to a level of more than 21,000 jobs out of a total regional workforce of over 91,000.

RMI was developed by Radius Indiana and gives the organization an analytic tool that monitors several facets to gauge the strength of the manufacturing industry in the region, and provides cumulative information about 12 data indicators of the manufacturing sector.

This first quarter 2019 RMI update reflects data from first quarter 2018 and shows how the region is performing in comparison to the state of Indiana. The raw number of the RMI is 57.97 for the quarter, which represents the total scores of the 12 factors included in the index. The overall state index saw a score of 57.92.

According to the report, the number of manufacturing establishments, as well as total business establishments in the Radius region, grew during the quarter.  For the region, the average manufacturing wage reflected a higher wage than the previous quarter, rising from $46,051 to $46,370.

The positive portrayal of manufacturing strength in the region corroborated the findings in the 2018 Wage and Benefit Survey of businesses in the Radius region and surrounding counties.  In that survey, a manufacturing-heavy sample of businesses self-reported 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.  

“The RMI allows Radius to continuously see how manufacturing is growing in our region,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius. “Gathering this information for our LEDOs allows us to keep them updated on how our region compares to the state regarding the manufacturing sector.”

The Radius Manufacturing Index uses statistics from publicly available sources to provide an estimate of the state of health of the manufacturing sector in the region. The index is a backward-looking tool that reflects conditions approximately six-12 months in the past, based on the dates for some of the statistics used. Data used for this RMI update was gathered on March 7, 2019, using JobsEQ.

“The Radius Manufacturing Index provides us with a measure of the overall health of our regional economy which relies heavily on our strong manufacturing base,” said Ed Cole, President of Dubois Strong. “Manufacturing plays a huge role in the Dubois County economy.  Just over half our workforce is employed in manufacturing jobs. Out of the nearly 23,000 who are in employed in our county, almost 12,000 are employed in manufacturing.”

For the state, manufacturing jobs decreased as a percentage of total employment, which appears to corroborate the state’s ongoing economic diversification.

New Leadership at Orange County Economic Development Partnership

PAOLI, Ind. (March 5, 2019) — On Friday, March 1st, Board President Alan Beck welcomed Zachary Brown as the Executive Director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership.

In his previous position at the French Lick Municipal Airport, Zach learned about Orange County’s assets through interaction with clientele including major businesses and hobbyists, each with a unique perspective of the significance of Orange County. As he strived to increase the positive economic impact and the capacity of the airport, Zach gained keen insight into the logistics that influence Orange County. His six-year tenure at the airport was guided by a strategic property development plan that he and his team created to implement their high capacity vision.

When asked about his vision for himself at the organization, he said: “I’m excited to have the opportunity to develop new business and aid in the expansion of current business in the county.” He followed that up by saying that he is excited to be a catalyst for all of the quality of place initiatives that are in the works.

Zach and his family are steeped in the life and culture of Orange County, which increases his investment in the county. Vice President of the OCEDP Board of Directors and Springs Valley Bank & Trust, Ken Schnaus, resounded these words in his encouraging testament of the OCEDP’s past and present leadership.

“The OCEDP has had several consecutive successful years of expanding and improving the economic environment of Orange County. Our revolving loan fund continues to help new and growing businesses with mezzanine financing. We have been able to help untold numbers of entrepreneurs find resources to help them make very important decisions about their future. We facilitated saving an estimated 120 jobs that were scheduled to leave the County. Just to mention some of the things the Partnership has done to help the County.”

With his background and the personal desire to improve his home County, complemented by a personality that lends itself to leading and assisting everywhere he can, Zach makes the perfect candidate for this leadership role. Ken continued, “Without a doubt, Zach has the ability to move Orange County and the Partnership in a positive direction as it helps all of Orange County strengthen its economic environment.”

Radius Indiana Reflects on 10 Years of Radius at Annual Stakeholders Meeting

BEDFORD, Ind. (March 4, 2019) – Radius Indiana held its annual stakeholders luncheon last Wednesday at the French Lick Resort.  Attendees gathered to celebrate the 10th year of the organization, which will celebrate its anniversary on March 9, 2019.The meeting featured Radius Indiana Board of Directors’ Chair Becky Skillman
who thanked stakeholders for their continued support of Radius and shared some statistics about the growth of the region over the last 10 years; total wages have increased by 34 percent and the average annual wages per worker have increased by 23 percent.

Skillman introduced Blaine Parker, Director of Tourism and Quality of Place for Radius Indiana. Parker unveiled the new tourism initiative that Radius will lead to strengthen the region’s already thriving tourism industry: “Discover Southern Indiana”.  The new brand will be used by Radius and its eight counties in a cooperative and complementary joint tourism marketing approach.

Dr. Kyle Werner, Director of Engagement at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and an advisor for the Radius Indiana Board of Directors, explained the process that the board’s strategic planning committee followed to create a new strategic plan for Radius, the first one for the organization since its original founding. At the end of its assessment, the committee created six pillars, which Radius will use to guide future initiatives:

  • Workforce/Talent Retention and Attraction
  • Support for Entrepreneurship/Small Business Growth
  • Regional Economic Leadership & Education
  • Crane Community Outreach/Support to Regional Defense Industry
  • Regional Tourism Development
  • Regional Marketing

“Everyone on the committee was highly engaged throughout the process and provided valuable insights as needed to complete this important task,” said Dr. Werner. “A huge thank you to the committee members for their valuable contributions and dedication to help the region move toward future success.”

John McDonald, CEO of ClearObject, attended the meeting to deliver his presentation, “The Internet of Every Thing,” which provided the audience with a glimpse of the future of society and economic development and how people interact with companies, products, and data today and the ways it is expected to grow in upcoming years.

Jeff Quyle, Radius Indiana president and CEO, announced some of the initiatives that will take place in 2019 and upcoming years, such as continuing regional economic leadership and education through the Radius Economic Development Course, and establishing a veterans’ recruitment program to support Talent Attraction and Retention.

Quyle also shared successes for the region in the years since the creation of Radius, including the completion of the I-69 corridor, building and growth at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment that has spurred growth and helped shaped the region.

Quyle also presented a year in review, recapping the many firsts for the organization from 2018, including the first-ever international site selector trip to Japan, the launch of the Women in Economic Development Leadership Initiative, and the completion of the region’s first wage and benefits study.  A list of economic development announcements in the region for 2018 revealed that over $782 million and 1,650 new jobs were projected to land in the communities around the region.

“It has been great to see our stakeholder meetings grow each year and get to share our goals with so many talented people who care about what our region is doing and want to see us succeed,” said Quyle. “2019 is a year for building off what we created with our strategic plan in 2018, and our team is excited to see this plan come to life.”

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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 Southwest Central Indiana to drive
attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and
investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.