Apr 1, 2021 | Jackson County News & Info
Two companies are planning to invest nearly $20 million into their Seymour operations this year creating economic growth and job opportunities for the area.
Seymour City Council recently approved tax abatement requests from Cummins and Excel Manufacturing.
Speaking on behalf of Cummins, Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation, said the company was seeking three tax abatements – two for personal property and one for real estate.
“Last year, Cummins announced they were looking at a multi-year investment and this is year two of that,” Plump said.
The investment for all three abatements for the engine-maker totals $17.74 million. Cummins currently employs 950 workers at its Seymour plant and is the third largest industrial employer in the county.
Excel Manufacturing will spend $1.5 million to purchase new manufacturing equipment and for related expenses. Brent Kilgas, president of Excel, said the investment is being made in order to complete projects and fill orders for their customers.
The company, located in the East Side Industrial Park in Seymour, offers production machining, engineering, fixture design and building and assembly services.
“Our plan is to purchase CNC machines, industrial robots and supporting equipment to manufacture these items for our customers,” Kilgas said.
By updating to more current technology and equipment, Kilgas said Excel has the ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
As a result of the investment, Excel will add three new employees and retain its current workforce of 86 while generating an estimated $3.75 million in annual salaries.
Oct 23, 2020 | Jackson County News & Info
Funds will go to increase access to high-speed internet in rural Jackson County, Indiana
Nearly 5,000 Jackson County Rural Electric Membership Corp. (REMC) customers will have access to high-speed broadband internet in the coming months thanks to the U.S. Department of Rural Development’s ReConnect Program.
REMC will receive a $1.9 million grant and a $1.9 million loan through the program. The investment is part of the $550 million Congress recently allocated to the 2nd round of the program.
“I’m so glad to see this investment in infrastructure in my home state of Indiana,” said Ted McKinney, USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.
“In my conversations with our overseas trading partners, we often speak about the important role of innovation to global agriculture. But innovation depends on access to reliable, high-speed internet,” he said. “I’m hopeful that investments such as ReConnect can help farmers operate more effectively and efficiently to deliver their products to those across Indiana – and, indeed, across the world.”
REMC plans to use the funding to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 4,881 people, 198 farms and 36 businesses to high-speed broadband in far western Jackson County and eastern Lawrence County.
Mark McKinney, CEO of Jackson County REMC, said a survey of its customers in the area to be served shows it is under served if served at all. If everything goes as planned, construction should begin sometime before the end of the year and could expect to see people starting to get connected early summer or late spring.
Find more information in the entire article in The Tribune, 10/9/20
http://www.tribtown.com/2020/10/10/remc_receives_nearly_4_million_grant/
Oct 12, 2020 | Jackson County News & Info
Cummins Inc. has announced plans to invest more than $25 million at its Seymour Engine Plant over the next several years, a move that is expected to create and retain more than 150 jobs over the next decade.
The announcement was made today acknowledging the support of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., city of Seymour and Duke Energy.
“After our significant investments into our manufacturing and tech center infrastructure over the last 10 years, our latest expansion decision will once again expand our ability to serve global markets and bring new products and technology from our high-horsepower engine hub in Seymour,” said Norbert Nusterer, president of Cummins’ Power Systems business segment.
The investment in upgrading existing plant infrastructure at SEP, which is Cummins’ global high-horsepower headquarters, will bring in new manufacturing capabilities, including assembly, machining and block lines, as well as testing equipment.
This investment will improve and refine the plant’s capabilities to prepare for the addition of a new engine platform that will be launched for global customers in 2024.
“This is exciting for our employees,” said Darren Wildman, Americas operations leader of Cummins’ Power Systems business segment. “These investments ultimately mean we are going to bring to market the next generation of high-horsepower engines. A new engine platform allows us to tap even deeper into our exceptional technological, engineering and manufacturing expertise to create a game-changing product to serve more customers and expand into new markets.”
Over the past 10 years, Cummins has invested more than $350 million at its high-horsepower operations in Seymour, including a significant renovation of the plant and the addition of a cutting-edge technical center, bringing together key capabilities to enhance technological and product development. The investment has nearly doubled the employment at its Seymour operations, which now has 1,100 employees.
The IEDC offered Cummins Inc. up to $550,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s plans to create up to 87 new jobs by the end of 2028. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired.
“The decision by Cummins to again invest in Seymour is tremendous news,” Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson said. “We believe our commitment to create and maintain a business-friendly environment, when combined with the workforce they are able to attract from throughout south central Indiana, are reasons Cummins continues to invest in Seymour. Not only does this project create new jobs, but it also will retain workers, which is a win-win for everyone.”
Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar said Cummins’ investment in Seymour will have an impact beyond the company.
“It’s an investment in the community and state,” he said. “We were glad to do our part to provide incentives to help offset their energy costs.”
SEP produces natural gas and diesel engines ranging in size from 15L to 95L. These engines support power generation, rail, marine, mining, agricultural, oil and gas, industrial and military applications.
http://www.tribtown.com/2020/10/12/cummins-announces-job-creation-additional-investment-at-seymour-engine-plant/
Oct 7, 2020 | Jackson County News & Info
During the 3rd quarter of 2020, the Town of Crothersville and Myers Sod Farm were honored by the State of Indiana.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced in August that 24 rural Hoosier communities will receive more than $15.3 million in federal grant funding to improve water infrastructure.
Among the communities receiving funding was the Town of Crothersville which was awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. The Crothersville project will build a new wet weather overflow main, install an in-line hydrodynamic storm water separator, construct a duplex wet weather pumping station and force main, modify existing plant surge basins with concrete wall cores, and many other key improvements.
“By investing in our state’s water infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for regional growth and prosperity,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch. “These grants are supporting projects that are crucial to rural communities’ continued economic development and improving the quality of life for its residents.”
“The leadership of these grant recipients embodies strategic planning, hard work and dedication to improving their communities,” said Matt Crouch, Interim Executive Director of OCRA. “Proper planning is necessary to ensure Hoosier’s quality of life can grow as we are coping through a pandemic.”
Also in August, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Red Gold announced the winners of the Red Gold Stewardship award, and Myers Sod Farm of Seymour was awarded 1st place. This presentation, now in its 12th year, is a partnership between Red Gold and the Indiana Dept. of Ag, and is presented to Red Gold growers who value improving soil health and water quality on their operations.
Adam Myers, of Myers Sod Farm, started with an idea and, over the course of 8 years, has grown that idea into a successful business. On their farm, they grow a variety of crops from traditional row crops to tomatoes and sod. They value their land and have implemented several successful conservation practices including grassed waterways, vegetative field borders, water sediment, and control basins.
“Practicing conservation is important on our farm,” said Myers. “We feel that if we take care of the land, it will take care of us.”
Oct 7, 2020 | Jackson County News & Info
Industries continue to invest in Jackson County –
New investment by Cummins Seymour Engine Plant, Fostech, and Silgan Plastics, plus a planned expansion by Thormax has pushed “promised investment” for 2020 to over $60 million.
After earlier investment this year of $11.3 million, Cummins plans to invest an additional $575,000 as part of a new project.
Fostech also increased its earlier projected investment of $1,075,000 by an additional $2 million.
Additionally, Silgan continued its recent growth announcing new investment of nearly $3 million in new equipment, which is expected to add 4 new jobs to its current workforce of 208.
Thormax plans to construct a 20,000 square foot building with a projected cost of $500,000, with 8 new jobs expected as a result.
Source: Jackson County Industrial Development, 3rd quarter 2020
