Sep 15, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
Jim Plump of Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation (JCIDC) is among 35 Hoosier business and community leaders traveling to Japan this week with Governor Mike Pence to bring jobs and investment to Indiana.
In his 31 years as executive director of JCIDC, Plump has made 25 trips to Japan. With 7 Japanese-based companies in Jackson County, the trips are crucial, Plump said.
“With more than 250 Japan-owned businesses operating in Indiana today, the state’s relationship with Japan is crucial to our economy and continued job creation in the Hoosier State,” Gov. Pence said in a news release. “I’m looking forward to returning to the site of my gubernatorial jobs mission to continue this momentum by sharing Indiana’s story as a state that works for business.”
Sep 5, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
Mullis is regarded as one of the nation’s top site selectors, with clients like Boeing, BP and Nike. He says Indiana’s reputation is growing. “This is one of the most consistent states in terms of low cost for doing business and one of the most quality states in terms of workforce productivity,” said Mullis. “If you look, bottom line across the board, it is and will be a competitive state, in particular in the Midwest, but even in the southeast, Indiana is recognized as a leader.”
Read the full article on Indiana Business
Jun 24, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
[fusion_text]Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation (JCIDC) has completed its new 3-year strategic plan with the help of Thayr Richey, President of Strategic Development Group of Bloomington, Indiana.
Richey said JCIDC continues to be a model for Midwest local economic development organizations because of its outstanding track record of recruiting new basic employers and also working with existing manufacturers. But nothing is perfect. The county has strengths and weaknesses, and it faces challenges to keep up with trends around the nation and the world.
After surveying the JCIDC board and staff, interviewing key stakeholders throughout the county, comparing and contrasting comparable communities and looking at economic trends, Richey came up with 5 recommendations for a strategy through 2018.
1. Keep up the good work: Continue the excellent work in new business attraction, retention and expansion, and workforce development/education, and increase the marketing program
2. Create a multi-county workforce development program: This is the time for JCIDC to increase its efforts in helping employers find qualified workers.
3. Target Professional and Technical Service Clusters: Promote Jackson County as a location for small companies in the professional and technical services sector (PTS).
4. Develop more Basic Employer Sites: A relatively small amount of available acreage is currently available in the county, and JCIDC should work to identify and assist with development of additional sites.
5. Support City of Seymour in Downtown Revitalization: Employers had noted the lack of dining and shopping opportunities in the downtown that was a problem in recruiting professional staff. JCIDC should support the City in improving the quality of life assets to help in recruiting PTS sector employers.[/fusion_text]
Jun 11, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
[fusion_text]State and local officials attend ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the extension of Industrial Way in the Crothersville, Indiana Industrial Park. (Pictured above.)
Safety and Growth Issues Lead to Improvements at Crothersville Industrial Park
In the past, employees and visitors to Crothersville, Indiana’s only industrial park had only one way to reach Aisin Drivetrain, Inc. (ADI), Aisin Chemical Indiana LLC (ACIN) and Cerrowire/Marmon Retail Home Improvement. That single outlet, Industrial Way, created some concerns.
Those concerns stem from the fact that Industrial Way crosses the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) line. LIRC is involved in a $100 million expansion project that will allow for not just more train but ones that are longer, heavier and faster.
The completion of a mile long extension of Industrial Way to the west supports the continued success of the industrial park. The extension also offers more accessibility for the growing number of employees for both of the Aisin companies and Cerrowire.
“I don’t think there’s a community in the state the size of Crothersville that can boast an industrial base that we have,” town council President Ardell Mitchell said to a small crowd who attended the ribbon cutting on June 11. “Based on the investments, we can support a solid workforce, and we’re a good place for development.”
When the industrial park was designed in the 1990s, there were funds available to create only a single access point from U.S. 31 into the park, said Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation. That was before the industries located, expanded and added jobs.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation funded $835,000 of the project when ADI and ACIN requested their state incentives be used to improve safety at the park.[/fusion_text]
Apr 1, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was written by Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman at the request of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Chicago and appeared in the organization’s 2015 Winter newsletter and distributed to approximately 2,300 readers).
One of my best friends during my days at Seymour High School in the early 1990s was a Japanese guy, whose father had been transferred here to work with one of the local industries. Little did I know that 20+ years later, we would meet up again in Japan … him now a successful attorney in Tokyo and me serving my 2nd term as Mayor of the City of Seymour, Indiana.
I did not comprehend the importance of business relationships between the U.S. and Japan when I was in high school; I just knew that he was a pretty cool guy and fun to be around. I also was not totally aware of the impact that Japanese companies were having on my hometown, but I was sure glad that my friend was living in Seymour.
I mentioned this is my second term as Mayor of Seymour, and this fall marked my 5th trip to Japan in the past 7 years and, trust me, I now understand the importance of those relationships and the effect Japanese investment has had on Seymour and all of South Central Indiana.
Seymour is located on Interstate 65, one hour south of Indianapolis, Indiana and an hour north of Louisville, Kentucky. It is that location that helped us attract the first U.S. manufacturing operation of Aisin Seiki. That was in 1986, and today, Aisin employs more than 2,000 associates at their 5 locations in Seymour and Jackson County. Aisin U.S.A. Manufacturing has 2 locations in Seymour: Aisin Holdings of America has their corporate office here; and two other Aisin companies, Aisin Drivetrain, Inc. and Aisin Chemical of Indiana, have found homes in the small community of Crothersville, which is located in southern Jackson County.
In addition, Seymour Tubing (whose parent company is Nippon Steel and Sumikin Pipe Co. with support from Mitsui and Co., Ltd.) is located here, as is a joint venture between Cummins and Komatsu (CKEC) to produce engines. O&K American established their 2nd U.S. manufacturing operation in Seymour in 2009.
All together, these companies employ nearly 3,000 of our workers and, as importantly, are excellent corporate citizens that support activities to make Seymour a great place to live and work. We are truly blessed and thankful, and I believe it is very important that we make frequent visits to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and other locales to meet with executives of these companies to build on our relationships.
My latest trip to Japan in October 2014 was as part of our South Central Indiana regional marketing trip. This group includes a 10-county region that extends along I-65, I-64 and I-74. All told, our region is home to more than 50 Japanese companies which employ over 16,000 workers. Total population in our region is more than 480,000 and we have seen continued growth in the manufacturing sector that has lowered our unemployment rate to less than 6%.
Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith joined our group, as did a number of private companies that do business with our Japanese companies. “Friends of South Central Indiana” receptions were well-attended in Tokyo and Nagoya, and Secretary Smith spoke of the many benefits of doing business in our region. We are confident that additional investment and jobs will result from this trip.
Spearheading the trip was Jim Plump, who has served as Executive Director of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation for more than 30 years. During his time in Seymour, Jim has made 25 trips to Japan and has been involved in the recruitment of all of our Japanese companies, as well as the retention and expansion of those companies.
In working with the JETRO office in Chicago, Jim suggested we plan a visit with the JETRO office in Tokyo. We were very pleased to receive an invitation to visit, and they welcomed our mission delegates to learn more about our region and to provide us important data that they have compiled on the Japanese economy. The officials, including Executive Vice President Tsuneyuki Kato and our friend, Tatsuhiro Shindo, who formerly was in the Chicago office of JETRO, were extremely helpful and their hospitality was much appreciated.
I should also point out that helping arrange this meeting was the Japan-America Society of Indiana (JASI), and its long-time Executive Director Theresa Kulczak. She has been a good friend to Seymour-Jackson County over the years and the State of Indiana is fortunate to have someone as talented as Theresa and an organization that is recognized as one of the top Japan-America Societies in the country.
Mar 3, 2015 | Jackson County News & Info
The Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce will hold its 84th annual awards dinner on March 18, 2015.
The highlights of the evening will include a review of 2014, a look ahead, and presentation of community awards.
One of those awards is the Corporate Citizen of the Year, and Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation (JCIDC) will receive that honor this year.
JCIDC is a not-for-profit public/private partnership charged with raising the local standard of living and improving the area tax base by attracting quality employers and assisting with the expansion and competitiveness of local industries in Jackson County, Indiana.
JCIDC has been leading the way for industrial and economic development assistance since 1984.
