Southwest Indiana is also home to many other world-class automotive and transportation companies: Accuride, Guardian Automotive, PPG Automotive Glass, Red Spot Coatings, SABIC Innovative Plastics, Toyota Boshoku, United Components, and Vuteq.
The region provides unique advantages for business and industry. The available skilled work force, low overall operating costs, and favorable business climate of Southwest Indiana make it an ideal location for new economic investment.
Southwest Indiana is located near the median center of the U.S. population, the point where latitude and longitude intersect and the population is the same on all sides. That strategic location means low transportation costs and easy access to nearly every U.S. market. Southwest Indiana is within three-and-a-half hours of five cities with metro populations of over one million.
With a metropolitan population of 350,000 and a regional population exceeding 750,000, Southwest Indiana offers the charm of a smaller community and the progressive attitude, dedicated work force, and sophisticated infrastructure of a larger, urban area.
A Diversified Economy
In addition to the breadth and depth of its automotive sector, Southwest Indiana is also home to businesses in other industries.
It is the global center of excellence for plastics and plastics derivatives, including SABIC Innovative Plastics, Berry Plastics Group, and others. And the region is a center of activity for bio and life sciences, including the headquarters and research and development facilities for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, the most sophisticated nutritional center in the world and home to Bristol-Myers Squibb's World Medicines.
This economic diversification contributes to the growth and quality of place of the region, making it especially attractive to new business.
A Work Force Revved Up to Do the Unexpected: Work
Southwest Indiana has a strong reputation for its highly skilled, educated, and productive work force. The value-added productivity of Southwest Indiana is consistently ranked among the highest in the nation, and the region continues to create unique education and training programs to meet the changing needs of business.
The Southwest Indiana labor shed from which companies can select experienced employees is robust compared with other regions of the country. The work ethic of the labor force is shaped by generations of craftsmanship, innovation, and old-fashioned hard work.
The region's roots run deep in manufacturing, and the work force is highly skilled in that area. Unlike many communities, manufacturing continues to be the engine that drives our regional economy.
A Region Committed to Worker Development
Southwest Indiana understands the need for building the labor skills of its work force, and the importance of retraining for workers. In the global marketplace, a company's most valuable asset is a tightly knit team of dedicated, skilled employees. Here, we focus on developing exactly the kind of work force you need.
Southwest Indiana is one of a select few regions in the country receiving the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train the next generation of workers.
The region is also home to world-class education institutions like the University of Evansville, Oakland City University, Ivy Tech Community College, and the University of Southern Indiana - Indiana's fastest-growing public university. In addition, Vincennes University will unveil its newest manufacturing center in 2009.
These educational institutions work in cooperation with the business sector in Southwest Indiana to provide customized - not canned - training programs based on employers' specific needs. Training courses are conducted on site at workplaces or at various campuses throughout the region. These innovative work force training programs offer companies the flexibility to rapidly improve employees' skills in response to ever-changing customer needs.
A Business-Friendly State Government
The state's commitment to business is strong. Indiana holds workforce development as one of its highest priorities, and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development provides assistance to businesses in nearly every facet of hiring and training.
State officials also work closely with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to accelerate assistance to companies.
An Ideal Business Climate
Public and private leaders across Indiana work together to create an extremely favorable business climate. The result of this shared vision includes innovative business assistance programs, a tax system that keeps overall costs competitive, and a regulatory environment that promotes growth.
One important part of the business climate of the state is the variety of economic incentives. They include state tax credits like the Hoosier Business Investment Tax Credit, based on a company's proposed capital investment and the economic benefits of the investment; the Industrial Recovery Tax Credit, available for companies investing in facilities requiring significant remodeling; the Headquarters Relocation Tax Credit for eligible corporations relocating their headquarters to Indiana; and the Venture Capital Investment Tax Credit for investors providing qualified capital to fast-growing companies in the state.
These incentives are just an example of the fertile conditions for business growth that the region has worked hard to create. Southwest Indiana provides an ideal business climate for your company to flourish.
An Infrastructure That Works for You
Southwest
Indiana offers excellent transportation infrastructure, efficient and
affordable utilities, rich natural resources, and available developed
and undeveloped sites for business.
The transportation
infrastructure provides easy access and distribution to every major
U.S. market by Interstate highway, rail, air, or water routes.
New
transportation infrastructure includes the Southwest Indiana portion of
Interstate 69. The highway will link the U.S. with Canada and Mexico,
connecting North America. Construction on the Southwest Indiana leg of
the interstate highway began in July 2008.
Southwest Indiana is
served by two Class I railroads: the CSX and the Norfolk Southern. They
provide access to every major eastern and Midwestern market. Rail
routes include the main line of the CSX from Chicago to the southeast
U.S.; CSX rail service between Evansville and Chicago; and northbound
and southbound train service to Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, and
Jacksonville, Florida. The CSX Howell Yard in Evansville sorts and
makes up trains, and has intermodal facilities to handle 3,000 cargo
containers and piggyback trailers per month. The Norfolk Southern main
line connects Southwest Indiana to the West via St. Louis, and to the
entire eastern seaboard; it provides critical service to the region's
automotive and metal manufacturing sectors.
Gas and electric
power are competitively priced, and the region's utility companies are
strongly committed to business development. Both Vectren and Duke
Energy-Indiana are consistently ranked among the best run and most
competitively-priced utility companies in North America. Vectren is
Indiana's largest natural gas utility, and Duke Energy-Indiana is the
state's largest electric utility. Together the assure consistent and
reliable sources of energy.
The region offers an abundance of
water and other natural resources for manufacturing processes.
Southwest Indiana is strategically bordered by the Ohio River to the
south and the Wabash River to the west. The region sits atop one of the
largest aquifers in North America, which promises companies a clean,
dependable source of water for manufacturing and cooling.
The
infrastructure of Southwest Indiana also includes ideal industrial
sites, manufacturing sites, development sites, and buildings.
A True Public-Private Partnership
The
active partnership between top government officials and key corporate
leaders illustrates the pro-business mindset of Southwest Indiana.
Within
the region, the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana
acts as the umbrella economic development organization for Gibson
County, Posey County, Vanderburgh County, and Warrick County in
Southwest Indiana.
The Economic Development Coalition of
Southwest Indiana offers a proactive program of free and confidential
services to assist with facility relocation, business expansion, and
the retention of existing industry. The coalition staff specializes in
location studies, building and site searches, and feasibility studies.
The
coalition's coordinated approach saves businesses time and effort. The
Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana maintains databases
of industrial sites and buildings, regional workforce data, incentives
and assistance programs, and other information key to site selection.
Southwest
Indiana's public and private partners also work closely with state and
federal government agencies, local economic development groups, and
railroad and utility economic development offices for continuous
improvement of the region's infrastructure. These successful efforts
include the construction of the Southwest Indiana portion of Interstate
69, the nation's newest automotive corridor.
Southwest Indiana: Make It Yours
With
a booming automotive industry, a highly-trained work force, an ideal
business climate, solid infrastructure, and effective public and
private partners, Southwest Indiana is one of the most accessible
communities in the world. We invite you to make Southwest Indiana yours.
To
find out more, contact the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest
Indiana through our website. All services are free of charge, and
information related to facility location projects is kept strictly
confidential.
Greg Wathen, President and CEO
Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana
100 N.W. Second St., Suite 208
Evansville, IN 47708
Phone: 812-423-2020
Fax: 812-423-2080
www.southwestindiana.org