advertisement:
By FRANK SHANLY
The community of Markle has become quite a bustling hive of activity in recent times, with much of it due to a boom in area economic growth and development.
Its location right along side I-69 gives it a huge advantage, and one company making the most of this edge is Novae.
Novae President Steve Bermes and his brother Greg began a small business back in 1995 making products in their father’s barn. By December 2001 the company had grown sufficiently to force a move to premises in Fort Wayne. Following further growth, it then took up residence in Markle in 2004, with its official opening on Jan. 1, 2005.
At that time, Novae had grown substantially and had just under $5 million in sales in 2005. The move to Markle proved to be an inspiration, however, and sales have skyrocketed since then.
In 2006, the company increased its sales to $6.9 million, but then in 2007 leaped to $12.3 million, and sales for 2008 are expected to exceed $20 million.
“In the last 6-7 years we’ve only had one year under 50 percent growth,” said an enthused Bermes. “We’ve found a market that has a demand. Markle has been real good for us. With the highway right here it’s really helped us a lot, with both our retail and our wholesale business. It makes it real easy for shipping.”
The growth in sales has also brought more jobs to the area. This year, Novae added 50 more staff to its roster, and next year Bermes anticipates that an additional 40 or so positions will be available.
Greg is no longer with the company, but another brother, Mike, and also Chris Storie, have joined Steve Bermes at the helm of Novae as it continues to expand.
The bulk of Novae’s business is through trailer manufacturing and sales.
“About 70 percent is wholesale trailers where we sell trailers to dealerships,” noted Bermes. “We sell them anywhere from Montana to Maine and to Tennessee, but most of our customers are within 400 miles of here. But we also have a pretty good contingent of customers out towards the Northeast, New York, Pennsylvania, out that way.”
The company does, however, produce other products. Novae’s original product, the Proslide XT, which attaches to lawn mowers, is still in production. Novae also produces a range of storage racks for power tools and other equipment, and the company is currently developing a receptacle that will easily cut high-strength monofilament lines, and yet, is smaller than a business card.
“One of the things we try to do is to be innovative and different and to come up with things that are not easy to duplicate, I guess,” explained Bermes.
Bermes stresses that in addition to the easy access that its Markle location provides to I-69, another key to the company’s success in Markle has been the support from local officials.
“We’ve had just a tremendously good relationship with the Town of Markle, and the officials around the area and that has really helped us to grow,” noted Bermes. “We really appreciate the support the local community has given us.”
The Town of Markle has provided additional assistance to Novae again with its current development of an additional building on the opposite side of Novae Parkway to its main site, by extending the water and sewage lines right up to the building.
The new facility will accommodate Novae’s retail business, which currently occupies about 2,000 square feet of the 61,000-square-foot main building. The new facility will provide the retail division with a total of 12,000 square feet.
Novae’s main Markle location is about 20 acres, and while there is still some eight or nine acres of this that is undeveloped, plans for its use are already on the drawing board.
With Dayton Freight occupying space on Novae’s northern boundary, and I-69 preventing eastward expansion, the company purchased more land on the west side of Novae Parkway for its new retail building.
Bermes hopes that the new building will be completed and ready for use by the end of July.
The rise in economic development has caused problems for Markle’s roads and Novae Parkway is one of four on the town’s “urgent need” list. Huntington County, however, has come to the party and will be contributing County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) funds to help address the issues on this particular street.
“We aren’t as heavy with truck traffic as Dayton Freight,” noted Bermes. “ But it will make it look nicer and will certainly fix the part of the road you see falling apart down there, which is badly needed.
The one “problem” Novae is currently concerned about is their ability to find sufficient quality staff to meet its requirements.
The company is currently working a 24-hours-six-days-per-week schedule, with three shifts, and although now is not their peak time for hiring, they are still looking out for quality staff.
“We have a seasonal business, so we start hiring heavily around November-December,” explained Bermes. “Right now we’re hiring a little bit, and that will probably taper off around September/October, and then we’ll start hiring real heavy again in November/December.
“We’re always looking for very good employees. We’ve now hired a full-time human resources person whose here to help with applicants who come and fill in an application. If they’re not hired right away, we do hire seasonally, so we keep those things on file until they’re needed.”
At this time, Novae is especially interested in MIG Welders. Previous experience is required, and fabrication and blueprint reading experience is regarded as a plus. People qualified to work in the shipping and assembly divisions are also invited to apply for work.
Novae’s average pay scale is $13-16 per hour, with room for advancement, paid vacation, 401k and medical insurance. Starting pay is commensurate with experience and ability.
Further information can be obtained by contacting Novae’s Human Resources Manager, Veronica Garrison, at the company’s main office at 1 Novae Parkway, or via phone at (260) 758-9838, or via e-mail at veronica.garrison@novaecorp.com.
Despite talk of a “national recession,” Bermes remains optimistic about Novae’s continued growth rates.
“We’ve never paid much attention to that (recession),” reflected Bermes. “In 2001 and 2002 there was a recession too, and we grew our business 90 percent that year.
“We’ve really been fortunate to have the growth we’ve had but its been pretty consistent too, so we must be doing something right.”
frank@news-banner.com