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By JUSTIN PEEPER
The mayor’s phone has been ringing more than normal this year, and the same is true at the Wells County Chamber of Commerce.
Statewide, mayors, business leaders and others are all asking the same question.
“What’s going on in Wells County,” is the question Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis and Economic Development director Mike Row are being asked over and over and over again.
It’s a question both men are glad to talk about because the answer involves $300 million and about 100 new well-paying jobs coming to Wells County in a time when the economic outlook across the nation appears more gloomy than bright.
“I firmly believe that our best days are ahead of us despite talks of a recession and (increasing) fuel prices,” Row said. “I know it’s difficult for some businesses but we are all in this together and we’ll work through it together and we’ll get through it together.”
Several businesses are investing nearly one-third of one billion dollars on Bluffton’s southwest side — an undertaking few communities across the state and nation can boast.
Wells County has a long history of attracting great companies, but the development taking place on the city’s west side is historic by all accounts and is just the beginning of what city and county officials believe will lead to future growth and more jobs.
“What this means for our community is that it sends a signal to the world that Wells County is a great place to do business,” Row said. “We offer a great culture that produces a great work force and also produces ideas that create opportunities for people to succeed.”
From new ethanol and aluminum-billet plants expected to open in the coming months to a relocated engineering facility and machinery, equipment and real estate improvements, signs of progress in Wells County have seldom been more apparent than in 2008.
“This is very historic in my mind,” Row said. “People in Wells County take work very seriously and therefore that produces a great workforce that is very attractive. We offer people a unique place where they can exchange ideas and pursue those ideas. That is what produces greatness in the business world.”
That greatness is debuting all across the city’s southwest side.
Indiana Bio-Energy is building a $177 million ethanol plant that is expected to produce its first batch Aug. 28. With the new plant comes 49 new jobs.
Alexin LLC is bringing 50 new jobs to Bluffton. The new start-up aluminum billet manufacturer will invest $58 million to equip and finance its new production facility that will transform scrap aluminum into billet for extruders throughout the Midwest.
Peyton’s Northern is investing $72 million in machinery, equipment and real estate improvements the company announced in December 2006 to enhance efficiency.
Star Engineering has moved into a brand-new $2.35 million facility on W. Lancaster Street, and company officials say the potential exists for new jobs.
Edge Manufacturing is adding 30,000 square feet to its existing facility at a cost of around $850,000, and there is also a potential for more jobs.
Since Ellis became mayor in 1996, he has never seen such development occur at the same time to this extent.
“From an economic development standpoint, this is by far the biggest investment,” he said. “We would be happy with any one of those companies in a year. But to have all of them hit at the same time is just phenomenal.”
Ellis attributes the west-side development success to a lot of hard work by a lot of people over the past months and years.
“You keep sowing these seeds and all of a sudden they bloom the same year,” Ellis said. “I wouldn’t call it good luck because a lot of people worked real hard to get it done. It was the result of just having a good crop this year.”
The historic developments, however, are not just limited to businesses that will improve the west side of town.
Bluffton received a $3 million federal grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation to make infrastructure upgrades and improvements to the Adams Street area.
The city has to come up with $750,000, which will come from CEDIT funds.
The city will use grant money to improve Adams Street from Lancaster Street to Wells County Road 200S (Angel Street), a distance of two miles.
City officials expect the new road to be in place by 2011 or 2012, Ellis said.
Much of the development area along Adams Street has also been placed into a tax increment financing (TIF) district that officials say will attract more businesses.
In essence, a TIF district earmarks money for prospective economic development needs within a designated area and sometimes lures businesses to locate in a specific site within a community.
“For a community, the TIF district is a real selling point,” said Edgar Seward, general manager of Indiana Bio-Energy LLC. “It might be the thing that draws somebody in because there might be money there to help finance infrastructure.”
A TIF district allows municipalities to collect the property tax revenue attributable to increased assessed value as a result of new development with the designated area.
“Once a TIF district is established the property tax revenue attributable to new assessed value within the district accrues to the redevelopment district rather than the traditional taxing units,” according to the state government’s Web site.
That tax revenue in turn is used on projects to improve the area within the redevelopment district. The new money can be used to pay for infrastructure or other improvements within the designated area, the state Web site states.
The TIF district comprises an area about 2 miles long by 1⁄2-mile wide in the Adams Street vicinity, south of Indiana 124 to Wells County Road 200S. The city expects to expand the TIF district by about 120 acres this month to include property Westland Development owns. The owners asked to be included in the area, Ellis said.
At the same time, Ellis hopes to make properties across the city “shovel-ready” to attract more businesses, including locations along the city’s west side.
Shovel-ready sites allow companies to locate their businesses on property that is ready for development.
Shovel-ready sites have undergone extensive title work, proof of ownership, legal and environmental review and qualify for expedited permitting with state regulatory agencies, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Ellis hopes to have a site on the city’s west side shovel ready by the end of the year. There are some up front costs to the owner, but Ellis has proposed to city council a plan that would allow officials to use CEDIT money to pay for those costs. Then, once the owner sells the property, he pays that money back to the city.
“Council thinks it is a wonderful idea,” Ellis said.
City and county leaders hope that all of these initiatives will ultimately lead to more development in Wells County and eventually more jobs for the community, particularly on the city’s west side.
“I see a great deal of potential,” Row said. “I think we will see an increased interest in that particular area. As the global economy adjusts, I think we are poised to do some great things here.”
Listed below is an overview of some of the development taking place on the city’s west side.
Indiana Bio Energy
The single biggest project under way is IBE’s construction of a 101-million gallons-per-year dry-mill corn-processing ethanol plant, which is expected to produce its first batch Aug. 28, about two months from now.
Earth-moving site development tasks got under way Nov. 13, 2006, at the location, 1441 S. Adams St., and work has steadily progressed on the $177 million project.
The plant sits on about 230 acres, but IBE owns about 419 acres.
More than 400 workers this month finished the plant’s process vessels and are now working on pipe and electrical work, Seward said.
Crews completed the plant’s rail loop with 35,000 feet of paired track laid. Workers will install the rail loop’s main switches in the coming weeks.
When complete, there will be some 420,000 square feet of concrete road and pavement laid at the plant.
Officials designed the plant to allow significant future expansion or add a bio-diesel facility at the site.
“We would like to see additional businesses co-located with us,” Seward said.
In terms of hiring, the plant has hired all 49 employees, and everyone is expected to begin working July 7.
Seward expects IBE to host an open house for the public sometime in October.
Indiana Bio-Energy first announced publicly in May 2005 its plan to construct a plant here. The ethanol plant is the largest proposed economic development project in the county’s history.
The proposed plant highlighted the news pages often since then, especially in June 2006 when, at a meeting of three different local governing boards, the commissioners voted 2-1 not to support the use of CEDIT funds to provide a partial guarantee of the ethanol project’s bonds in case of default by IBE.
Following that meeting, the project appeared dead in Wells County, but the following day, the IBE board confirmed Wells County was still in the mix.
Much has transpired since then, including the funding process being completed, and the project will soon be finished.
Alexin
Alexin LLC announced in December 2007 plans to bring more than 50 new jobs to Bluffton and Wells County.
Gov. Mitch Daniels came to Wells County to welcome the new aluminum casting company.
The new start-up aluminum billet manufacturer will invest $58 million to equip and finance its new production facility that will transform scrap aluminum into billet for extruders throughout the Midwest.
Alexin plans to begin production with the first cast Halloween night, and the company has developed a slogan: “Hot metal for Halloween.”
Tom Horter, an aluminum extrusion veteran, will lead Alexin. Now, construction crews are building a 100,000-square- foot manufacturing facility and a 200,000-square-foot storage area in the 1300 block of S. Adams Street.
When operational, Alexin will produce more than 210 million pounds of aluminum billet annually.
Construction is on schedule, approximately 88 percent of the concrete has been poured, and the buildings are expected to be erected by early August.
In early June, company officials were in Bluffton in the process of interviewing and hiring key positions. Interviewing is expected to continue, as the company has about 50 positions to fill.
“We chose Bluffton as the site of our new plant because of its great people and location relative to our market,” Horter said. “We are excited about becoming new members of the Bluffton and Wells County communities. Alexin will be a progressive business, and we believe Wells County is a progressive place.”
Peytons
In December 2006, Bluffton City Council approved a 10-year tax abatement for Peyton’s Northern for machinery, equipment and real estate improvements, about a $72 million project. Peyton’s Northern is the giant distribution center just west of Corning Road.
As was reported back then, the project was to modernize the facility, replacing most of the original 1983 equipment with a state of the art piece-pack system that would put Peyton’s Northern on the leading edge of the grocery industry.
The Bluffton facility is installing new conveyers, computer systems and other technology to boost productivity and employee efficiency, city council learned in December 2006.
“The schedule is on time and we are looking at Jan. 9 to start putting product in there,” said Bill Donlon, general manager. “We hope to have it done by June or July so that the whole thing is fully operational.”
The outlook for Peyton’s Northern also looks positive in the coming months and years.
“They are looking at transferring 30 stores from the Cleveland, Tenn., plant to us up here because it will save the company a bunch of money in fuel prices,” Donlon said. “So you could easily see more business up here.”
Kroger Limited Partnership II, doing business as Peyton’s Northern, obtained tax abatement for $64.1 million in equipment and $8.43 million in real estate improvements.
Work began June 18, 1982, to build the Peyton’s Northern facility. Peyton’s Northern was completed and opened in the spring of 1983.
Back then, the north wall of the facility was built with an eye toward possible expansion in that direction. Officials added 400,000 square feet to the 1983-built structure in a 1995-1996 expansion. The project doubled the original size at a cost of about $20.4 million.
The Peyton’s land was acquired from Claude and Helen Decker in their development efforts that made possible the industrial park and a plethora of jobs.
Star Engineering
Star Engineering, a company whose roots go back to 1965 in Wells County, moved into a new site at 1717 W. Lancaster St. this winter.
Since 1972, the business was located at 1205 Wayne St. on the city’s east side. Company officials decided to relocate into a bigger structure once the business outgrew that space.
The new manufacturing and office building is 36,500 square feet, almost double the size of the old one. Officials began moving into their new home Feb. 15 and had everything transferred within 30 days.
Star makes parts for the Ford Heavy Duty pick-up, which has a turbo-charge on its diesel engines.
Cost of the building and furnishings was approximately $2.35 million. The move to the new, larger facility will allow the company to take on new projects and continue to grow.
No new jobs were added with the move, but president Keith Steffen is optimistic about future job growth.
“Right now, it was just a transfer, but it would allow us to secure additional work,” he said. “At the old facility, it was filled so we really couldn’t go out and look for new work. We are looking at some nice jobs coming up throughout the end of the year and it looks really positive.”
The City of Bluffton bought the 20,800-square-foot Wayne Street facility and now uses it to house the Street Department.
Star Engineering was first established as a family company by Harry Steffen and his first cousin, Bob Steffen. The company began operations in 1965 with Bob running the operation as manager, while Harry continued as a plant superintendent at Franklin Electric.
The factory was located on S. Morgan Street but moved to S. Wayne Street in 1972. When Star Engineering first moved to Wayne Street, the building measured just 3,200 square feet.
Four separate additions occurred over the years.
In 1980, Harry joined the company and bought Bob’s share. In 1990, the company was sold to he Detroit-based US Group, which has now owned Star Engineering for nearly 18 years.
Under the US Group banner, Star has gradually continued to grow. In 1990, the company employed approximately two dozen staff with annual sales of slightly more than $1 million. Today, some 40 staff are employed, with $8 million in sales annually.
The Steffen family still plays a major role in the company, as Harry’s sons Keith (current president) and Tom (controller), Bob’s son Duane (an engineer) and nephew Eric (vice president, engineering), are all active in the operation.
The company’s star contract is BorgWarner, and it also exports parts to China, England, Brazil and Germany, as well as a variety of companies across the United States.
Edge Manufacturing
Bluffton’s Edge Manufacturing is also adding 30,000 square feet to its existing facility, 1274 S. Adams St.
The estimated value of the proposed project is $850,000 according to forms filed with the city.
The company awarded a contract to Briner Building to add on to its 20,000-square-foot facility, meaning it will be a 50,000-square-foot building when construction is complete around Sept. 1.
The company does general manufacturing work, such as wood, plastic and metal fabrication.
Currently, Edge Manufacturing officials have rented a portion of the old Corning Plant, where some employees have been working. Once construction is complete, those employees will relocate to the Edge plant.
While no new jobs are expected to be added, there is the potential for growth in the future, a company spokesperson said.
Edge Manufacturing, formerly known as Speciality Woodworks, has been in business for about 16 years. The plant has been at its current location for about three years. Before then, the business was located on Indiana 124 near the Adams-Wells county line.
The business now has 12 to 15 employees. Eric Gerber is the president.
A.T. Ferrell Company Inc.
In May, Bluffton City Council approved a tax abatement for A.T. Ferrell Company Inc., also located on the city’s west side at 1440 S. Adams St.
Briner Building is expected to add 8,000 square feet to the company’s existing 50,000-square-foot structure. The project should be completed by the end of October.
Initially, the company will move employees from its Ossian operation to Bluffton, but there is a strong potential for future job growth.
“We are growing tremendously,” said Roger Stackhouse of A.T. Ferrell. “We have grown 15 percent to 20 percent a year for the last three.”
A.T. Ferrell designs and builds equipment utilized to process, condition and convey grains, feeds, chemicals, minerals, seeds, spices and other powder and bulk materials. The company has been in business for more than 135 years.
Buckhorn
In April 2007, Bluffton City Council learned of Buckhorn Inc.’s $6.3 million expansion after the company acquired the assets of a Detroit-based manufacturer.
Buckhorn Inc. shared its plans with council for moving the acquired company’s assets to Bluffton.
Council granted Buckhorn a 10-year tax abatement on the new equipment acquired in the sale. The company had bought the assets of Schoeller Arca Systems Inc., a Detroit-based manufacturer of plastic packaging systems for industrial applications.
“We’ve seen about a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in our manning levels with this additional business,” Buckhorn plant manager Richard Singer said last summer in a newspaper account.
Buckhorn has been manufacturing plastic containers in Bluffton for a decade. Operations began here in late 1996, with full-scale operation production in progress during 1997.
Buckhorn is located at 785 Decker Drive.
The future
City and county leaders, as well as the business leaders interviewed for this story, are all optimistic about the potential for future growth and jobs on Bluffton’s west side as more development takes place.
Ellis is committed to continue his efforts to make different sites around the community shovel-ready to attract more businesses.
“I’ll get on the phone and start calling people in the area to ask them, ‘Here’s the deal. You’re not out of pocket anything. Would you like to make it shovel ready?’” he said. “That’s not just on Adams Street. That is throughout the community.”
In the meantime, Row is also continuing his efforts to attract more employers to Wells County. He is working to create a network of existing business leaders who can talk with prospects. He is optimistic about what the future holds for Wells County.
“Our culture (in Wells County) produces entrepreneurs and our culture produces a strong work force that is very unique,” he said. “As companies deal with problems such as ever-increasing taxes on both coasts, transportation problems, increasing fuel costs, water shortages and so on and so forth, I believe some of these larger companies are going to branch out to the Midwest.”
“What we are trying to do is not only share our message with companies in the United States, but with multinationals throughout the world because we are a great location for them.”
Row’s efforts are also extending to Wells County’s schools. He and others are speaking with students to encourage them to pursue their ideas and to speak with business leaders about their passions.
“We are just laying the groundwork for future successes,” he said.
The News-Banner’s Mark Miller and Frank Shanly contributed to this report.
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com