September 25, 2007

Governor wheels into Markle for Novae ceremony

EASY RIDER IN MARKLE — Indiana’s Governor Mitch Daniels waves for the camera as he drives past the cornfield earmarked for the construction of Novae’s new warehouse after attending the official groundbreaking ceremony in Markle this morning. After the ceremony, Daniels and his contingent of three other bikers and a Indiana State Police escort, departed for Portland where they were scheduled for a tour of the new Poet Ethanol Plant (Photo by Frank Shanly)

State government came to Markle this morning, in person, as Governor Mitch Daniels rode into town on his motorcycle to attend Novae Corporation’s official ground-breaking ceremony for their new development project.

The ground opposite Novae’s current facilities is currently occupied by a cornfield, but in just a few weeks time, Novae will begin construction on a new 2,000 square foot warehouse, which will be part office space and part manufacturing. The new development is needed due to rapid expansion of Novae’s trailer sales, service, repair and trade operation.

Novae Chief Steve Bermes told how back in 1995, he and his brother Greg began by making products in their father’s barn. By December 2001 the company had grown sufficiently to force a move to premises in Fort Wayne and following further growth, the company took up residence in Markle in 2004, with their official opening on January 1, 2005.

The Markle facility comprised some 61,000 square feet, but still was not large enough to match the continuing growth of the company, which is now one of the “big three” in Markle. It is still very much a family owned company, but Bermes explained that in 2008, the company will have 100 employees on its payroll.

Governor Daniels praised the company, saying that small business such as Novae, that grow to create job opportunities and economic development are important to Indiana.

Daniels was also pleased to see Novae based in a smaller town such as Markle, ensuring that economic growth within the state is shared around the state, and not just limited to a small number of centers.

Daniels was also pleased with the role that state government had played in road development, that was enabling Novae’s business to grow.

Daniels advised that Indiana has a $4 billion dollar fund set aside to develop roads to help development projects such as Novae’s enterprise, and he noted the role the state government had played in the development of the Novae parkway road.

Markle Town Council president Tamra Boucher spoke of the cooperation between state and local government, the staff at Novae and the people of Markle in the success of the project.

With building of the new facility due to start over the next few weeks, Bermes does not expect it to be quite complete by the start of the new year, but anticipates that it will be up and running by spring.

frank@news-banner.com

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