Annual Report: Business and Industry

Business& Industry

Annual Report for Madison County | March 31, 2013

Section 1 of 2

Real estate sales saw steady rise in 2012 | See Page 3

Local auto dealers saw positive changes in 2012 | See Page 12

Farmers look for good season after drought in 2012 | See Page 8

A look at news and people in business and industry over the past year.

2 Annual Report for Madison County: Business & Industry | The Herald Bulletin

By Baylee PulliamThe Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — Anderson’s dusting off its “Help Wanted” sign.

Last year, it secured commitments frombig companies looking to add an estimated1,110 new local jobs and spend a total of $217,078,350 for development.

“I think this represents a reversal of trends in Anderson and Madison County,”said Mayor Kevin Smith. “It shows we canmarket ourselves, that we have marketablequalities.”

Many of the commitments came frommanufacturers, such as Green Tire Recla-mation, Echo Drive and major Honda plastic components supplier GreenvilleTechnology, Inc., which broke ground onits 150,000-square-foot facility — a $21,500,000 capital investment — in the

Flagship Enterprise Center business park in July, promising to bring 325 new jobs.That facility opened in January of this year.

Other commitments came from compa-nies already in Anderson, such as NestleUSA, which promised to expand on itscurrent facilities — a $166,270,000 capital

investment, on top of an added 104 jobs.While some jobs would be transferred

from the companies’ current facilities, somesaid they’d give locals first priority. In March,Hy-Pro filtrations operations manager Aar-on Hoeg promised to give locals first crack at the 107 jobs it plans to bring to Anderson.

The surge of jobs announcements has a lot to do with hard work and the city’s“great team” of economic developers, saidcity economic development head GregWinkler.

But luck has absolutely nothing to dowith it.

“Luck favors those who are prepared,”he said. “We were prepared.”

When a company wants to move in, thecity asks how much of an investment —jobs, property, capital — it intends tomake.

The city grades its incentives package

accordingly, such as the $3,250,000 in tax increment financing funds allocated for GTI. All told, the city approved $21,426,421in incentives last year.

If the company falls dramatically short of its projections, the city will seek reim-bursement, Winkler said.

But as far as he’s concerned, “2012 wasa great year, really phenomenal. I know we’re all really hoping and praying we canrepeat that in 2013.”

Not only did Anderson add jobs, but “wekept the ones we had,” Smith said — 1,152of them, in fact.

“There’s loyalty to the city and MadisonCounty,” he said. “It shows they think wehave potential. There’s a future here.”

Find Baylee Pulliam on Facebook, @BayleeNPulliam on Twitter or call 648-4250.

A ‘phenomenal’ year for jobs growthDon Knight / The Herald Bulletin

E-ons wind turbines multiplied in 2012 with phase two set to begin.

At a glanceBuilding permits filed in Madison Coun-

ty in 2012.Total permits filed: 346Residential permits: 115Total additions: 38New homes: 26Modular homes: 4Swimming pools: 12

SOURCE: Madison County Planning Commission

Annual Report for Madison County: Business & Industry | The Herald Bulletin 3

By Emma Bowen MeyerFor The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — Economic fac-tors in recent years have hit thereal estate market hard, but agents noticed sales steadily start to rise in 2012. And, whilethey can’t place their finger onthe exact reason, they are see-ing a significant increase insales already in 2013.

“Houses are moving all over the board,” said John Rhodes,owner of Rhodes Realty. “It seems like there is moreexcitement out there and morefirst time home buyers thanever. We are seeing numberslike we did in 2008 and we areoff to a great start this year.”

In 2011, the average saleprice of a home in MadisonCounty was $76,384. Anincrease of 21 percent brought that figure up to $82,402 in2012. Average prices may bedown for the start of this year,but a hefty percentage morehouses have sold in 2013 thanthey had at this time last year.

“Our listings are down in a good way,” said Sharon Baker Carpenter, real estate agent. “A lot of the foreclosures are not on the market anymore. Homeswill slowly start moving up invalue.”

In addition to the real estatetroubles faced by the nation,Madison County has suffereddue to General Motors leavingAnderson. Real estate agentsare finding that commutersmake up a good portion of today’s home buyers.

“A lot of people are commut-ing and want to be close to theI-69 corridor,” said Rhodes.“People are making that extra commute to buy more. Most are young buyers — and many have grown up around thisarea.”

“A lot of times I see onespouse working in Muncie andanother working in Indianapo-lis,” said Carpenter. “This is a great in-between place. Buyersseem to be young couples that are tired of renting or older couples that are looking todownsize.”

In 2012, 142 homes were soldfrom January 1 to March 7 withan average sales price of $71,004. During the same timeperiod in 2013, 206 homes were

sold with an average sales priceof $69,013. Sale prices areaffected by repossessions, but as those leave the market,home values are expected torise.

Another factor noticed by professionals in 2012 was thedifficulty in moving property above a certain price point.Rhodes reported that he is not finding that to be true so far in2013.

“The market was very slug-gish in 2012 for a home that was above the $150,000 mark,”he said. “That is not the caseanymore. Everything is mov-ing. Houses are at a good value.But if you have a house to buy,doing it before April 1 is a goodidea. The FHA is raising their premiums on April 1.”

Carpenter is glad the Ander-son annexation plan fell through.

Annexation “will raise taxesfor those townships and willhurt home sales in those areas.”Without annexation, “peoplewill use their extra money toput into great houses.”

HousingIn 2012, Madison County

saw large gains in both thenumber of home sales and median sales price. The number of Madison

County’s 2012 closed home sales hit 1,331, up over 26 percent from 2011. Thatclocks in far above the state-wide number, which, at66,516, only represents a 14.7 percent gain. The same can be said for

Madison County’s 2012median home sale price, which, at $79,250, is up over 10 percent from 2011. That’smore than double the state’s increase of only 4.5 percent.

CLOSED SALES2011: 1,0552012: 1,331+26.2% increase

MEDIAN PRICE2011: $72,0002012: $79,250+10.1% increase

SOURCE: Anderson-MadisonCounty REALTORs


ANDERSON — While home sales are on the rise, commercial building sales remain sluggish. As owners are updating the facades to entice buyers, the banks continue to be a stum-bling block for entrepreneurs.

“The num-bers are tough,” said John Rhodes, owner of Rhodes Real-ty. “Banks have really tightened up. Someone brand new to busi-ness is being asked for an incred-ible amount of money down and people just don’t have it. Com-mercial businesses are moving,

but very slowly.”“In general, things were better

in 2012 than 2011, but the market is still soft,” said Tom Seal, owner of F.C.Tucker/O.C. Clark andrealtor for 40 years. “It’s not because it’s Anderson. Most of

the reason isthat financingon commercialproperty is very difficult. Feder-al guidelinesand federalrequirementsare much morestringent thanthey used to be.The amount of activity is better

than it has been in the last threeor four years and I look for thingsto get better.”

“Commercial property hasdropped in pricing but some

good things are happening,” saidSharon Baker, Carpenter realestate agent. “We are seeing peo-ple buy older properties andrenovating them. It gives a new look and a new energy to Ander-son.”

Carl Chambers, an agent withF.C. Tucker/O.C.Clark, reportedthat new people with new ideasare moving to the area – andbringing businesses with them.

“Commercial sales aren’t asgood as they were a few yearsago, but they are picking up,” hesaid. “The Federal Credit Unionsold a couple of buildings becausethey were expanding and we go a new gun shop in one and are leas-ing the other to a business that was also expanding. I think things are changing. People havemore confidence in what’s goingon in Anderson and MadisonCounty.”

Real estate sales saw steady rise in 2012

Commercial sales market is soft

“We are seeing peoplebuy older properties and renovating them. It givesa new look and a new energy to Anderson.”

Sharon BakerCarpenter real estate agent

John P. Cleary / The Herald Bulletin

Workers for Arbor Homes put up siding on a new home under construction in the Paramount Springsaddition on east 67th St.


By Jack MolitorThe Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — The idea of annexation in Anderson has beentabled for the time being.

The proposal, part of Mayor Kevin Smith’s Anderson Fast Forward plan, was recommend-ed as a way to stabilize Ander-son’s population and tax base andcreate a strong economic corri-dor to the west along I-69. Theidea was panned by residents of the proposed areas and subse-quently voted down by the City Council in a meeting on March14. The plan died before gainingany momentum.

But the land is still out there,

and the way surrounding towns and cities have been growing, it’s land someone is bound to acquire, Smith said.

“The plan is logical if we want to compete with the job market and the population market of oth-er communities like Noblesville, Fishers, Pendleton,” Smith said. “It’s all about being able to com-pete.”

With the deterioration of eco-nomic influence in Anderson over recent decades, the population and business market had migrat-ed south along the interstate, which has developed into an open and fertile ground for expansion. With neighboring Lapel and Pendleton and even Hamilton

County cities growing and encroaching along the corridor, Smith was hopeful to stretch the city’s presence all the way to Exit 214 to the southwest. Depart-ment of Economic Development Director Greg Winkler agreed.

“Exit 214 makes us relevant again,” Winkler said. “You’re going to be in great shape if that’s your southwest boundary. If you can’t get there, you’re less of a player. We hear this on a regular basis.”

Winkler said the town or city that grabs the valuable land near the metropolitan loop of I-465 is in a position to be globally com-petitive as a job market for the next 50 years. He also said he was

concerned with the city’s viability as a county seat if it can’t expandand stabilize.

“Our concern is that the bud-get won’t get better moving for-ward,” Winkler said. “We havefiremen and police to pay, roadsto pave, and we don’t think wehave the money to cover a short-fall.”

So who will make a move?Pendleton Town Council Presi-dent Don Henderson said histown council is satisfied withPendleton’s current configura-tion and wants to maintain a small-town atmosphere. Expan-sion would be counterproductiveto that end.

Lapel Town Council President

Gary Shuck didn’t deny annexa-tion ambitions for his town, but said the economy needs to turnaround before that happens.Lapel is moving forward with a recently submitted super-volun-tary annexation of about 10 prop-erties within the area Andersonwas proposing, effectively block-ing out some of the land in play.

Shuck said the town is pleasedwith the move and he will con-tinue to promote the south side of the town as an area for growth.Otherwise, he said Lapel willwatch and wait to see what hap-pens.

“No matter what happens,there’s always something comingup next,” Shuck said.

Surrounding towns mull annexationoptions after Anderson proposal fails


Shot of I-69 exit 214 at Indiana 13 showing the area on the north side of the interstate that was in the proposed annexation area. Just north of the exit ramp is a state highway garage and next to that, to the north, is Newco Metals Inc.


By Jack MolitorThe Herald Bulletin

PENDLETON — Thomas Pend-leton moved to Madison County in1825 and five years later he was helping lay out plans for a town that would be named after him.

It was a small town then, and Town Council President Don Henderson said he’d like to keep it a small town in the future.

A recently shelved proposed annexation by Anderson along the I-69 corridor has led to rum-blings in surrounding communi-ties about whether or not to grab land that appears to be in high demand. Henderson said he can’t speak for the Town Council and that the idea hasn’t been dis-cussed much yet, but he wants to work around Pendleton’s historic core and not expand farther for now.

The 14-year Town Council President said the historical and small-town identity of Pendleton is what has made it a great com-munity up until now, and resi-dents haven’t voiced the desire to change that. He said expansion would mean allocating resources and capital away from the center of town.

“If we did move west, it would be almost all the way to Hamilton County, and it would take every-thing we have and we’d have to devote energy out there. It would be at the expense of being an historic town,” Henderson said.

Town Manager Doug McGee agreed with Henderson. He said expanding a community is expen-

sive, and the town wants to stay devoted to enhancing what’salready there.

“It’s imperative that we main-tain a good quality of life for our

residents. There’s a park in the downtown historic district. We’ve put lots of money into improving our trails. We’re working on bringing the first roundabout to

Madison County. We have severalthings going well for us.”

Find Jack Molitor on Facebookand @AggieJack4 on Twitter, or call 640-4883.

At a glance Businesses along I-69 corri-

dor from Exit 214 to 222Tractor SupplyVersa Cold LogisticsDodd TechnologiesRemy InternationalBL Brown Construction

and ExcavationNestleCarter ExpressPrecision StripAlliance OneJP Kane and Co.MetLifeAltair NanoMidwest POS SolutionsPurdue UniversityFlagship CenterAnderson University

Pendleton committed to staying a town

Don Knight / The Herald Bulletin

Pendleton’s downtown commercial district covers roughly 12 blocks centered around the intersection of State Street and Pendleton Avenue.

John P. Cleary / THB

An aerial view looking easton I-69 at Exit 214.


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ANDERSON — While the drought of 2012 will long be remembered, the lack of rain was not as severe in Madison County as in other areas of the state and country. Heavy rains in the spring and fall ensured that some crops fared well.

“In the middle of the summer we really struggled, but the early spring crops did very well,” said David Robb, farm manager for Harvest Land Farm in connection with Aspire. “We had a really good fall for vegetable farming.Even though there was a severe dip, we did just fine.”

Robb has been with the Har-vest Land Farm for six years. The business sells to multiple outlets,farmer’s markets, and restau-rants. In addition, some commu-nity members purchase a share in the spring and glean a basket of produce every week.

“We have a set of crops that we grow every year,” he said. “From last year we learned we need toput irrigation out early. We also need to plant a lot more. We have more demand than supply.”

Robb reports he has plans to double if not triple production this year by opening up some acres with cover crops. With a total of 25 acres, the farm usually has 12 to 15 acres under production.

“The demand is high becausepeople are beginning to realize that local organic vegetables taste really good and are good for you,” he added. “These are fresh and haven’t been shipped hundreds of miles.”

Farmers of large tracts of corn found themselves hit pretty hard by the drought, but many were able to collect from their crop insurance, which lessened the blow significantly.

“A lot of the guys have insur-ance anymore and so some were just as well off this year,” said Matt Edwards, assistant grain merchandiser for Harvest LandCo-Op. “Income was lower in thebig scheme of things. Crop insur-ance has been available for quitea while but farmers haven’t col-lected in recent years because yields have been good.”

Beans fared better than corn due to the late rains. By the timethe heavy fall rain fell, it was toolate for the corn to recover.

“The corn was pretty much burnt up earlier in the year and

didn’t get much benefit from thelate rain,” said Edwards. “Sincethe ethanol plants have been buy-ing corn, it has skyrocketed.Farmers are planting more cornthan beans.”

Although 2012 was full of trou-bling times for farmers, Edwards

thinks last year’s yields will havelittle effect on 2013 plans for planting.

“We haven’t had it that badsince 1988,” he said. “I don’t think it will influence what farmers dofor this year.”

With expenses and risk on the

rise, more small farmers are leav-ing the business.

“Larger farms are getting big-ger,” added Edwards. “It’s theprice of land and the competition.Everything is pretty expensiveand the smaller guys are having a hard time competing.’


At a glanceAgriculture numbers in

Indiana and Madison County

14,700Acreage in farms

*2011 Indiana total

237 acresAverage farm size

*2011 Indiana

$8.4 billion*2011 value of Indiana crops

$3.3 billion*2011 value of Indianalivestock & products

96,500*2012 planted acres of corn

Madison County

119.9*2012 corn yield per acre

13*2012 state ranking corn

91.400*2012 planted acres

of soybeans

48.2*2012 soybean yield per acre

8*2012 state ranking soybeans

*Latest year for which statistics are available.

Source: Indiana Field Office of National

Agricultural Statistics Service

Farmers look for good season after drought in 2012

Photos by JohnP. Cleary / THB

Above: Neese Farms harvestsbeans south of Elwood alongIndiana 128and CountyRoad 900West in this Sept. 24 THBfile photo.

At left: Driedout crops dur-ing last sum-mer’s drought.


POETfound corn in drought


ALEXANDRIA — Last year’s drought did not dampen the local Alexan-dria POET Biorefining plant from purchasing the needed 20 million bushels of corn to manufacture ethanol. Even with the difficult weather conditions, local farmerswere able to meet the demands of the large corpo-ration.

“The drought conditions caused a lot of problems but it wasn’t total and completeacross the U.S.,” said DaveHudak, general manager. “Some rain was spotty andthe yield depended on whenthe corn was planted. In our area we had a little better weather than some other parts of Indiana.”

Seven counties supply corn to POET. During a year of true shortage, the company would have to look to outside farmers to meet their demand or reduce pro-duction of ethanol. Alexan-dria’s plant manufactures anaverage of 65-70 million gal-lons of ethanol per year.

Alexandria was chosen asa perfect location in 2008 due to the proximity to raw materials and access to utili-ties – including water, elec-tricity and the rails. Estab-lished in 1986, POET oper-ates 27 plants in sevenstates. With a production of 1.6 billion gallons of etha-nol, nine billion pounds of high protein animal feed and thousands of pounds of bio-based oils and lubri-cants, this innovative com-pany fills the needs of a variety of customers.

“Our farmer base hasbeen very good to us,” said Hudak. “Fortunately wehave not had to look outsideour draw area. Our 2013 expectations come fromlooking at USDA reportsthat indicate adequate plant-ing. We don’t know theweather, which really impacts yield. But we planto operate at the correct production rate.”


GTI held its grand opening on Jan. 18 for its new 150,000 square-foot parts manufacturing facility built in the Flagship.

Auto manufacturing shifts into high gearBy Baylee PulliamThe Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — The engine on Madison County’s auto industry has been cool for years.

But in 2012, it was revving, with solid sales, expansions and big commitments from new compa-nies promising nearly 350 new jobs in Anderson alone.

The auto industry is “absolute-ly making a comeback in Ander-son,” said Mayor Kevin Smith.

He points to the biggest and most recent auto manufacturing commitment, which came from major Honda plastic components supplier, Greenville Technology, Inc., which broke ground on its new $21.4 million plant in the Flagship Enterprise Center busi-ness park in July.

Then, “all of this was just an ordinary Indiana farm field,” said Jon Adams, general manager of

GTI’s Anderson plant. Only six months later, it held

its grand opening with a mes-sage: “Manufacturing never left Indiana,” former Governor Mike Pence said at the January cele-bration. “But a major manufactur-ing economy is back in Indiana, and it will continue to grow from this day.”

And Madison County is reap-ing the benefits, Smith said.

“Anderson’s been able to carve out a niche in manufacturing,” he said, due to its location along Interstate 69 and a skilled labor force lingering from the area’s automotive past.

“In general, I think Hoosiers understand manufacturing,” Smith said. “We know how to build things and put them togeth-er.” That’s one reason Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Echo Drive, which is in the battery and electric vehicle technology business, formally

announced in November it hadrelocated to Anderson. At that time, it had 12 local employeesand plans to hire 10 more by March 2013.

Echo recycled both the facili-ties and some employees fromBright Automotive, which closedshop in the Flagship EnterpriseCenter, 2701 Enterprise Drive,when it failed to receive a federalfunding to develop its business.

Commitments from companieslike GTI and Echo mark not only the return of auto manufacturingjobs, but highly-skilled engineer-ing jobs, Smith said.

“We’ve been able to capturethat skill set,” he said. “We cantrain people,” adding he hopesthe trend continues in years tocome.

Find Baylee Pulliam on Face-book, @BayleeNPulliam on Twit-ter or call 648-4250.

At a glanceMadison County’s manufactur-

ing employment and wages datafrom 2011, the latest date for which data was available.

3,952Total employment

7.7%Percent distribution

in the county

15.5%Percent distribution in county

$79,408Average earnings per job

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis


By Kayley FrankFor The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — It’s not easy tobe a business owner right now. Weall hear about declining consumer spending, higher tax rates for small businesses and legislationthat’s aimed at making the cost of doing business less extreme. For-tunately for local businesses,some Madison County bankshave been able to help businessowners navigate the waters of business best practices in order tohelp them stay competitive intoday’s slower economy.

“Today’s business environment can be difficult,” said Old Nation-al Bancorp Region President Jeff Howe. “Our goal is to be a trusted partner so our clients can spendmore time doing business instead of worrying about business.”

In 2012, Old National loanedmore than $11 million to Madison County businesses, and they’veseen continued increases in com-mercial lending activity. “Over-coming the perception that banksare not lending, which is simply not true at Old National, is a chal-lenge,” said Howe. “We have nev-er stopped lending.”

Additionally, Old National hasbeen able to help businesses by working directly with owners tofind creative solutions for their business needs. “We work tobuild relationships with localbusiness owners to help themkeep pace with the changing envi-ronment and find solutionsincluding creating cash flow and protecting their locations by pur-chasing instead of leasing,” saidMellissa Hicklin, who handlesmarketing for Old National.

In one case, Old National wasable to provide working capital to a business by establishing anadditional line of credit. They’ve also worked with business own-ers to establish cash manage-ment services, which can helpmake paperwork more efficient.

In the same way, First Mer-chants Bank has worked withdirectly with businesses to estab-lish good working relationships and provide resources at a local level. Because First MerchantsBank is headquartered in Mun-cie, they’re able to provide a more “local flavor” for business ownersand offer them direct access todecision makers.

“We provide support and exper-tise here locally; in most cases, our decision makers are people

who live and work in our commu-nities,” said Kirk Klabunde, mar-ket president for First MerchantsBank in the North Central region.“People can take comfort know-ing that their neighbors are mak-ing the decisions that serviceour commercial banking custom-ers.” Last year, First MerchantsBank made approximately 100loans to small businesses in

Madison County.MainSource Bank also works

with prospective business own-ers to review their businessplans and offer assistance inmaking adjustments. “Whilelooking at the options, we willreview the entire picture andmake recommendations whichare in the best interest of the cli-ent.” said Doug Loy, MainSource

Bank market president. “In addition, First Merchants

Bank, MainSource Bank and OldNational all offer business own-ers and individuals alike access tofinancial planning resources,investment and wealth manage-ment services and insurance.“Our goal is to be a one-stop shopfor financial needs on a commer-cial and personal level,” saidKlabunde.

According to Klabunde, one of the biggest challenges businessowners face is building a strongbusiness plan, which he believescan be best done by having a network of people to bounceideas off of. “Find someone that can give you honest feedback andhelp you flesh out your ideas,” hesaid. “The folks we deal with that are the most successful get together with other professionalsand share their best practices.”

Banks provide assistance for local businesses

Ideas for people who are starting a business

◆ Get in the know. Knowing how to manage a business is crucial. Do what it takes to figure it out! Take a business course, start researchingor find successful professionals to talk to.◆ Find the right people. Figure out how you’re going to handle the

financial and legal aspects of your business. Consider hiring an attorneyor an accountant.◆ Ask for help. Seek out local resources like the Indiana Small Busi-

ness Development Center or the Service Corps of Retired ExecutivesAssociation. These organizations can assist prospective owners in creat-ing business plans.

Don Knight / The Herald Bulletin

The PNC location on Nichol Avenue in Anderson.

“We provide support and expertise here locally; in most cases, our decisionmakers are people who

live and work in our communities. People can take comfort knowing

that their neighbors aremaking the decisions that service our commercial

banking customers.”

Kirk Klabundemarket president for First Merchants

Bank in the North Central region


By Dani PalmerThe Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — “In my opinion, 2012 was a suc-cessful year,” said Greg Winkler, Anderson’s Eco-nomic Development direc-tor, on bringing jobs Madi-son County. “Now the question is, can we do it again?”

In 2012, Anderson saw the announcement of over 1,000 jobs, including six new companies and eight expansions.

There was a “full spec-trum” of jobs from manu-facturing to aerospace toplastic molding to the ser-vice industry, as Winkler put it.

He noted a big part of the success was having strong relationships devel-oped. For the biggest announcement of the year, with the promise of 325 jobs by 2016, officials had ties with Greenville Tech-nology Inc.’s broker. If not for that relationship, thecity would’ve never knownabout GTI’s search for a new Honda parts produc-tion facility, Winkler said.

It took team work and a lot of effort to accom-plish that deal, hesaid. All of the depart-ment heads came inafter hours on a Fri-day and had every-one ready to go toanswer questions onMonday morning.

“The cooperative-ness of the city gov-ernment to pave the way, remove impediments andcut the red tape was evident from the day we met the mayor and his staff,” GTIExecutive Vice President William LaFramboise said in a past interview with TheHerald Bulletin. “And that’sprobably the intangible that pushed us over the top.”

Winkler noted Anderson went from “not being on the radar” to signing thedeal in less than two weeks.

And when he’s talkingabout the importance of direct relationships withbusinesses, he doesn’t just

mean here in the U.S. but inthe world.

An area has to be able tocompete globally. And over-seas companies want Amer-ican partnerships in areaslike manufacturing to beable to offer parts and deliv-ery closer to customers,

Winkler said.Japan’s 2011 tsuna-

mi changed the way auto companies look at business, for exam-ple. They don’t want interruptions, they want secure onshoreparts production, hesaid. And they want

to be in market where they can benefit from the for-eign currency.

GTI’s parent company isJapan’s Moriroku Technol-ogy, Inc.

Winkler said the city willreally see a significant impact from 2012’sannouncements in three tofive years.

And then, there was2012’s downfalls, too.

Sears, an anchor of Mounds Mall since 1983,announced its closure inJanuary 2012 after SearsHolding Corp. shut downaround 100 under-perform-

ing stores because of lack-luster holiday sales.

The closure eliminated about 75 jobs, and at thetime, Madison County Cor-poration for Economic Development (CED) Exec-utive Director Rob Sparkssaid losing the store would put pressure on those remaining, along with add-ing the mall’s burden of finding a new retailer.

“It just adds an additionalchallenge to the retail are-na,” he said in a past inter-view.

Sears has a long history in the city. It first opened in downtown Anderson in 1928, moved to where Anderson Public Library now stands in 1947 and then to Mounds Mall.

The good news is that,the company announced a return this year, albeit in a much smaller scale, with a Hometown store to open in April.

Sparks said there’s been“more and more pressure on every sector” and added a community has to give businesses a reason to come to the area.

It has to market itself,have an educated work-

force, show what it has of value because “companieslook at the big picture,” hesaid.

It’s something multipleentities, like the CED, thecity’s economic develop-ment office, the FlagshipEnterprise Center andMayor Kevin Smith workedon together for Anderson.

“We don’t care where theopportunity comes from,” Winkler said. “If it’s a goodopportunity and a goodcompany, we’re going toaggressively seek it.”

But it has to be a good fit and provide a strong returninvestment in the long run, he noted. Like Hy-Pro, that will be paying over $200,000a year in property taxes.

If officials “do it right people will be better for it,”he said, and Anderson will“be a better place to live.”

And while officials want these new companies tooffer jobs locally, Winkler said using Interstate 69 todraw in people from over a 600,000 population area is a good idea.

With more jobs along thecorridor, more people may want to live closer andmove to Anderson or Madi-

son County, Winkler said.And, in the process, pay taxes to the city and county to help areas like infra-structure improve.

“The point is to help sta-bilize the local economy and lay the foundation for future growth,” Sparkssaid.

While 2013 started off strong, he said, there’ssome concerns with thefederal cuts. But Sparks isstill optimistic.

Winkler said it’s “tooeasy to say (there will be)more of the same” in 2013,but it’s something officialsare aiming for.

He noted that there’s a great interest in Chrysler that’s looking for different markets and informationtechnology with the power of the Internet.

Sparks also has highhopes for the proposedMounds Lake Reservoir, or “Project Oasis,” that hebelieves could provide a “paradigm shift” in thefuture.

Find Dani Palmer onFacebook and @DaniPalm-er_THB on Twitter, or call 640-4847.

Jobs seekersuccessful;

others struggleBy Dani PalmerThe Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — A life-—long resident of Anderson,Cynthia Motsinger hadfears she would need tolook elsewhere for work when it was announced inJanuary 2012 that Sears at Mounds Mall was closing.The store locked its doorsin April, shutting out about 75 employees.

Motsinger, a single mother of four, had worked there for a year and been unemployed for two beforehand.

But, she found a job at new company, TeleSer-vices Direct, while she was still at Sears. A friendhad told her about theopening and she landedthe position right away.

Then, shortly later, she got a better paying job at IBM - where she’s beenfor eight months now - andquit TeleServices. She said she got that positionthrough a job fair, another “handy source” in additionto online search engines.

“It has greatly improved my financial situation,”she said of IBM. “I wasjust in dire need of better employment.”

While some Sears coworkers were trans-ferred to other stores or found jobs at Rosesdepartment store that opened in October, other weren’t so lucky.

Motsinger said those who’d been there for years were forced into retirement. Some are stillunemployed.

She has a friend who’s been unemployed for twoyears, unable to find a good job. She knowsanother who had a job at one of the Halloweenstores, but hasn’t been able to find work since,even with the assistanceof groups like WorkOneand the Impact Center.

Income and Poverty Number Rank in State % of State Average Indiana

Per Capita Personal Income (annual) in 2011 $30,421 73 85.2% 35,689

Median Household Income in 2011 41,766 71 90.0% $46,410

Poverty Rate in 2011 18.9% 13 119.6% 15.8%

Poverty Rate among Children under 18 29.4% 8 130.1% 22.6%

Welfare (TANF) Monthly Average Families in 2010 626 9 2.0% 30,864

Food Stamp Recipients in 2010 19,134 7 2.3% 829,907

pFree and Reduced Fee Lunch Recipients in 2011 10,527 7 2.2% 488,964

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Family Social Services Administration; Indiana Department of Education

Labor Force, 2011 Number Rank in State % of State Indiana

Total Resident Labor Force 61,156 13 1.9% 3,158,063

Employed 54,724 13 1.9% 2,874,722

Unemployed 6,432 10 2.3% 283,341

Annual Unemployment Rate 10.5 15 116.7% 9.0

December 2012 Unemployment Rate 10.2 1 121.4% 8.4

Source: STATS Indiana, using data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development Top of Form

MADISON COUNTY INCOME LEVELS AVERAGE

Anderson saw creation of 1,000 jobs in 2012

Winkler


By Dan ForstFor The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — Timesare good for Anderson’snew- car dealerships. Salesincreases, aggressiveexpansion and a bullishattitude on the future are inabundance.

“In 2012, we experiencedabout a 35 percent increasein sales revenue growthover 2011, and we’re pro-jecting about another 20percent over that in 2013,”said Myers and Ford Auto-world President Mary Jam-erson. “Those figures arein line, or slightly ahead of,national sales figures andprojections.”

Last November, Auto-world announced it wouldmove from its location onNorth Broadway and build a new 48,000 square-foot facil-ity on the former GeneralMotors Plant 11 site locatedjust north of 38th Street onScatterfield Road. At thesame time, the dealershipsaid it would donate its cur-rent facilities to Ivy TechCommunity College for automotive training classes.

“We’re just waiting for the weather to break so wecan have a formal ground-breaking ceremony at thenew location,” Jamersonsaid. “It’s a great locationand somewhat sentimentalfor me since, like a lot of other people, I can remem-ber when that area wasbustling with all the factory activity.”

Jamerson indicated that Ivy Tech would be able toaccommodate around 200students when it takes over Autoworld’s current loca-tion, a structure that wasbuilt in 1958.

“It’s a timeless buildingand every employee wehave is glad we’ll leave a legacy out there,” she said.“The fact we’re able to dothis speaks volumes about our community and therevitalization of the entirearea. Anderson is beingrediscovered and our future is bright.”

Last May, Ed MartinChevrolet held a grand-

opening celebration for its new facility that was built to add the Chrysler brand to its Anderson lineup. And over the summer, the com-pany also completed work on a new 44,000-square-foot facility to replace its aging building that housed the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands.

“The Chrysler brand has been given a very warm welcome here in Ander-son,” said Brian Burke, general manager of the Ed Martin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram operation.

“There’s over 9,000 registered Chr ysler owners in the Anderson area, and we’ve seen many come in and leave with a new vehicle.”

Burke says sales are strong for all the Ed Martin dealerships in Anderson. “All of my counterparts enjoyed a strong 2012 and,

in some cases, it wasrecord-breaking,” he said.“The company has made a very big investment inAnderson the past few years because it’s a goodplace to do business and a great location. We expect 2013 will be just as good or better than last year.”

The tsunami that devas-tated parts of Japan in 2011created supply problemsfor many Honda dealers.According to Bill Richard-son, dealer manager at Anderson’s Tom WoodHonda, 2012 saw hugeincreases in sales at thedealership once inventory returned to normal.

“Our sales really pickedup after we were able toprovide our customerswith a full range of prod-ucts,” Richardson said.“And we’re seeing that surge continue so far in2013.”

Following the localtrend, Richardson saysTom Wood Honda is active-ly pursuing expansionplans.

“We’ve been looking at various parcels of landnearer to I-69 for a potentialexpansion and new facility,”he said. “Sometime thisspring or summer, we’relooking to be in a positionto make an announcement.”

By Dan ForstFor The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — Withoptimistic news of expan-sions, expanded product lines, and expected growthdominating the local new car dealer landscape,Anderson used car dealer Dave Evans is along for theride.

Evans, along with wife Jo,started Sunshine AutoSales at 3118 North Scat-terfield Rd. in August, 2004.He says the success of thebig dealerships is nothingbut good news.

“More power to the bigguys because that just means more used cars inthe market and more cars Ican sell here,” said Evans.“Selling used cars can be a tricky business, but whenoverall car sales are good,then we generally do good.”

Evans says SunshineAuto Sales sold about 200used vehicles last year andtypically keeps about 30cars and trucks on the lot.Getting to this point, how-

ever, was a true learning experience.

“I remember when we first started, we sold four cars in the very first week,” said Evans. “But then, wedidn’t sell another car for over a month. I imagine we’ve overpaid for cars inthe past, but like anythingelse, you live and learn.”

Like many used car deal-ers, Evans obtains vehiclesat auctions and also from private individuals. For thefirst few years of operation,he tried the “buy here, pay here” approach but soon gave that up and provides used car warranties instead.

“We always like to help people as much as we can,but it got to the point where

it made no sense for us totry to finance what wesold,” he said. “We’ll helppeople find a loan if we can,but we started doing our own warranties here andpeople can get a price with,our without that option.”

As for the future, Evanslikes what he sees. “Ibelieve we’re seeing a bit more confidence in theeconomy with our custom-ers and they don’t seem tobe as afraid to buy as they have been,” he says. “Of course, right now is a goodtime because people aregetting their tax refunds,but even in a bad economy,people have to drive, and a used car can be a good way to make ends meet.”

Local auto dealers sawpositive changes in 2012

File photo / The Herald Bulletin

Autoworld President Mary Jamerson announced plans to move both Myers and FordAutoworld to the former GM Plant 11 site on Scatterfield Road.

Small dealers are making inroads

At a glanceVehicle sales are on rise

nationwide14,439,684 new vehicles

sold in US in 201212,734,424 in 201113.4 percent increaseIndiana has 429 new-car

dealershipsSource: National Automo-

bile Dealers Association

File photo / The Herald Bulletin

Several people turned out as Ed Martin held the grand opening for their new Chrysler dealership in Anderson last May. The facility sells and services Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles.

“More power to the big guys because that just means more used cars in the market and more cars I can sell here. Selling used cars can be atricky business, but when overall car sales are

good, then we generally do good.”

Dave EvansSunshine Auto Sales


.


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Annual Report: Business and Industry

Documents

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investment jobs

new local jobs

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past year

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