Daily Archives: February 25, 2010

Notes: WellPoint CEO Defends Premium Hikes

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In testimony before Congress, Angela Braley, CEO of Indianapolis-based WellPoint, blamed recent premium increases on the soaring costs of hospital care and pharmaceuticals.

A Chinese company has pulled out of a deal to buy the Hummer brand, throwing the future of a Mishawaka plant in doubt.

Lending by Indiana banks declined by 10 percent in 2009.

Alcoa will lay off 17 in Lafayette.

Declining ridership on the South Shore commuter railroad has led it to cut 10 jobs and consider other cost-saving measures.

The Great Recession as experienced by one Elkhart County company.

Company to Expand in Elkhart

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Heat treating service provider Specialty Heat Treating, Inc., said it will expand its facility in Elkhart, a move that is estimated to create up to 26 jobs by 2012.

The Michigan-based company plans to invest $1.5 million to add a new vacuum furnace to its existing 33,000 square-foot facility. The new furnace will provide additional capacity to its vacuum heat treating services, a process which enhances the properties of steel in a protective atmosphere. Installation for the new furnace will begin in May with production beginning in August.

“This company and more than a dozen others that chose to invest in this region last year remind us that you can’t keep a great workforce and a great business environment down for long,” said Governor Mitch Daniels. “Specialty Heat Treating’s expansion gives us yet another reason to be optimistic about Elkhart County’s economic resurgence.”
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Wind Turbine Plant Could Bring 1,800 Jobs to New Castle

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The D’Arcinoff Group (DG) has signed a letter of intent to use the former Metaldyne plant in New Castle to house the headquarters of a wind turbine parts and components manufacturing company, Rep. Tom Saunders (R-Lewisville) said.

The business will replace the vacant plant to bring nearly 1,800 new jobs to the New Castle area.

DG is a U.S. owned investment and alternative technology development company based in the Washington, D.C. area. It is comprised of transportation, defense, and energy industry veterans that rely upon strong relationships with industrial participants to develop strategic synergies wherever possible.

Michael Darcy, CEO of DG, said that he has already applied for a loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and is awaiting reply on whether funding for the plant will be granted. Darcy expects to hear from the loan bank within the next 60 days.

The plant would be a training facility of a wind turbine-manufacturing program called Advantage Wind Turbines. DG said they have plans to bring back some of the people laid off from the Metaldyne plant within the last year to staff the new company.

“Although this is only a step in what could be a potentially long process, and nothing is guaranteed, the news of DG wanting to bring jobs and invest back into the Metaldyne plant in New Castle is great news,” said Rep. Saunders. “Just the talk of the possibility of 1,800 new jobs within the next two years brings hope to the people in the community.”