Community Hospital Named to Top 100

Community Hospital in Munster is among the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals, according to the results of an annual performance study conducted by Thomson Reuters. The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance, and operational efficiency.

“This distinction from Thomson Reuters, naming Community Hospital as a top 100 hospital, serves as another validation from an outside source that the best care can be found right here,” said Don Fesko, Chief Executive Officer of Community Hospital. “People in Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs of Chicago have nationally recognized care close to home at Community Hospital.”
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Notes: Tipton County Strengthens Push for Jobs

The Tipton County Council has approved a $300,000 tax break in an attempt to lure 850 jobs to the area.

The owners of the abandoned Getrag transmission plant site will receive a more than $300,000 tax break, which could transfer as an incentive to the building’s buyer.

A trust of local contractors took over ownership of the land after Getrag Transmission LLC and Chrysler LLC, former partners on the construction project, backed out.

The incentives are directed toward a solar panel manufacturing company, whose name county and state officials have not released.

The company would bring about 850 jobs to the area if it bought the plant. The business has looked at two other sites.

The 85 percent-complete building has sat empty since 2008 when Chrysler filed a lawsuit against Getrag over financing for the construction project. The 90,000-square-foot factory was expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.

Advanced Assembly in Columbia City is adding a third shift and 114 jobs to keep up with demand from General Motors.

Indiana Metal & Manufacturing is gearing up in La Porte, and had hired seven of a planned 35 employees.

Evansville officials have accepted bids totaling $24.3 million for nine projects on the Downtown arena project.

Steel production in northern Indiana was up 16,000 tons for the week ended March 27.

Private nonfarm employment decreased 23,000 from February to March, the smallest decline since employment began falling in February of 2008.

Purdue University has come up with the $45.5 million in cuts requested by the state.

The Muncie Downtown Development Partnership cleared $40,000 on this year’s Muncie Gras, which will be used to fund other downtown community events.

FOP Hiring in Muncie

The Indiana Fraternal Order of Police (INFOP) Fundraising Center has relocated and expanded. The company is looking to hire 150 to 200 full and part time positions. The new center is located at 2170 West White River Blvd (south end of the White River Plaza) in Muncie.

The company will be hiring telephone sale reps, managers, assistant managers, coaches, section leaders and motivators. Flexible schedules are available. Sales rep positions start at $9 per hour. Applications are being taken on site. Calls and questions regarding the positions can be made to (765) 281-4859.

Shane Haney, manager of the expanded center, is excited about the opportunity to find qualified employees and provide full time and part time options to residents of Muncie-Delaware County. “Muncie is a great city and the INFOP is proud to be a growing member of the business community. The jobs provide not only flexibility but the opportunities to grow and advance in our organization,” added Haney.

“The INFOP is a great organization who raises money for a very worthy cause,” said Terry Murphy, Vice President for Economic Development for the Muncie-Delaware County Vision 2011 Economic Development Alliance. “The added employment opportunities this expansion brings are needed and very welcome. We look forward to the company’s growth and continued success,” added Murphy.

70 Jobs for Perry County

WGS Global Services LC, a startup provider of machining and light assembly services, has located its newest production facility in Tell City and will add up to 70 new jobs by 2013.

The company, which provides a variety of manufacturing and logistics services to customers in the automotive, defense and commercial manufacturing industries, will invest $279,000 to lease and equip a 22,500 square-foot facility to launch its first independent Indiana production operation.
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Heartland Expanding in Elkhart

Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC, a manufacturer of RVs and travel trailers, announced today that it will expand its operations in Elkhart, creating up to 265 new jobs by 2013.

The company, which manufactures fifth wheel, lightweight and extended stay RVs will invest more than $2.6 million to purchase and equip a 125,000 square-foot manufacturing facility. Heartland announced in February that it has purchased the remaining trademarks of the towable brands of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.
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Notes: Indianapolis Airport Ponders Revenue Schemes

With travel down, the Indianapolis Airport Authority is looking at alternative ways to generate revenue.

Imagine attending a farmer’s market—not along a country road, but atop the roof of the parking garage at Indianapolis International Airport.

Or, without a plane ticket, being able to walk back to the secured gate area of the airport to shop or to have lunch.

Airport officials might even rent out their expertise to other airports or to businesses.

Home foreclosure rates continued to rise in Elkhart in 2009.

Unemployment rates in Indiana were largely unchanged in February.

McConnell Elected Chairman of Johnson County Development Corporation

R.J. McConnell, Partner with the Indianapolis law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP, has been elected chairman of the Johnson County Development Corporation. McConnell has been on the Board of Directors for six years and will serve a two-year term as chairman.

The Johnson County Development Corporation staff is supported and assisted by area elected officials and representatives from the private sector in their efforts to grow the economy of Johnson County for the benefit of all of its residents. They work to retain existing business and industry; maintain and increase the overall quality of life; and foster quality job creation and tax base development in Johnson County.
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Notes: Praxair Proposes Burns Harbor Investment

Connecticut-based Praxair is seeking tax abatements from the town of Burns Harbor for an $8 million to $10 million project which would test new technology.

Praxair Inc. is looking to implement nearly 5,000 hours of additional labor hoping to boost the town’s economic activity.

Praxair representatives, Economic and Business Development Director Greg Sweeney and Operations Manager Dennis Maxwell, spoke to the Burns Harbor Economic Development Commission on using the Burns Harbor facility to further test a new innovation that will increase efficiency in air separation technology.

Sweeney said he feels that Burns Harbor has the “size and scale” suited for their initiative and the company is looking to invest $8 to $10 million in the facility if the company’s chairman approves of the engagement.

Burns Harbor EDC president Cliff Fleming said he thinks the investment will bring the town new partnerships and prove cost effective.

As part of the deal, Praxair is also asking the commission for a 50 percent tax abatement on its personal property for a five-year period.

Layoffs are likely coming at Sallie Mae in Fishers and Muncie.

Three alternative energy companies are eyeing Tippecanoe County for wind farm locations.

The Lilly Endowment lost $1 billion in value last year.

Notes: Report: Indiana Lost 55,000 Jobs to China Since 2001

Since 2001, trade with China has cost the U.S. 2.4 million jobs, according to a new report.

The congressional district of U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, has lost nearly 5,000 jobs through this country’s trade deficit with China; the district of U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, even more.

Those are the findings of a report released on Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a nonpartisan, nonprofit partnership of several leading U.S. manufacturers and the United Steelworkers.

Since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, 2.4 million jobs have been lost or displaced in the United States as a result of the burgeoning trade deficit with that nation, the report concludes, and Indiana was among the states hit hardest, suffering 54,900 job losses over the seven-year period covered by the EPI study and ranking 15th in the nation.

Visclosky’s 1st district accounted for 4,900 of those job losses; Donnelly’s 2nd, 6,000; the hardest hit districts, the 3rd, the 5th, and the 9th.

The full report, which pegs Indiana’s total job losses at 54,800, can be found here.

Weekly initial unemployment claims for the week ended March 20 were down.

Fort Wayne is laying down more than seven miles of new water and sewer lines south of the city to prep land for economic development.

Richmond has a new brewery.

nGenX has opened a data center in Lafayette but has no immediate hiring plans.

A rebranding campaign by Conseco may lead to a name change for the home of the Indiana Pacers.

Single-family home sales in Northwest Indiana saw gains in February.

No, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has no plans to run for President. No, not at all, which is why he always refuses to address national issues.

Wire Manufacturer Coming to Scottsburg

TOKUSEN U.S.A. has announced plans to establish a wire manufacturing plant in Scottsburg, creating up to 134 new jobs by 2012.

The company, which manufactures a variety of steel wire products, will invest several million dollars to purchase and equip a 300,000 square-foot facility to manufacture sawing wire. The wire will be used to slice silicon ingots for the solar energy industry.

TOKUSEN U.S.A., Inc., which employs more than 300 associates in Conway, Ark., plans to begin hiring manufacturing, supervisory and clerical associates immediately in preparation for the commencement of production activities scheduled for August.
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