Steel Dynamics to Invest $76 Million in Pittsboro and Increase Production by 52%

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Fort Wayne) today announced that its board of directors has approved an expansion of its Engineered Bar Products Division located in Pittsboro, Indiana. The expansion is intended to both increase the steel mill’s capacity to produce special-bar-quality (SBQ) steel bars and to expand the mill’s product offerings of high-quality small-diameter SBQ bars.

The expansion is expected to increase the mill’s overall annual production capacity from 625,000 tons to 950,000 tons, a 52 percent increase. Subject to the anticipated receipt of necessary permits, which the company expects to be forthcoming in short order, and the receipt of state and local government support, the project is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2013 and to cost approximately $76 million.
Continue reading

Notes: Potential Illiana Corridors Detailed

The Illiana Corridor Planning Group has narrowed the list of possible routes for the highway.

Of the four proposed routes, the group has preliminary recommended a route that would connect Interstate 65 in Indiana, running between Cedar Lake and Lowell, to Interstate 55 in Illinois, running between Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Wilmington.

The planning group said this route would offer the lowest potential cost, lowest potential funding gap, lowest environmental impacts, highest multipurpose corridor compatibility and most local support.

The favored route will move forward as the finalist, with December as the “no-turning-back date.”

Greenwood has put together an incentive package to keep an e-commerce company in town.

A new full-body scanner has debuted at the South Bend airport.

The head of the Indiana National Guard vowed to fight plans to eliminate a national Guard A-10 squadron in Fort Wayne

Muncie is eyeing a 20-year, $168 million sewer project.

The Chase Tower in South Bend can be yours for $8.3 million.

Notes: Recycling Company Begins Work on New Plant

Perpetual Recycling will begin work on its promised Richmond facility next month.

Two of the owners of the Chicago-based plastics recycling company met with about 35 community leaders Thursday to offer a “before” glimpse at their plant at 1561 N.W. 11th St.

The company plans to renovate the former Amcast building, a 100,000-square-foot vacant manufacturing facility on the city’s largely industrial northwest side, and have the company up and running by the end of this year.

Perpetual Recycling is an environmentally friendly company that promises to bring 55 new jobs to the area.

Elkhart is seeking a final $5 million for a $25 million railroad overpass project.

A long-planned trash-to-ethanol plant in Northwest Indiana doesn’t appear to be happening.

Tourism contributed $1.6 billion to Lake County in 2010.

The Fort Wayne Air National Guard base may know if it’s on the chopping block as soon as today. UPDATE: The Department of Defense confirms it is scheduling the A-10 wing based in Fort Wayne for elimination.

Engine maker Cummins had a record year in 2011.

Green County Hospital has announced a $6.5 million expansion.

Notes: Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base May Face Cuts

The Fort Wayne Air National Guard base, which employs nearly 1,000 and contributes $58 million to the local economy, may be targeted for cuts as the Defense Department looks to trim $500 billion in costs.

When Fort Wayne’s Air National Guard base announced in 2009 the replacement of its sleek F-16 fighters with A-10s, it was said that the arrival of the ground-attack planes’ expected 20-year lifespan would assure the facility’s longevity.

Today, the “Warthogs’ ” presence has reportedly targeted the base for closure, casting doubt on the future of a facility that employs 955 people and injects more than $58 million into the local economy every year.

That’s because the $500 billion in cuts announced last week by the Defense Department include the elimination of five A-10 units, including three in the National Guard. First Lt. Rebecca Metzger, public affairs officer for the 122nd Fighter Wing at Fort Wayne International Airport, said the base has not been told whether it will be affected by the cuts, but expects notification “in the next week or so.”

The right-to-work bill is headed to a final vote this morning.

The Harrison project in Fort Wayne is finally underway.

Steel workers and the oil industry have reached a new deal, averting a possible work stoppage.

Amazon is expected to build yet another distribution center in Indiana, this time in the River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville.

The Evansville CVB is planning a $550,000 marketing blitz this spring.

A task force has identified the 15 worst grade-level railroad crossings in Northwest Indiana and is looking for funding to fix them.

The Indiana House has approved a plan to fund the maintainence of the Little Cal levee.

Illinois Manufacturer Expanding in Fort Wayne

Kinetek, a Deerfield, IL-based designer and manufacturer of motor, control and system solutions for commercial and industrial markets announced today that it has established an AC motor business unit.

Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the new business unit – Kinetek Advanced AC Solutions – will design and develop AC and other brushless motor products for manufacturing at Kinetek facilities around the world.

Patrick Delaney, president of Kinetek Advanced AC Solutions, said formation of the new unit leverages Kinetek’s AC motor engineering talent. “We have built a strong team with considerable expertise and experience at Kinetek’s research & design center (KRDC) in Fort Wayne. We are aggressively expanding this team to execute design and application of single, multi, and variable speed NEMA 48 and 56 frame AC motor products.”
Continue reading

Notes: Clean Air Rules to Increase Electric Rates

New clean air rules could increase Indiana’s electricity costs by 14% by 2020.

The analysis is from the State Utility Forecasting Group, a state-funded panel of researchers based at Purdue University.

Director Douglas Gotham says Indiana is expected to experience larger price increases than projected on a regional or national level. About 85 percent of the electricity used in Indiana is generated by coal-fired power plants, compared with about 45 percent nationwide.

Gotham predicts Indiana rates could rise by 34 percent overall by 2020 when other factors are included such as costs associated with ongoing new plant construction.

Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne ended 2011 in the black despite a tough economy.

Former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

Jeffersonville’s Redevelopment Committee is considering a forgivable loan program aimed at restaurants.

New Haven Medical Center Expands

Lutheran Health Network has announced a 4,300-square-foot expansion of its medical facility in Lutheran Health Plaza in New Haven. The $500,000 investment in Phase II will incorporate two new suites, nine exam rooms and space for two physicians adjacent to the existing 9,007 square-foot facility that opened last August.

Women’s Health Advantage, one of the largest providers of women’s healthcare in the Midwest, has arranged for an obstetrician/gynecologist and a nurse practitioner to provide services in the new space beginning May 1.
Continue reading

Notes: Porter County Can’t Withdraw from RDA

The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld an earlier ruling that Porter County cannot withdraw from the Regional Development Authority.

RDA officials cheered the ruling Wednesday, saying it helps secure the long-term objectives of the organization.

“It means that we can put our focus fully on making sure the RDA fulfills its mission,” RDA Chairman Leigh Morris said. “And we look forward to efforts to partner with leaders in Porter County to make sure important projects there go forward.”

Porter and Lake counties were made part of the RDA under legislation passed six years ago by the Indiana General Assembly. They are its only member counties.

Muncie’s mayor has declared the city a disaster area due to recent flooding.

Fort Wayne hopes to open bidding on a $25 million stormwater project in July.

An NFL lockout could begin tomorrow if owners and players can’t agree on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), putting the 2011 NFL season and the Indianapolis Super Bowl in jeopardy.

Passenger traffic at the South Bend Regional Airport was up for the sixth consecutive month in January.

Jeffboat in Jeffersonville is recalling 200 laid-off workers as barge demand picks up.

Notes: Rains Flood Parts of Central Indiana

Five inches of rain left parts of Muncie and Delaware County underwater Monday.

The legislative standoff in Indianapolis continues, with Democrats demanding changes to more bills before returning.

The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has approved $10 million in tax credits for the construction of 66 rent-to-own homes in Fort Wayne’s Renaissance Pointe project.

The City-County Council has approved $98 million in municipal bonds to finance the $155 million North of South project in Indianapolis.

Bus service in Northwest Indiana could end in 2012.

Florida Company Brings 60 Jobs to Fort Wayne

HTFx, Inc. has announced its plans to open a new 18,000 square foot factory 1222 Progress Road in Fort Wayne. The company, which manufactures a variety of thermal management products for medical, sports and military applications plans to employ between 50 and 60 people at the new facility, beginning in the spring of 2011, with expansion to as many as 300 employees in the following year.

“We found ourselves in a position where we needed to quickly ramp up our manufacturing capability,” said company president Brian Doherty. “Over the past year we have focused on exciting new applications for our unique heat transfer material, HTF Exotherm. This has resulted in the launch and promotion of the RiteTemp MedicalTM, RiteTemp AthleticsTM, CoolZone DogTM and 50d TacticalTM product lines which have all been met with positive reactions by their respective market segments. We have seen the writing on the wall, and are taking action now before demand outpaces the capacity of our Florida manufacturing plant.”
Continue reading