Companies to Add 600+ High-Wage Jobs for Hoosiers

Governor Pence Highlights 26,555 Committed Jobs in 2015, 14% Increase in Planned Wages

 

Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence joined executives from 17 companies across Indiana today to announce expansion plans that are expected to create a combined 648 new jobs in Allen, Boone, Clark, Hamilton, Marion, Shelby and Vanderburgh counties. These new jobs are anticipated to pay an average annual salary higher than $82,900, which is 85 percent higher than the state’s average wage.

“This year, Indiana set an historic employment record with more Hoosiers working now than at any time in our state’s 200-year history,” said Governor Mike Pence. “And that number continues to rise because job creators, like those joining us here today, recognize the benefits of doing business in the Hoosier state. Companies both large and small are finding success and creating jobs across Indiana because we are a state that works.”

Today’s news is part of another record-breaking year of economic development results, with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) securing Hoosier job commitments with 323 companies from around the state, nation and world – up from 285 company commitments in 2014 and the highest on record since the IEDC was established in 2005. Including today’s announcements, these companies have committed to creating 26,555 new jobs over the next few years and investing more than $4.79 billion in their Indiana operations.

These 26,555 positions, which encompass all IEDC projects in 2015, are expected to pay an average hourly wage of $24.87, which is more than a 14 percent increase from IEDC project wages last year and is above both the current state ($21.55/hour) and national average wages. More than 50 percent of the companies committing to expand their operations – 165 in total – will create jobs with average salaries above the state’s average. These higher-wage commitments are expected to pay an average hourly wage of $32.82. Nearly 30 percent of these expansions that will pay salaries above the state’s average are in the manufacturing industry.

“Indiana’s roots in manufacturing and agriculture continue to hold, and we are seeing these industries advance as technology and capabilities progress,” said Governor Pence. “Meanwhile, the Hoosier State’s economy is diversifying with remarkable growth in our technology, life sciences and aviation/aerospace sectors. Companies from Rolls-Royce and GM to Emarsys and Appirio are choosing to invest in Indiana because of our efforts to cut costs and taxes while investing in our Hoosier workforce and communities statewide.”

In 2015, the IEDC secured commitments from 59 companies in the tech industry, a 156 percent increase from 2014. These expansions account for 4,622 planned Hoosier jobs – an 89 percent increase from committed tech jobs in 2014 –  and $159.67 million in planned capital investment in Indiana. These tech jobs are expected pay average annual salaries above $72,000.

The 17 companies announcing plans today to create high-wage jobs in Indiana include:

• AgReliant Genetics, the third largest corn seed company in the United States by market share, is investing $6.1 million to expand its headquarters in Westfield, nearly doubling its capacity to meet long-term growth in the agriculture industry. The company, which currently employs more than 140 Hoosiers, plans to create up to 24 new high-wage jobs by 2023.
• Balance Digital Marketing is doubling its office space at 1 North Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis, with plans to expand into an additional 1,600 square feet over the next three years. With the addition of a higher education and non-profit practice this year, the company has experienced 33 percent revenue growth and 50 percent employee growth in 2015. As part of its growth, Balance Digital Marketing plans to create up to 36 new high-wage jobs by 2024.
• Creative Solutions Consulting (CSCI), a woman-owned IT and financial consulting firm, will invest $307,400 to expand its Indianapolis headquarters. The expansion will allow CSCI to provide workforce training in project management, software tools and industry certifications to serve its clients. The company currently employs 49 full-time Hoosiers and plans to create up to 57 new high-wage jobs by 2020.
• DK Pierce, a women-owned biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies consulting firm, will invest $3.9 million to expand its 15-year-old operations in Zionsville. Named a 2015 Indiana Company to Watch, DK Pierce helps clients bring products for oncology and rare diseases into the market and works to ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and commercial third-party health insurance companies will cover the drugs. The company currently employs 20 associates, including 14 in Indiana, and plans to add 23 new high-wage positions by 2019.
• Emmis Communications (NASDAQ: EMMS), a diversified media company headquartered in Indianapolis, will invest $6.2 million to support the expansion of two subsidiary companies: NextRadio and Digonex. Together, NextRadio and Digonex occupy nearly one 18,500-square-foot floor at Emmis’ seven-floor worldwide headquarters on Monument Circle. NextRadio and Digonex currently employee 11 full-time associates each with Emmis planning to create up to 55 new high-wage jobs across the two subsidiaries by 2024.
• Level Up Development, a custom software application development company, is investing $307,500 to more than double its office space at the Stutz Business & Arts Center in downtown Indianapolis. The company plans to launch theConnectorTM ,a data-centric platform as a service (PaaS), and Data Science Service, which will be incorporated in its custom solutions in order to create intelligent data driven web, mobile and infrastructure solutions. To support the new platform and services, Level Up Development plans to create up to 24 new high-wage jobs by 2018.
• LifeShare Technologies, a provider specialized in communication solutions for seniors and senior living communities, will invest more than $330,000 in the next several years to expand its operations in Shelbyville. The company, which currently employs 10 full-time associates, plans to create up to 24 new high-wage jobs by 2021 in client services, sales and technology roles.
• Mediaura, a web and software design company, will invest $944,000 to relocate its operations from Louisville to Jeffersonville, Indiana. The company has already begun operating in Indiana after renovating a 12,000-square-foot space near the city’s revitalized walking bridge. Founded in 2003, the company currently employs 16 associates and plans to create up to 30 new high-wage jobs in Indiana by 2018.
• Microbide, an Ireland-based specialty chemical company, will invest $1.87 million to establish its North American headquarters in Evansville. With plans to launch operations at the University of Southern Indiana’s laboratories early in 2016, the company is considering properties for a full-scale R&D, manufacturing and distribution center. Microbide plans to create up to 18 new high-wage jobs by 2018.
• MorphoTrust USA, a Massachusetts-headquartered provider of secure credentialing, will invest $6.045 million to expand its operations in Fort Wayne. The company will renovate and equip a new, nearly 20,000-square-foot facility at 3500 E. Coliseum Blvd. to create a space where engineers and others can collaborate on next generation solutions and technology for driver licenses and identification cards, employee ID cards and photo credit cards. MorphoTrust USA employs 93 full-time associates in Indiana and plans to create up to 20 new high-wage jobs by 2019.
• One View, an Indiana-founded tech firm with 20 years of experience serving the automotive dealer and computer software industries, is expanding its suite of document financial management services, helping its clients better protect, control and search their data. With its growth, One View is looking to expand its team of 16 Hoosiers and plans to create up to 34 new high-wage jobs by 2020.
• Performance Assessment Network (PAN), a human resources consulting company, is investing $2.27 million to lease and equip its offices in Carmel. Founded in 2000, the company provides an online assessment tool that clients, including law enforcement agencies, Fortune 100 companies and the federal government, use for screening security-related, sales, technical, administrative, management and other key positions. PAN plans to create up to 20 new high-wage jobs by 2019.
• Pondurance, an information security consulting company, is investing $596,000 to lease and equip a new office in central Indiana. With requirements for many regulated industries to store records electronically, Pondurance helps its clients keep information secure. As part of its growth, the company plans to expand its team of 17 Hoosiers by creating up to 65 additional new high-wage jobs by 2023.
• Sells Group (SG), a digital marketing firm founded in 2012, will lease a 4,000-square-foot office at 42 Pennsylvania St. in downtown Indianapolis in order to consolidate its two Indiana offices under one roof. SG, which currently employs 16 full-time Indiana associates, is hiring now for development, digital and creative positions and aims to create up to 65 new high-wage jobs.
• STLogics, a technology holding company serving clients across the nation, will invest $390,000 to expand its headquarters in Indianapolis. Founded in 2004, the certified minority- and woman-owned business plans to create up to 102 new high-wage Hoosier jobs by 2024 across its network of subsidiaries: RadCube, SkillDemand, NLogix, STBigData and STProfessionals.
• Thieneman Construction, an environmental services firm, will invest $4.17 million to build a new 22,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Westfield, with construction currently underway. The company currently employs more than 40 Hoosiers between its operations in Westfield and Merrillville, and is expanding to meet growing demand from communities across the Midwest for construction on water and wastewater projects. Thieneman Construction plans to create up to 26 new high-wage jobs in Central Indiana by 2020.
• Vertical Edge Consulting Group, a management and high technology consulting firm, will invest $652,810 to expand its Indianapolis operations and further grow its base of business throughout the Midwest. Founded in 2010, the company also boasts operations in Denver and Tampa and employs 22 associates. Vertical Edge plans to move into a larger Indianapolis office in 2016 and will create up to 25 new high-wage jobs by 2020.

Today’s news comes at a time when national publications and site selection consultants are recognizing Indiana as a top location for business growth. Highlights from 2015 include a best-in-the-Midwest ranking from Chief Executive magazine, a top-10-state-for-doing-business ranking from Forbes and a top-three-in-the-nation ranking from corporate site selector Pollina Corporate Real Estate.

Full details about each company’s expansion, job creation plans and committed incentives from the state and local communities are available here.