Awning Innovations, a Central Indiana sign manufacturer with customers across the nation, has moved into new manufacturing space east of McCordsville in Hancock County.

The 20-year-old company purchased and renovated a 123,000 square-foot building with a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program through Lake City Bank and Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation.

Frank Green, who co-founded the company in 1999 and is a co-owner, says Awning Innovations manufactures “from scratch” signs on a wholesale basis and sells them to retail sign companies across the nation. Panera Bread, CVS, IU Health, the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, Trader Joes and Whole Foods are among locations that display signs from the company.

Awning Innovation’s 110-employee roster will grow by about 15 jobs each year as a result of the expansion. “The new building gives us a better floor plan with lower operating costs,” Green says. Taking over an old brake distribution plant required Awning Innovations to “significantly” upgrade lighting, electricity and data wiring, all of which was possible due to the loan from Lake City Bank and Indiana Statewide CDC.

Indiana Statewide CDC works with local Indiana lenders to issue SBA 504 loans to help owners of expanding or startup small businesses buy real estate, buildings and equipment. SBA 504 loans can give small business owners long-term, fixed rate financing similar to commercial loan terms available for large companies.

Lake City Bank’s Greg Lentz says the SBA 504 loan offers significant advantages for Awning Innovation’s day-to-day cash flow. “The 10 percent down payment is half the 20 percent for a conventional loan down payment,” he says. “The fixed interest rate on the SBA portion of the loan for up to 25 years is also better than conventional terms.”

Awning Innovations’ new location is just east of McCordsville at 7795 N. 200 W. It is a half-mile south of the Mount Vernon Township schools. The leased manufacturing plant it left is near 116th Street and I-69 on Exit 5 Parkway in Fishers.

Hancock Economic Development Council is proud to serve the communities of Hancock County, Indiana.
For more information, contact Executive Director Randy Sorrell at 317-477-7241 or e-mail rsorrell@hancockedc.com.

PLAINFIELD, Ind. – Developing and promoting the economic and social growth of a community, state or region is rewarding, long-term work. That’s why Duke Energy and its predecessor companies in Indiana have been front and center in helping grow the communities we serve.

That vital work continues in 2019 as Duke Energy has selected six locations in Indiana to participate in the company’s Site Readiness Program, which identifies, evaluates and improves sites in the company’s 69-county Indiana service territory for potential industrial development.

The locations include:

• The Kokomo Industrial Park, located at the intersection of County 50 East and County Road 300 North (Howard County)
• A 186-acre parcel in the north portion of the South Madison tax-increment financing, or TIF, district in Fortville (Hancock County)
• A 100-plus acre parcel located at 29579 State Road 1 in West Harrison (Dearborn County)
• The Northpoint Business Park (Hamilton County), which is bordered by East 196th Street to the south, Grassy Branch Road to the east, 202nd/203rd Street to the north and U.S. Hwy. 31 to the west
• The North Manchester Industrial Complex (Wabash County) at County Road 1100 North and Taylor Drive in North Manchester
• The North Warrick Industrial Park (Warrick County) at 9988 North State Road 57 in Elberfeld

“Those of us who perform economic development work as a career know that our labor does not produce instant results,” said Erin Schneider, Indiana director of economic development for Duke Energy. “It is an honor to join forces with these hard-working economic development groups to help bring lasting change and improvement to their communities.”

Three site development companies and one engineering company will evaluate the sites and make specific recommendations for attracting large companies to build their facilities there.

Duke Energy will present its findings for each site – including a detailed report and conceptual drawings – to local economic development officials when the studies are completed later this year. Economic development organizations in Hancock, Hamilton, Dearborn and Wabash counties will also receive a check for $10,000 from Duke Energy to help implement the recommendations.

After each site’s state of readiness has advanced, Duke Energy’s business development team will strategically market those sites nationwide to companies looking to expand or relocate their operations.

Ideal properties for Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program are typically 40 acres or larger, served by the utility, or a vacant industrial building of at least 20,000 square feet identified to support renewed industrial growth and sustainable development in a community.

Duke Energy’s overall economic development program has been consistently named by Site Selection magazine as one of the nation’s “Top 10 Utility Economic Development Programs.” Since 2008, the company has participated in the creation of nearly 20,000 jobs with a total capital investment of approximately $4.5 billion.

For more information about Duke Energy Indiana’s economic development programs, visit locationindiana.com.

Hancock County Economic Development Council is pleased to be a 2019 recipient of Duke Energy’s Marketing Partnership Program grant.

The program is designed “to help local economic development groups strengthen marketing efforts to help attract jobs and investment to the communities within our Indiana service territory,” said Erin Schneider, director of economic development for Duke Energy Indiana.

To qualify for program consideration, each applicant must submit a marketing plan that has a direct impact on the community’s economic growth and supports Duke Energy’s economic development goals.

“We are certainly appreciative of Duke Energy’s generosity and the funds are a very welcome addition to our marketing budget,” says HEDC executive director Randy Sorrell. “We will use the funds to make our website more appealing and user-friendly to visitors to our site.”

News from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation …

INDIANAPOLIS– The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) announced a record-breaking year for small business growth with the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) helping launch 318 small businesses and secure $86.3 million in government contracts for Indiana businesses, respectively, in 2018. Together, the Indiana SBDC and Indiana PTAC assisted small businesses in the creation of 1,554 new jobs.

“With more than 508,000 companies employing 1.2 million Hoosiers, small businesses play a critical role in maintaining long-term economic growth in Indiana and supporting good jobs in our communities,” said Elaine Bedel, president of the IEDC. “As a state, we’re excited to celebrate not only another record-breaking year for job creation, but also for small business growth in Indiana. Working hand-in-hand with the Indiana SBDC and Indiana PTAC networks, we’ll continue to strengthen Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and provide Hoosier innovators with the resources and expert counseling needed to help launch and grow their dream businesses.”

Along with leading Indiana’s economic development efforts, the IEDC, which recently celebrated a second-consecutive, record-breaking year for new job commitments, works to support entrepreneurs and small businesses through the Indiana SBDC and Indiana PTAC networks.

• INDIANA SBDC: The Indiana SBDC offers a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs looking to start and grow a business, delivering no-cost, expert guidance and resources ranging from business planning and valuation to export assistance and market research. Through its network of 10 regional offices across the state, the Indiana SBDC assisted in 318 new business starts and registered 2,266 new clients – the highest annual totals in the organization’s history.

  Moreover, of the 318 new business starts, 41 percent are women owned, 19 percent are minority owned and 5 percent are veteran owned. Together in 2018, Indiana SBDC advisers helped entrepreneurs and small businesses create 1,265 new jobs (+20% from 2017) and generate $97.9 million of capital infusion (+9% from 2017). For every dollar spent on Indiana SBDC services, $21.88 was earned or returned in various forms of capital infusion to small businesses.

  SMALL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT:
  In 2018, Heliponix, an Evansville-based agbioscience startup which developed and commercialized an indoor plant-growing system called a GroPod while its founders were at Purdue University, utilized the Southwest Indiana SBDC to prepare its business plan and financial projections along with a successful loan application through the Vectren Foundation loan program.

• INDIANA PTAC: The Indiana PTAC helps Indiana businesses compete for and win federal, state and local contracts. With free, one-on-one counseling, resources and training across its five regional offices, Indiana PTAC counselors registered 382 new clients (+15% from 2017) and helped secure 3,078 government contracts – which is an 805 percent increase from 2017. As a result of the $86.3 million (174%+ from 2017) in government contracts awarded, Indiana businesses created 289 new Hoosier jobs (+36% from 2017).

  Together in 2018, 78 percent of the Indiana PTAC clients assisted were either women-owned, minority-owned, service-disabled veteran or veteran-owned businesses. For every dollar spent on the PTAC network, $110 was earned or returned in contract dollars awarded to small businesses.

  SMALL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT:
  Pro Seal & Plastics, a Fort-Wayne based stocking distributor specializing in industrial sealing solutions, recently announced plans to invest $2.5 million to double the size of its facility in Allen County. The company is growing in part due to securing more than $500,000 in federal contracts in 2018, which were awarded with assistance from the Northeast Indiana PTAC. To fulfill the contracts, Pro Seal & Plastics has already added 12 new jobs and plans to expand further.

According to the Small Business Administration, more than 508,000 small businesses operate across Indiana, and together those companies support 1.2 million Hoosier jobs. Indiana ranks first in the Midwest and top 10 in the nation for entrepreneur friendliness (SBE Council 2018) and received an A grade for ease of starting a business (Thumbtack 2018).

About Indiana SBDC
The Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is hosted by the IEDC, which leads the state of Indiana’s economic development efforts, helping entrepreneurs launch, grow and locate businesses in the state. The Indiana SBDC provides entrepreneurs with expert guidance and resources on how to start and grow a business. With a network of 10 regional offices through the state, the Indiana SBDC creates a positive and measureable impact on the formation, growth and sustainability of Indiana’s small businesses.

The Indiana SBDC is funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. For more information about the Indiana SBDC, visit www.isbdc.org. 

About Indiana PTAC
The Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), which is a part of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), works to generate employment and improve the general economic condition of the state by helping businesses identify opportunities, compete smarter and win government contracts. With five regional offices across the state, Indiana PTAC provides procurement technical assistance through counseling and education to help businesses sell products or services to local, state and federal government agencies.

The Indiana PTAC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency. For more information about the Indiana PTAC, visit www.indianaptac.com.

About IEDC
 The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) leads the state of Indiana’s economic development efforts, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the state. Governed by a 15-member board chaired by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, the IEDC manages many initiatives, including performance-based tax credits, workforce training grants, innovation and entrepreneurship resources, public infrastructure assistance, and talent attraction and retention efforts. For more information about the IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.  

Hancock Economic Development Council is proud to serve the communities of Hancock County, Indiana.

Let us put our resources to work for you. Call us at 317.477.7241 or e-mail executive director Randy Sorrell today. Like Hancock EDC on Facebook to keep up with the latest information.