Page 29 - FDI Alliance International Magazine, July 2019 Interactive Issue_Neat

Indiana Senator Braun visiting with Onward Manufacturing

Mark Wickersham, executive director of Huntington thinking about the ideas of location, workforce, County is lower now than before that announcement,
County Economic Development Corporation, value, and collaboration, Northeast Indiana really is standing at 3% in April of 2019.
encourages clients and prospects considering a great place to consider. General Motors recently
growth in Huntington or locating in the community announced yet another major investment in the The County has a reputation and tradition of a quite
for the first time, to attempt to monetize retention Region and visioning, branding, and collaborative tenaciousness as a basis for the fundamentals of
or turn-over costs. He shared that his clients have projects sponsored by the Northeast Indiana supporting the workforce, developing new locations
particular wage scales in mind as they perform due Regional Partnership (www.neindiana.com) have as with the newly acquired 127 acre Riverfork
diligence on a location. He recommends they also truly helped define how economic development is Industrial Park West in Huntington, continued
decide their appetite for ease and convenience of done all over Indiana. efforts to create a great value proposition, and
talent recruitment and retention. the team approach to supporting new businesses.
Indiana consistently ranks as the top state in the
Sometimes employers use modest hourly rates Midwest for doing business and small markets like “Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but we’re
for the basis of their payroll budget, only to learn Huntington County have been instrumental to that on your side,” Wickersham concluded.
after the fact, that the labor force may not be easily success. In this small County, population 35,000,
recruited or retained at those levels and really, the the past ten years have seen over $350,000,000
cost of continued recruiting and “replacement” in private capital investments in the local industrial
efforts, if added back into the hourly rate to begin base. The County received national attention with
with, can result in a much easier effort to recruit the reorganization of Carrier Corporation and its
and retain talent and at no overall increased cost UTEC partner, however, the economy has fully
to the bottom line. recovered from that announcement and continues
to grow with over $28 million in new investments
Huntington County, Indiana is geographically so far year to date, to now $50 million! We've had Mark Wickersham
located in the center of a triangle which at each point a couple more announcements since the article
includes Chicago, Detroit, and Louisville. Again, was drafted. And, the unemployment rate in the Executive Director

Huntington County Economic Development

8 West Market Street Huntington,
IN 467509

Office: 260-356-5688
Email: mark@hcued.com

Website: http://www.hcued.com
Huntington’s Premier Industrial Property

FDI ALLIANCE | JULY ISSUE 2019 29