Duke Touts Industrial Improvement Effort
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDuke Energy Indiana and McCallum Sweeney Consulting have released recommendations for five properties throughout the state as part of a major industrial initiative. Duke spokesman Lew Middleton says the utility will work with local economic development officials and offer matching grants to help make the suggestions a reality. Middleton says economic development is “at the core of what we're about,” and believes the utility will try to expand the program in the future.
October 4, 2013
News Release
PLAINFIELD, Ind. – Recommendations for five Indiana properties selected for Duke Energy's 2013 Site Readiness Program have been given to local government and economic development officials.
The recommendations for four of the five potential industrial opportunities were developed and presented by nationally known consulting firm McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) in meetings held on Oct. 2 and 3.
Those four properties are:
-The River Ridge Commerce Center, 100 acres in Jeffersonville (Clark Co.)
-The East Side Industrial Park, 94 acres in Seymour (Jackson Co.)
-The Industrial Business Complex, 135 acres in Wabash (Wabash Co.)
-The North Warrick Industrial Business Park, 226 acres in Elberfeld (Warrick Co.)
“Companies looking for locations for new facilities are driven by many factors; one of the most important is speed to market. This results in a strong preference for sites that are ready, with risks and uncertainties identified and mitigated as much as possible,” said Mark M. Sweeney, senior principal at MSC. “McCallum Sweeney Consulting has worked with Duke Energy for almost 10 years on site readiness programs in the various Duke Energy territories, and we are proud of the success and recognition the Duke Energy program has achieved.”
McCallum Sweeney Consulting has been instrumental in many high profile automotive and industrial relocations and expansions.
A fifth industrial site, a 181,000-square-foot building on East Lincoln Road in Kokomo, was evaluated by InSite Consulting. The recommendations for developing that property were made to Howard County officials on Aug. 22.
The Site Readiness Program is a key element of Duke Energy's economic development model. It identifies, evaluates and improves industrial sites in the company's service territory to help communities served by the utility compete for new companies and jobs.
“Duke Energy is committed to advancing economic development in all of the counties we serve,” said Doug Esamann, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “Now that these recommendations have been made, we look forward to working closely with local economic development officials to translate the recommendations into opportunities for industrial expansion and increased jobs.”
Duke Energy will now collaborate with county leaders and local economic development professionals to develop a strategy for increasing each site's marketability, using final drawings and conceptual site plans created by Banning Engineering. Counties will have one year to apply for a matching grant of up to $10,000 from Duke Energy to implement the recommendations.
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.”
For more information about Duke Energy Indiana's economic development programs, visit www.locationindiana.com.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Indiana's operations provide approximately 7,500 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 790,000 customers, making it the state's largest electric supplier.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.
Source: Duke Energy Indiana