Beck: We Want to Expand in Indiana

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe chief executive officer of Beck’s Hybrids in Hamilton County says they wanted to continue growing in Indiana. The company today announced plans to invest $60 million to build a new facility at its Atlanta headquarters and create about 60 jobs. Sonny Beck says the facility will focus on soybean processing and double the company’s current processing capacity.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Beck said the company could have gone to Iowa to build this type of facility but ultimately, Indiana was an easy choice.
"We chose Indiana because it lives up to its reputation. It is the easiest state to do business with in the Midwest," said Beck. "That’s from a regulatory standpoint. That’s from a standpoint of cost of doing business and just the speed of getting things done. We are the number one brand in Indiana for corn and soybeans and so it’s just natural, if we can at all, we want to continue to expand our business here."
In addition to support from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Beck credits officials in Hamilton County for working to improve infrastructure near the company’s complex in Atlanta. He says the upgrades allowed the company to keep its current capacity and provide room to grow.
Beck says the expansion is the result of continued, natural growth over the past 30 years. The company has doubled every six-and-a-half years during that time, according to Beck.
"We’ve got to service the farmers and we’ve got great employees and very loyal customers and they continue to reward us."
The company expects the new processing facility to be complete by 2022.
Beck and IEDC President Elaine Bedel will appear this weekend on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick to talk more about the project.
Beck said the company could have gone to Iowa for this type of facility, but they wanted to grow in Indiana.