Morgan County EDC Highlights 2014 Accomplishments
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Morgan County Economic Development Corp. says one of its biggest successes in 2014 was a more than $70 million expansion project by TOA USA LLC. The EDC also organized a county-wide career expo and unveiled a new website.
March 10, 2015
News Release
MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. – The Morgan County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will hold its 2015 annual meeting on March 11th at South Central Indiana REMC in Martinsville. Chelsey Manns, executive director of the Morgan County EDC, will present organization highlights from 2014 and welcome keynote speaker Katie Culp, the new president of KSM Location Advisors.
Part of the Katz, Sapper & Miller Network, KSM Location Advisors works closely with companies across the country during the site selection process, assisting with identifying available sites, providing comparative analysis of qualified locations, and assisting in negotiating and securing economic development incentives.
Previously, Culp led DTZ’s national location advisory and incentives practice. She has also led economic development efforts in central Indiana for organizations such as The Indy Partnership/Indy Chamber, Boone County EDC, and City of Indianapolis.
In 2014, the Morgan County EDC received 116 project leads directly as well as through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Indy Partnership. Topping the list of successes was a $72 million dollar expansion project by TOA (USA), a Tier 1 supplier to Subaru and Toyota located in Mooresville, which led to the Morgan County EDC being chosen as a Top 5 Award of Excellence winner in Metal Fabrication by Expansion Solutions magazine. Thanks to innovative measures taken by County officials, Indianapolis Power & Light will also officially begin construction this year on a new $590 million combined cycle gas turbine plant north of Martinsville.
Other key accomplishments in 2014 include organizing the first ever county-wide career expo, enabling 1,200 students to engage with local employers. Manns and Lindsay Beckman, Director of Business Development, conducted visits with more than 40 existing Morgan County businesses as well as 44 site selectors and industrial brokers. Thanks to a grant from the Duke Energy Foundation, the Morgan County EDC website (www.morgancoed.com) was redesigned to better market economic development opportunities in Morgan County.
“I had truly missed the sense of community that I grew up with and am happy to say I found that again in Morgan County,” said Manns, who began her current role in October 2013. “I look forward to another promising year of building on our strengths with new programs, more groundwork to cover, and cultivating strong relationships.” New initiatives for the Morgan County EDC in 2015 include quarterly HR roundtables and a wages and benefits survey.
Source: Morgan County Economic Development Corporation