Two companies that located in the AmeriPlex at the Crossroads in Merrillville have kept promises to bring jobs to the area.
Quality Pasta Co. and Midwest Truck & Auto Parts both lease space in the building at 9401 Georgia St. and are on target to meet hiring goals they set when they first moved in.
Quality Pasta Co. announced in 2021 that it would locate its second U.S. production facility in Merrillville and hire about 50 people. It now employs about 70 people in Merrillville. The company says it is likely to grow its 90,000-square-foot location.
Peter Kroner, CEO at Quality Pasta, said the company considered several states, but tax incentives encouraged them to locate in Merrillville.
“The eye on the future is always what we think of here,” said Kroner, in a press release.
Midwest Truck & Auto Parts, which supplies aftermarket components for cars and trucks, began building their 125,000-square-foot building in 2020 and started production in 2021.
“We knew it would be a tremendous opportunity moving forward,” said Michael Chudacoff, president of Midwest Truck & Auto Parts, in a press release.
The company also was drawn by tax abatement, but a growing workforce was a deciding factor. At the time, they anticipated hiring 150 people by the end of 2024. So far they have employed 140 workers.
Both companies received offers from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for conditional tax credits based on their job creation plans.
