Two manufacturers from Northwest Indiana are among 20 recipients of a new state grant program designed to spark investment in manufacturing.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp., in partnership with Conexus Indiana, announced Aug. 20 nearly $2 million in Manufacturing Readiness Grants were awarded. The program was announced by Gov. Eric Holcomb in May as part of the Economic Activity Stabilization and Enhancement (EASE) program designed to stimulate manufacturing investments in Indiana.
“The response we received from Indiana businesses to the Manufacturing Readiness Grant program was incredible, as manufacturers across the state have been enduring the pandemic and are moving forward with positive momentum despite shared challenges,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger. “We couldn’t be more grateful to these companies for contributing to Indiana’s bright economic future.”
Northwest Indiana recipients include:
- Custom Cut Decor LLC (Elkhart County; $37,500 grant award), founded in 2014, manufactures direct-to-consumer, niche home decor products. The Elkhart-based company is upgrading its production management software to streamline customer orders.
- Indiana Face Mask (Jasper County; $161,769 grant award), a Rensselaer-based filtration manufacturer, announced plans in May to launch a startup company, Indiana Face Mask, focused on producing N95 masks and other medical-grade supplies to aid in the COVID-19 response effort. The company is investing in mask production machinery.
The other grant recipients represent a range of specialties, including automotive, aerospace and defense, machinery and construction, furniture and home products, and health care and medical, the state said. The grant recipients combined investment is estimated at more than $8.2 million in technology and equipment.
Other grant recipients include:
- A&T Concrete Supply Inc. (Gibson County; $2,000 grant award), founded in 1963, produces concrete and precast concrete products in Fort Branch. The company is investing in a new, software-based production platform to increase workflow efficiency for its entire workforce.
- Advanced Cabinet Systems (Grant County; $83,000 grant award), based in Marion, is a plastic and laminate furniture manufacturer serving the health care, educational, industrial and retail industries. The company is investing in equipment to modernize production.
- Arroyo Industries LLC dba Direct Path Alliance (Marion County; $11,000 grant award), founded in 2004, is a Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise certified company that offers aerospace and medical manufacturing, and consulting services such as project management and process improvement. The company, based in Indianapolis, is investing in 3D printing in order to streamline tooling and fixture development while reducing lead times.
- Bed Techs Inc. (Dearborn County; $150,000 grant award), established in 2000, produces used, refurbished and reconditioned Hill-Rom® hospital beds, stretchers, medical equipment and replacement bed parts. The company is developing an innovative antimicrobial copper coating that can be applied to surfaces for the health care industry and kills 99.9% of bacteria within two hours, while continuing to kill 99% of bacteria even after repeated contamination.
- Beverly Industrial Service Inc. (Ripley County; $10,000 grant award), founded by Howard and Beverly Snyder in 1980, specializes in tool making, machining and engineering in the metal-working field, a continued family tradition since 1891. The Versailles-based company is investing in updated equipment to manufacture knives, spacers and tooling for the slitting industry, including aerospace, medical, textile and automotive.
- C&R Advanced Cooling Technology (Marion County; $162,500 grant award), founded in 1988, manufactures advanced cooling solutions including aluminum radiators, oil coolers, intercoolers, supercharger heat exchangers, bare cores and cold plates. The company, based in Indianapolis, is expanding into new markets including aerospace, defense and autonomous vehicles.
- D.A.S. Services Inc. (Steuben County; $36,242 grant award), established in 1992, began as a small, portable, welding repair operation and has since grown into a quality, hydraulic and pneumatic custom job shop, specializing in cylinders and presses. Based in Angola, the company is investing in new software to transform their in-plant and mobile business.
- Indiana Furniture Industries Inc. (Dubois County; $90,879 grant award), headquartered in Jasper for more than 100 years, is a contract furniture manufacturer providing customers with desk, chair and other office furnishings. The company is investing in technology that will enable them to increase speed, reduce waste, enhance design capabilities and expand product offering within their seating operation.
- Metro Plastics Technologies Inc. (Hamilton County; $125,000 grant award), founded in 1975, is a custom plastic injection molding and tooling company based in Noblesville. The family-owned company is investing in new, high-tech equipment to increase production speed.
- Mursix Corp. (Delaware County; $116,837 grant award), which specializes in stamping and component manufacturing, serves a wide range of customers whose applications range from hospital beds to automotive safety to hybrid electric vehicles. The Yorktown-based company is manufacturing face shields and components for respiratory-assist devices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- OMR Automotive (Marion County; $250,000 grant award), an Italy-based automotive supplier, doubled the capacity of its Indiana operations after the onset of COVID-19 using state-of-the-art automation equipment. The company, which announced plans to locate its North American headquarters in Speedway in 2015, continues to invest and hire as it scales up to handle additional contact awards to double capacity and employment in the next 12 months.
- Overton and Sons Tool & Die Co. (Morgan County; $32,500 grant award), founded in Mooresville in 1968, manufactures metalworking machinery, offering design, engineering and inspection services in the transportation, energy, construction, defense and aerospace industries. The company is investing in measurement technology to significantly improve production efficiencies.
- PBTT (Warrick County; $189,180 grant award), based in Newburgh, is a high-tech manufacturer specializing in the development and commercialization of disruptive technology to produce components and assemblies primarily in the defense, aerospace and energy industries. The company is investing heavily in advanced machining with COBOT automation to increase their capacity while hiring additional employees to manage these advancements in high-tech processing.
- Pike Lumber Co. (Fulton County; $95,320 grant award), located in Akron and founded in 1904, is a primary manufacturer of kiln dried hardwood lumber. As Indiana’s largest manufacturer and distributor of quality kiln dried lumber, with sales throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company is investing in machining technology in order to upgrade one of its Indiana sawmills located in Akron.
- Sugar Creek Bottling Company (Marion County; $109,144 grant award), established in 2013 as a bottling company focused on e-liquid products, recently transformed its operations to bottle hand sanitizer, retooling all of its equipment in order to meet increased demand by the state of Indiana, nonprofits and large corporations. The Indianapolis-based company is investing in new machinery to bottle large-sized containers of hand sanitizer.
- Tube Forming Systems (Johnson County; $93,250 grant award), established in 1968, is a tooling and equipment supplier to the formed tube industry. The company is investing in additive manufacturing to shorten development cycle times.
- Universal Blower Pac Inc. (Hamilton County; $25,000 grant award), established in 1979, is a provider of quality blower systems for the pneumatic conveying and the water and wastewater marketplace. The Noblesville-based company is investing in high-tech equipment to improve production capabilities.
- Wolf Corp. (Allen County; $155,980 grant award), established in 1873, is the oldest mattress manufacturer in the U.S. under continuous family ownership. The Fort Wayne-based company is investing in new machinery after retooling operations to produce hospital gowns for frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indiana Manufacturing Readiness Grant program made available $4 million in the form of matching grants up to or equal to the amount of the qualified investment in new equipment and machinery.
The state said additional grant applications are under review. While these applications, if approved, would exceed the allocated program funding, Conexus, with the input of a peer review panel, will continue to assess applications and make funding recommendations to the IEDC, which will fund select applications if and when additional funding becomes available.
