Profab Custom Metal Works
Profab Custom Metal Works leads to shovel ready site application
Steadfast efforts often reap the biggest rewards and that’s the case for Orange County located in southern Indiana.
Business-friendly REMC Develops Site for New Business
Profab
Custom Metal Works broke ground in 2008 for a nearly 17,000-square-foot
metal fabrication facility that will eventually create up to 16 new
jobs on a 10-acre site the company purchased in Orleans, Indiana. The
property was developed by the Orange County REMC, a member of Hoosier
Energy power network.
Orange County REMC Enhances Site to Shovel-Ready Status
Next
to the Profab site, the Orange County REMC also has an option on 41-
acres that it has prepared to be state certified as shovel-ready with
the assistance of grant monies provided through the Indiana Economic
Development Corporation (IEDC), a designation that allows businesses to
speed development time and cut costs because much of the site prep work
and legal permitting has been done in advance.
The REMC bought
the original 10 acres in 1990 with the intention of bringing new
businesses to the site, and hopefully diversifying beyond the county’s
economic base. “We thought this property should be marketable for
industrial development,” said Dan Arnold, general manager of Orange
County REMC.
Bringing water and sewer to the site was a
challenge. Through dedicated efforts, the REMC and the Orange County
Economic Development Corporation were able to secure a $100,000 grant
from the IEDC, the state’s business development agency, to extend those
utility lines under State Road 337 which runs adjacent to the property.
Water,
sewer and electric utilities are now in place and service the adjacent
41-acre site. Orange County REMC paid for most of the cost of the
environmental testing and other work needed to get the shovel-ready
certification for this site, said Judy Gray, executive director of the
Orange County EDC. “The REMC has worked diligently for economic
development in Orange County,” she said.
The REMC installed a
500 KVA transformer to power the Profab operation, and the utility is
prepared to do additional installations for development of the
shovel-ready site. Orange County REMC hosted a job fair to help Profab
find workers for its new manufacturing facility.
“They worked
with me on the land. They worked with me to bring utilities, water and
sewer to the site. They brought in underground utilities and a new
transformer. They’ve been a tremendous help,” said Jim Shelby,
president of Profab.
When the 41-acre site is designated shovel
ready in the summer of 2009, it will become the twelfth site in Hoosier
Energy’s service territory to receive the coveted certification.