New Business Diversifies Local Economy
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.