Terre Haute Area Economic Development Co

TO PROMOTE BUSINESS GROWTH AND ATTRACT NEW BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TO TERRE HAUTE AND VIGO COUNTY, INDIANA.

OVERVIEW OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE TERRE HAUTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONBELOW ARE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TERRE HAUTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION'S ACTIVITIES FOR THE 2022-2023 FISCAL YEAR*****AMAZON SELECTS VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK FOR NEW AMAZON HUB DELIVERY STATIONFOLLOWING MONTHS OF BEHIND-THE-SCENES DUE DILIGENCE, IT WAS ANNOUNCED ON FEBRUARY 13, 2024 THAT AMAZON HAS SELECTED THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK AS A SITE FOR A NEW AMAZON HUB DELIVERY STATION. THIS FACILITY, TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF INDUSTRIAL DRIVE AND CARLISLE ROAD, WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 47,000 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE, WITH A TOTAL INITIAL INVESTMENT OF APPROXIMATELY $10.6 MILLION. AMAZON PLANS TO HIRE APPROXIMATELY 100 NEW FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYEES TO STAFF THE FACILITY. ADDITIONALLY, AMAZON HOPES TO ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR UP TO 100 ADDITIONAL CONTRACT WORKERS/BUSINESSES.AMAZON'S NEW HUB DELIVERY PROGRAM WAS FORMALLY ROLLED OUT IN JULY, 2023. INITIALLY, THE PROGRAM WILL OPERATE IN 23 STATES, INCLUDING INDIANA. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED ON AMAZON'S WEBSITE, AS FOLLOWS:"AMAZON HUB DELIVERY IS OUR NEWEST DELIVERY PROGRAM THAT PARTNERS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES WITH A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS TO DELIVER AMAZON PACKAGES. IT IS A FLEXIBLE AND NEW WAY FOR PARTNERS INTERESTED IN JOINING TO BOOST THEIR BOTTOM LINE, WORKING WITH THEIR EXISTING STAFF, WHEN IT WORKS BEST FOR THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, A HAIR SALON OWNER, WITH CLIENTS IN THE MORNING AND EVENING, MIGHT FIND AMAZON HUB DELIVERY IS A GOOD WAY TO FILL THE GAPS IN THEIR SCHEDULE DURING THE DAY. WE HAVE PILOTED THE PROGRAM IN RURAL AREAS OF THE U.S. AND NOW PLAN TO SCALE IT AND EVEN BRING IT TO DENSE LARGE CITIES LIKE NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, SEATTLE AND BOSTON, WITH THE GOAL TO RECRUIT 2,500 PARTNERS IN 23 STATES BY THE END OF THE YEAR, INCLUDING FLORISTS, COFFEE SHOPS, CLOTHING BOUTIQUES, GAS STATIONS, PLUMBERS AND HAIR SALONS.PARTNERS CAN MAKE UP TO $27,000 IN INCREMENTAL INCOME A YEAR, A PROFITABLE NEW REVENUE STREAM THAT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO A MUCH LARGER IMPACT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IF WE REACH OUR GOAL OF ONBOARDING 2,500 PARTNERS, THIS PROGRAM COULD RESULT IN $38 MILLION IN INCREMENTAL INCOME FOR PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES IN 2023."ANOTHER INTERESTING FACET OF THE PROGRAM/NEW FACILITY IS THE CONCEPT OF "LAST MILE DELIVERY". RATHER THAN ITEMS GOING FROM A MAJOR AMAZON DISTRIBUTION CENTER TO THE CONSUMER VIA A CIRCUITOUS ROUTE THAT ENTAILS MULTIPLE STEPS ALONG THE WAY, THE LAST MILE CONCEPT WILL SEE ITEMS SHIPPED FROM AN AMAZON DISTRIBUTION CENTER (LIKELY ONE OF THE AMAZON DCS LOCATED IN THE GREATER INDIANAPOLIS AREA) EARLY IN THE MORNING, TO THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK FACILITY LATER THAT SAME MORNING - FOR FINAL DELIVERY LATER THAT SAME DAY. SO, THE HUB DELIVERY PROGRAM WILL SPEED UP DELIVERY TIME FROM TIME OF PURCHASE TO POINT OF DELIVERY. SO, THE CHANCES OF ORDERING AN ITEM ONE DAY AND HAVING IT DELIVERED THE NEXT WILL CONTINUE TO RISE, AS AMAZON PERFECTS ITS PROGRAM. SOMEWHAT AKIN TO THE OLD TV COMMERCIAL THAT CLEVERLY TRIED TO ANSWER HOW MANY LICKS IT TAKES TO GET TO THE TOOTSIE ROLL CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW AMAZON DOESN'T YET KNOW HOW MUCH TIME CAN ULTIMATELY BE SHAVED FROM THE PROCESS OF PACKAGE DELIVERY. BUT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE COMPANY CONTINUES TO EMPLOY NEW, MORE EFFICIENT PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICE POSSIBLE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS.THE TERRE HAUTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HAS WORKED WITH AMAZON AND ITS REPRESENTATIVES ON THE PROPOSED NEW HUB DELIVERY STATION PROJECT SINCE AUGUST, 2023. CONSTRUCTION SHOULD COMMENCE LATER IN 2024.NEW CARLISLE ROAD WATER MAIN COMPLETEDCULMINATING SEVERAL YEARS OF PLANNING AND ENGINEERING WORK, A MAJOR NEW WATER MAIN HAS BEEN COMPLETED ALONG THE EASTERN BORDER OF THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK II. THIS WATER MAIN, FORMALLY A PROJECT OF THE VIGO COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, IS TWELVE INCHES IN DIAMETER AND NEARLY ONE-HALF MILE IN LENGTH, EXTENDING FROM JUST SOUTH OF AIS GAUGING TO THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE RAIL ROAD TRACKS THAT SERVE THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK I. THE COST OF THE PROJECT WAS A LITTLE LESS THAN $1 MILLION. IN ADDITION TO THE WATER MAIN ITSELF, SEVERAL NEW HYDRANTS WERE ADDED ALONG THE WAY AS WELL.SEVERAL ENTITIES WERE INVOLVED IN MAKING THIS PROJECT A REALITY. FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT WAS PROVIDED BY THE VIGO COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION VIA TWO OF THE TAX-INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICTS WITHIN THE COMMISSION'S PURVIEW. THE CORRADINO GROUP DESIGNED THE MAIN AND MANAGED ITS CONSTRUCTION, WORKING IN CLOSE CONJUNCTION WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF INDIANA-AMERICAN WATER CORPORATION, WHICH IS NOW THE OWNER OF THE LINE. THE CONTRACTOR FOR THE PROJECT WAS B & T DRAINAGE OF MARSHALL, IL. ALTHOUGH THIS NEW WATER MAIN HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARY WILL BE ENTEK'S NEW BATTERY SEPARATOR PLANT AS THE MAIN RUNS ALONG THE EAST END OF ENTEK'S NEW VCIP II PROPERTY. ADDITIONALLY, THE NEW MAIN WILL BRING BENEFIT TO OTHER NEARBY BUSINESSES AND HOMES VIA RELATIVELY-CLOSE ACCESS TO THE THOSE WHO WISH TO CONNECT. FINALLY, FIRE PROTECTION CAPABILITIES IN THE NEARBY AREA WILL BE ENHANCED THROUGH ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL WATER (AT RELATIVELY HIGH-PRESSURE) ALONG WITH THE INSTALLATION OF A NUMBER OF NEW FIRE HYDRANTS.THE TERRE HAUTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MANAGES THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARKS I AND II ON BEHALF OF THE VIGO COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. THE THEDC WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE ENTIRE PROJECT, FROM START TO FINISH.ENTEK BREAKS GROUND ON NEW GIGA-SCALE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY COMPONENTS MANUFACTURING FACILITYACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE CLUBZTUTORING.COM, THE TERM "GIGA-" WAS DERIVED AS FOLLOWS:"THE PREFIX "GIGA-" HAS BECOME A COMMON TERM TO DESCRIBE IMMENSE SCALE AND POWER. FROM DATA STORAGE TO INTERNET SPEEDS, THE TERM "GIGA-" HAS TAKEN ON A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SHAPING OUR DIGITAL WORLD.TO COMPREHEND THE TRUE MAGNITUDE OF "GIGA-", LET'S START WITH A DEFINITION. THE PREFIX "GIGA-" IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK WORK "GIGAS", MEANING "GIANT OR "IMMENSE". IN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI), "GIGA-" REPRESENTS A FACTOR OF 10 TO THE 9TH POWER OR ONE BILLION. THIS IMPLIES THAT ANY MEASUREMENT PRECEDED BY "GIGA-" IS ON AN ASTRONOMICAL SCALE, FAR SURPASSING STANDARD OR EVEN LARGE QUANTITIES."GIGAFACTORY: THIS TERM GAINED PROMINENCE WITH TESLA'S GIGAFACTORY PROJECTS. IT REFERS TO A MANUFACTURING FACILITY DEDICATED TO PRODUCING IMMENSE QUANTITIES OF BATTERIES AND OTHER ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES."WITH THE ABOVE INFORMATION IN MIND, ONE CAN BETTER APPRECIATE THE SIZE AND SCALE OF ENTEK'S $1.5 BILLION, "GIGA-SCALE", MANUFACTURING PLANT COMING TO THE VIGO COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK II.SEPTEMBER 6, 2023 BROUGHT THE FORMAL GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR ENTEK'S NEW LITHIUM-ION BATTERY COMPONENTS FACILITY. ENTEK'S PRESS RELEASE OF SEPTEMBER 6TH EXCERPTS OF WHICH ARE BELOW PROVIDES A GREAT OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY'S IMMENSE NEW PROJECT:"TERRE HAUTE, IN (SEPTEMBER 6, 2023) OREGON-BASED ENTEK, THE ONLY US-OWNED AND OPERATED MANUFACTURER OF WET-PROCESS LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SEPARATORS, BROKE GROUND ON A $1.5 BILLION SEPARATOR PLANT IN TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA TODAY. THIS PLANT WILL PRODUCE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY COMPONENTS FOR THE GROWING ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) INDUSTRY AND REPRESENTS ENTEK'S SINGLE LARGEST INVESTMENT TO DATE . . . THE NEW FACILITY WILL GENERATE MORE THAN 640 HIGH-WAGE JOBS BY THE END OF 2027. THE PLANT IS SET TO PRODUCE UP TO 1.4 BILLION SQUARE METERS OF BATTERY SEPARATORS PER YEAR, ENOUGH TO SUPPLY MATERIAL FOR APPROXIMATELY 1.4 MILLION VEHICLES ANNUALLY.TODAY'S GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY INCLUDED FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS AS WELL AS KEY PRIVATE STAKEHOLDERS WHO WERE ESSENTIAL IN BRINGING THIS PROJECT TO TERRE HAUTE. LARRY KEITH, CEO OF ENTEK AND KIMBERLY MEDFORD, PRESIDENT OF ENTEK MANUFACTURING WERE JOINED BY INDIANA GOVERNOR ERIC HOLCOMB; CONGRESSMAN LARRY BUSCHON; REPRESENTATIVES FROM SENATOR YOUNG AND SENATOR BRAUN'S OFFICES; INDIANA STATE SENATOR JON FORD; VIGO COUNTY COMMISSIONER CHRIS SWITZER; STEVE WITT, PRESIDENT OF THE TERRE HAUTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; SUE ELLSPERMANN, PRESIDENT OF IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND STAN PINEGAR, PRESIDENT OF DUKE ENERGY INDIANA.