Terre Haute Area Economic Development Corporation

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*****Saturn Petcare Set To Expand Vigo County Industrial Park II FacilitySaturn Petcare, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Heristo Group of Bremen, German, has announced expansion plans at its Vigo County facility, not long after commencing production in April, 2021.Saturn Petcare is the largest private-label, wet pet food producer in Europe. Saturn's Vigo Count facility is the Heristo Group's first U.S. manufacturing plant. Since Saturn's products are strictly private-label (one will not find Saturn-branded products in U.S. retail establishments as the product carries the brand name of Saturn's various customers), the company's product in its distinctive hexagon-shaped tin can be found be in major retail establishments throughout the United States.As part of the upcoming expansion, Saturn plans to double its production capacity, through the installation of new manufacturing equipment at a cost of $42 million. Also, Saturn plans to expand its building foot print a bit via the installation of an $8 million freezer warehouse.At present, Saturn is over a year ahead of schedule in regard to its employment goals as the company employed about 200 associates at its Vigo County facility in Q3, 2022. The company did not expect to meet the 200 employee threshold until 2024. The proposed new expansion will add 50 new full-time jobs to the company's payroll.Without question, Saturn's growth not only reflects the company's outstanding products, but also the ever-growing global pet food market as well. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global pet food market was valued at $110.53 billion in 2021. By 2029, the global market is expected to expand to $163.70 billion by 2029 a whopping 48% increase in only eight years! The Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation first commenced work with Saturn Petcare upon meeting company officials in the offices of a major Atlanta, Georgia law firm in 2015. Since then, the THEDC has worked diligently with Saturn Petcare - through the acquisition and initial start-up of its manufacturing facility as well as with this most recent expansion project. It has been a joy to work with Saturn representatives.Additional information on Saturn Petcare in the U.S. can be found at www.saturnpetcare.us. Saturn's parent company, Heristo Aktiengesellschaft, maintains an informative website as well at www.heristo.de. Steel Dynamics' Major Expansion Project Nears CompletionSteel Dynamics Incorporated's (SDI's) $231 million, 400,000 square foot expansion of its existing Vigo County Industrial Park I facility is nearing completion.As a bit of background, the Steel Dynamics facility in the Vigo County Industrial Park I (VCIP I) can be considered the cornerstone of the VCIP I. SDI's facility in the park commenced life on June 23, 1998 (the date of groundbreaking) as Heartland Steel, a start-up steel processing facility. But for Heartland Steel coming to the VCIP I, much of the industrial park's robust infrastructure would never have been built (or, at least, not constructed nearly as quickly as it was). We often hear about "fast-track" construction projects. Here was Heartland Steel's fast-track 14 months from the first shovel going into the ground until the first processed coil of steel came out the door of the massive 800,000 square foot facility. It was also during this 14-month time period that several major infrastructure projects - necessary to serve the new facility - were completed by Vigo County, the City of Terre Haute and our utility partners. These infrastructure improvements, literally, helped pave the way for the companies who followed Heartland Steel to the Vigo County Industrial Park I.Fast-forwarding to June, 2018, the facility was acquired by Steel Dynamics, Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana for $400 million in cash. To this day, Heartland Steel's various, original hot-band coil steel processes pickling, cold rolling, galvanizing, annealing and slitting remain in place. As tribute to the original Heartland Steel, the Vigo County Industrial Park facility is officially known within the Steel Dynamics family as "Steel Dynamics Flat Roll Group Heartland Division".The Summer of 2021 brought the news that Steel Dynamics was planning a nearly 400,000 square foot building addition that would entail a second galvanizing line along with a new paint line. (As well as a variety of ancillary equipment such as cranes, rail improvements, steel coil handling equipment and so forth.) At that time, the total cost of the building addition was estimated at $34.65 million with new equipment estimated at $196.35 million.In regard to employment, the new project is expected to add 84 new jobs with a total annual payroll (excluding benefits) of $6.7 million while retaining a total of 226 employees with a total annual payroll of $21.6 million (also excluding benefits).It has been the privilege of a life time to have been associated with the entire SDI Heartland project. This writer's work with the original project/facility dates back to 1993, when the project was first envisioned by Heartland Steel founder, Harold Coker. The Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation's work extends to the present day, partly as result of our great working relationship with COO Robert Bohrer and his SDI Heartland team.Additional information on Steel Dynamics Heartland Division can be found atwwwsteelynamicscomHeartlandHome... Corporate information regarding Steel Dynamics can be found at www.steeldynamics.com. United Steel Supply Acquires Garmong Development Building for New Steel Service CenterUnited Steel Supply (USS), an Austin, Texas-based subsidiary of Steel Dynamics, Inc., recently acquired the 10645 Garmong Development building in the Vigo County Industrial Park I for a new steel service center.According to the USS website, "United Steel Supply, LLC is a leading distributor and processor of steel products dedicated to the metal roofing and metal building industry in the United States. The company warehouses and processes both bare (acrylic-coated) and prepainted Galvalume and other steel products for customers engaged in roll-forming and other steel residential and building-related applications. Our focus is providing the utmost in service and responsiveness to our customers so you can optimize your production and cost relative to the competition."The company's products include Galvalume, galvanized and prepainted steel coils for metal roofing and siding applications within the agricultural, commercial, industrial and residential markets. Also, the company supplies product both domestically and for export.United Steel Supply's multi-million dollar investment in its new Terre Haute/Vigo County facility will create about 20 new jobs. Equally as important, the facility will be providing value-added processes and services regarding coil steel-derived products produced, in part, at our nearby Steel Dynamics manufacturing facility.In addition to its Austin, TX headquarters, United Steel Supply has processing and distribution facilities in Jeffersonville, IN; Eugene, OR; Pleasanton, TX and Jackson, MS.Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation and Garmong Development representatives first commenced discussions with United Steel Supply CEO Brett Curtis in March, 2021. Additional information on United Steel Supply can be found at www.unitedsteelsupply.com.MPO, Stakeholders and Public Set To Update Metropolitan Transportation PlanThe Terre Haute Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) serves the West Central Indiana Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) that includes the cities of Terre Haute and Brazil; the Towns of Staunton, Harmony, Knightsville, Seelyville, Riley and West Terre Haute and both the urbanized and rural portions of Vigo County and Clay County (north of W. County Road 300 North in Clay County). Metropolitan Planning Area boundaries are typically adjusted after each decennial census based on the urbanized area boundaries drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau. The preparation and maintenance of a Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is one of the core functions of any MPO. Metropolitan Planning Organizations are charged with the development of a long-range transportation plan for the metropolitan area covering a planning horizon of at least twenty years. The MTP is designed to foster (1.) mobility and access for people and goods; (2.) efficient system performance and (3.) a positive quality of life for the citizens of the MPA.