BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  (May 12, 2008) – The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) announced today that Jeremy Sowders has been appointed Vice President, Business Development.  Sowders joined the BEDC May 12. 

“I am very happy that Jeremy has joined our team,” said Ron Walker, President of the BEDC.  “Jeremy understands our community well, and his experience as part of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's three consecutive years of record breaking job commitments make him an asset that we're certain will allow us to recruit and retain new job-creating investment to our community," Walker said.     

Since 2005, Sowders has served as a Project Manager for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the State of Indiana’s lead economic development agency.  Sowders was focused on business development and retention activities in central and south central Indiana and already has a working relationship with numerous regional employers, the City of Bloomington and Monroe County.  Prior to working with business development and recruitment, Sowders worked in the Office of Domestic and International Recruitment with the Indiana Department of Commerce, before it was dissolved and replaced with the IEDC.

“I’m thrilled to begin focusing my economic development work in the Bloomington and Monroe County community,” said Sowders during his first day at the BEDC.  “The BEDC’s progressive approach and mission really resonate with me and I look forward to helping the organization improve job opportunities and enhance the economic vitality of south central Indiana,” stated Sowders. 

"Jeremy's experience in economic development will continue to serve Indiana well as he transitions into his new role in Bloomington," said Nathan Feltman, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  "With a growing life sciences community that includes recent announcements from companies like Cook and BioConvergence, Bloomington has been a significant contributor to our continued economic comeback, and I look forward to more great success stories from the community in the coming months."

As Vice President, Business Development, Sowders will assist in the implementation of the BEDC’s economic development efforts, including the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership, creation of the Bloomington Technology Partnership, business retention and expansion services and product development. 

“Jeremy will strengthen all aspects of the BEDC,” stated Lynn Coyne, 2008 Chair of the BEDC.  “His existing knowledge of the regional economy combined with his natural ability to work with a variety of stakeholders makes him an ideal fit for the organization and for the Bloomington and Monroe County community,” expressed Coyne.

Originally from southern Indiana, Sowders graduated from IU Bloomington in 2003.  Since 2005 Sowders has served on the Board of Directors for the Indiana University Alumni Association’s Central Indiana Chapter, including serving as Chairman for Young Alumni Recruitment.  Additionally, he is a member of the Presidents’ Roundtable of Indy Hub and is a volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

About the BEDC
The BEDC is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to the retention, development and attraction of quality jobs in Monroe County.  The BEDC is led by a partnership of private industry leaders, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College – Bloomington.  For more information please visit www.comparebloomington.us.

A true trip to the past is what Conner Prairie can offer to all those who are able to visit the farm that is located just northeast of Indianapolis.  This cultural attraction has the honor of being featured in a historically renown Smithsonian magazine.  This provides more national recognition of the Indianapolis region which is a wonderful aid in economic development.

The May issue of the monthly magazine features a four-page article on Conner Prairie, the living history museum in Hamilton County.

“We were thrilled to get a call from the magazine last year saying they were sending a reporter,” said Ellen Rosenthal, president of Conner Prairie.  “But now that the story is out and Conner Prairie is featured so prominently and in such a positive light, we’re even more pleased.  Our members who subscribe to the magazine received it first and called with words of congratulations.”

Smithsonian has a circulation of 2 million and is published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The last time Smithsonian covered anything local was 1987, when Indianapolis hosted the Pan Am Games and the magazine ran a major piece on the city’s downtown revitalization and use of sports as an economic development tool. What brought Smithsonian back to Central Indiana? An “accessible route to time travel,” Webster said in his article, which acknowledged the more than 200,000 visitors that visit Conner Prairie annually, from April to October.

“Each year, as we consider ideas for inclusion in our annual Destination America features, we search for stories with substantial range,” said Smithsonian Senior Editor Kathleen Burke. “Conner Prairie – with its unique regional identity, sense of place, commitment to preserving our American heritage and imaginative re-creation of several chapters in American history – constituted a perfect choice for Smithsonian.”

“Conner Prairie is a cultural leader not only in Central Indiana but in the country,” said Brenda Myers, executive director of the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  “Recognition like a Smithsonian article not only helps Conner Prairie, it enhances the positive reputation of the entire Central Indiana region.”

Click here for a link to the article.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/da-frontier.html

Conner Prairie’s historic areas opened for the 2008 season on April 1.  While many peer institutions across the country continue to experience attendance declines, Conner Prairie is witnessing gains.  In 2007, the museum experienced a dramatic 21 percent increase in general admission attendance and the highest membership levels in Conner Prairie’s history.

Visit www.connerprairie.orgfor more information.

Toyota Industries Corp. and its subsidiary, Nishina Industrial Co. Ltd., liked what they saw in Franklin when choosing the location of their first joint operation in American.  The two Japanese companies established Indiana Hydraulic Equipment Corp., a 58,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Franklin Business Park. Indiana Hydraulic will supply hydraulic components for Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing.  The plant will open this May with a total capital investment of $12 million.

Nestle made a big splash in Johnson County when the company decided to locate its new bottled water production plant in Greenwood. A leading producer of bottled water, Nestle Waters North America Inc. looked at a number of other locations both in Indiana and out of state before selecting the Precedent South Business Park in Greenwood. Nestle will invest $32 million in this project. The company will make one million bottles per day of Nestle(trade mark here) Pure Life brand bottled water when it opens this year.

Johnson County also proved to be appealing for a new headquarters operation.  Compass Automotive Group will locate in Franklin as part of a consolidation and expansion project involving two of its subsidiary companies. The two subsidiaries are Casting Technologies Corp (CTC), an aluminum squeeze caster and Magnesium Aluminum Corp (MAC), a die cast manufacturer of highly engineered aluminum and magnesium components. Compass will combine the product lines, manufacturing excellence and quality systems and MAC and CTC will provide components to car makers and Tier 1 auto suppliers. The total capital investment for this merger is $4.8 million.

Dormir LLC, the parent of sleep center development and management company MD Sleep and durable medical equipment provider CardioSom, announced today it will expand its corporate headquarters here, creating more than 160 new jobs.

The privately held company, which currently develops and manages physician and hospital-owned sleep disorder centers and durable medical equipment retail locations in 14 states, will invest more than $2.5 million to expand its Central Indiana headquarters and upgrade its computer hardware and software.

"Indianapolis and Carmel represent the ideal location for our corporate headquarters," said Tim Miller, chief executive officer of Dormir LLC. "The geographic location, airport expansion, affordable housing costs and quality of life make central Indiana very appealing to our workforce."

Online retailer Amazon.com said it plans to open a 600,000-square foot distribution center about 15 miles northwest of Indianapolis that will create more than 1,200 jobs by 2010.

The company announced Friday it will begin work on the facility in April and will start hiring managers and warehouse workers before its scheduled opening at the end of the summer.

``It makes sense for us — the geographic location will allow us to serve the customers in the Midwest region more effectively,'' Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said.

Read the full article

Ron Gifford, President and CEO, discusses the importance of ongoing educational and skills attainment to the Indiana economy.

The growth of Indiana's economy is being supported by one of the fastest supercomputers in the country. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the new computer puts 20 TeraFLOPS of technical capability for Indiana businesses looking to spin-out technology, increase research grant competitiveness and boost the state's growing life sciences community. The supercomputer has the capacity to handle 20 trillion mathematical operations per second and is co-managed by Purdue University and Indiana University. 
Source: Inside INdiana Business

Last week, Moody's , released a report highlighting the current economic climate in the nation.  Indiana is shown as being the only state in the Midwest in expansion. 

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta and other key experts from around the country will converge to Indiana on September 25-26 to speak about large-scale regional development strategies that will focus on expanding the competitive advantages of Indiana's transportation, distribution and logistics industry.

Indiana is described as the "Crossroads of America" because of several major highways that converge to the Indianapolis area.  The summit, which will be at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, 350 W. Maryland St., will examine ways to take advantage of this convergence to spur economic growth in central Indiana.

See the entire story at INside Indiana Business

Indiana has 18 certified technology parks and the average employee there earns $5,000 to $15,000 more than the average employee working at an indiana company.

 So whats the deal with this?

Because Indiana is emerging as a center for information technology companies in the midwest; technology parks have become a popular option to allocate and distribute products and resources efficiently, resulting in increased profit.  This allows technology companies to offer better paying salaries to their employees.

Read the full story at INside Indiana Business:

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/incubate-indiana-vital-stats.asp