A combination of factors worked in the Evansville area's favor as it recruited Polyram Group, an Israel-based plastics company.
First, the Vanderburgh Industrial Park off Indiana 57 near Evansville Regional Airport had a building available that could be renovated rather easily, and it was built for expansion. Second, the company was attracted to Indiana's centralized location and business climate. And third, Southwest Indiana has a lengthy history in the plastics industry.
Those circumstances, along with a cocktail of local and state financial incentives, convinced Polyram to bring its first U.S. production facility to the area. The company plans more than 50 new jobs by 2022, with wages averaging $20 per hour.
Polyram is a supplier to the automotive and food packaging industries. Its local operations are expected to begin in early 2018.
Founded in 1986 in Ram-On, Israel, Polyram is a global plastics supplier with two production facilities in Israel and one production site in China, in addition to warehouse and sales operations in Ohio, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Italy and Russia. Polyram’s new Indiana facility will serve the company’s customers locally and around the world.
Polyram employs 200 people globally. It plans to hire its Indiana plant manager and human resource manager this summer. Hiring for all other positions, including warehousing, maintenance, shift leader, machine operating, accounting and lab jobs, will follow later this year and early next year.
Local economic development officials said they had been working on the Polyram project for a few months. Ellen Horan, director of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville, said the empty spec building here was a big selling point.
"By the shell already being there, that will allow them to be up and operational by January," Horan said.
A company official said Polyram looks forward to being in Southwest Indiana.
“The Evansville area is internationally known for its deep plastic industry roots. Its ideal logistical location and availability of a highly-skilled workforce with all the skill sets required for plastic manufacturing were key factors contributing to our decision," Sharon Segev, chief operating officer at Polyram, said in a news release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Polyram Plastic Industries Ltd. up to $275,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The incentives are performance based, meaning they can't be claimed until Hoosiers are hired.
The IEDC also will provide Vanderburgh County with up to $50,000 in infrastructure assistance from the state’s Industrial Development Grant Fund. On Wednesday, the Vanderburgh County Council approved an eight-year phase-in of property taxes for Polyram, at the request of Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.
“We congratulate Polyram on the completion of their site selection and are pleased that they have chosen Vanderburgh County as the site for their first U.S.-based production facility," said Bruce Ungethiem, president of the County Commissioners.
According to the Indiana Economic Development Corp., trade between Israel and Indiana has grown in recent years. Export of Indiana-built goods to Israel has increased more than 160 percent in the last decade, reaching bearly $100 million last year.. More than 70 Indiana companies do business in Israel.