The former Delphi building on Road 300 South is the new home of D.L. Couch’s corporate headquarters and warehouse. (C-T File Photo)
A 26-year-old wall covering company is packing up its three Indiana locations and moving them to Henry County's industrial park.
D.L. Couch has purchased the former Delphi building on Road 300 South to turn into its corporate headquarters and warehouse space. The investment means 46 people will work in the building, with 20 of those positions being new to the county.
Dennis Couch, who owns the company with his wife, Lori, searched for property in Hancock and Hamilton counties for a building large enough to meet their needs. But in the end, he said they always wanted to stay in Henry County.
"Our heart was in Henry County," he said. "We wanted to keep our jobs here."
The 91,000-square-foot facility has housed Delphi and Modernfold in the past but currently sits vacant. The building includes office space with about 40 cubicles and a spacious manufacturing area.
Dennis Couch began researching the building when he decided it was time to put all his operations under one roof. He wanted to increase communication among departments and handle the business more efficiently. On Monday, he closed on purchasing the building that had an asking price of $1.7 million.
This week, workers will begin moving wall coverings, fabrics and cubicle curtains from D.L. Couch's Mount Comfort warehouse and into the facility. Dennis Couch plans to finish extensive renovations before the headquarters on Memorial Drive and the Noblesville sales and marketing center move in. The 20 jobs include employees that will transfer from Noblesville and Mount Comfort, but some of the jobs will be new.
The building will also house sister company Wallcovering Source Group, which is jointly owned by D.L. Couch and two other commercial distributors.
Dennis Couch expects the building to be completely operational by at least February 2012. The warehouse, sales staff and corporate headquarters jobs will be more than enough to fill the building, but there are 30 acres around the facility if they need to expand, he said.
He does not want to specify the amount of his investment but said it demonstrates his commitment to Henry County.
Bob Grewe, president and CEO of the New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp., said he's thrilled to see a corporate headquarters moving into the industrial park. Filling a building there will mean more property tax dollars that can be used to lure other businesses.
It's also continues the momentum of economic development news that the county has seen in recent weeks. In the past month alone, Crown Equipment has announced plans to create 160 jobs here, and Ivy Tech Community College picked a New Castle location for its new campus.
Grewe called D.L. Couch's location in the industrial park a great selling point as he tries to attract more businesses.
"These kinds of business decisions speak very loudly about the business climate," Grewe said. "That sells more than any brochure we could ever put together."
Dennis Couch grew up in New Castle and went to work at Modernfold after graduating from high school. He was chosen for management training and could pick from five areas that included wall coverings. For reasons he can't remember, he picked wall coverings.
He continued working in wall covering manufacturing and became a partner in a commercial vinyl operation in New Castle.
When he sold the business, he opened D.L. Couch in 1985.
Since then, the company has grown to distribute wall coverings, fabrics and architectural interior products in 23 states.
Dennis Couch picked the Delphi building because it was the only Henry County building large enough to house all three of its operations.
The location had been the top pick for Ivy Tech Community College as it searched for a spot to create a new campus. But before Henry County officials could make an offer, they learned it had already been sold.
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