Bartholomew County and Columbus are teaming up with an organization within the Indy Chamber in hopes of bringing more economic opportunities to a region spanning much of central Indiana.
Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus (Indiana) Economic Development Corp., signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indy Partnership, a regional economic development organization, described by Matt Mindrum, Indy Chamber president and CEO, as similar to a “talent attraction agency.”
With Hester’s and Mindrum’s signatures on the agreement, Bartholomew County joins nine other central Indiana counties that are a part of the Indy Partnership service area, including: Marion, Hancock, Shelby, Johnson, Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton and Madison counties.
The growth to 10 counties “brings enhanced collaboration opportunities” for advancing economic initiatives in central Indiana “and bolsters the region’s appeal to businesses and investors,” according to a joint press release issued by Indy Partnership and the Greater Columbus EDC.
“Joining the Indy Partnership will provide our organization with new resources and connections that are critical to advancing our goals for local and regional economic growth,” Hester said. “We look forward to working with regional partners to build on our shared strengths and attract quality jobs and investment to benefit our residents and businesses alike.”
City officials and guests gathered with members from the region Friday morning to listen to a conversation between Mindrum, Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy’s Indiana operations and Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon, where they discussed Bartholomew County and what economic advantages it brings to the table.
In introducing guests to the area who may have been first-time visitors, Ferdon talked a bit about what makes Columbus and Bartholomew County unique, discussing the healthy local manufacturing and engineering base, its rich architectural history and how BCSC and local schools are working to build on the area’s workforce through an emphasis on STEM education.
The signed agreement seeks to “enhance regional collaboration and economic growth opportunities in central Indiana,” through the following goals:
• Attract new businesses and investment opportunities to the region.
• Leverage the shared strengths of Columbus, Bartholomew County and central Indiana in advanced manufacturing, engineering, life sciences and logistics.
• Enhance the economic competitiveness and appeal of Central Indiana to businesses, residents and talent.
How those will be sought to be accomplished will be through the sharing of resources. Indy Partnership will promote the county’s economic assets and connect it to wider-regional initiatives. Greater Columbus EDC, in turn, will support Indy Partnership “via membership and active engagement with the chamber,” according to the agreement.
“Regional partnerships have become the best way to do business,” Ferdon said. “We share employees, we share businesses. Being able to be better connected to the greater-Indianapolis area introduces us to a lot more opportunities. It also gives us a larger market to introduce people from the Indy-area to Columbus— from a business-development standpoint, as well as people visiting here, potentially coming and living here and doing business here.”
Indy Partnership representatives say that Bartholomew County aligns well with its focus sectors including advanced manufacturing, life sciences, information technology and logistics.
Reflected in that is the fact that Bartholomew County’s 38 percent manufacturing employment places it in the top 2 percent of all U.S. counties.
Cummins Inc. and Toyota Material Handling are two chief contributors to that, but Ferdon also discussed efforts by the Greater Columbus EDC in particular in recent years to further diversify.
The mayor mentioned Ninth Avenue Foods’ $103 million facility, opened just under two years ago, focused on dairy and alternative dairy bottling operations, as well as the continued expansion of Irresistible Foods Group (IFG) brands locally in King’s Hawaiian and Grillo’s Pickles.
Manufacturing and engineering often come hand-in-hand. It was brought up that the Columbus-metro area has the nation’s highest concentration of industrial engineers, mechanical engineers, industrial engineering technicians and related occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The mayor quipped that “you can’t walk around Columbus without bumping into an engineer,” noting that although she isn’t an engineer, she’s married to one and raised two.
Bartholomew County and Indianapolis already share a host of connections and with its close proximity just down I-65, the agreement solidifies the partnership, the mayor said.
“Having this formal regional agreement is just a way of saying that Columbus wants to do business with the area and we have a lot to offer the entire region,” she said.