FRONT COVERBACK COVERFRONT FLAP

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING • NEW PALESTINE •

SOUTHERN HANCOCK SCHOOLS • GREENFIELD •

• TECH • Hancock • MCCORDSVILLE • EASTERN

HANCOCK SCHOOLS • WILKINSON • AG BUSINESS

• FORTVILLE • MT. VERNON SCHOOLS • FOOD

PROCESSING • CUMBERLAND • GREENFIELD

SCHOOLS • LIFE SCIENCES • SHIRLEY • TECH •

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING • NEW PALESTINE •

SOUTHERN HANCOCK SCHOOLS • GREENFIELD

• INESS • MCCORDSVILLE • EASTERN HANCOCK

SCHOOLS • WILKINSON • AG BUSINESS • FORTVILLE

• MT. VERNON SCHOOLS • FOOD PROCESSING

• CUMBERLAND • GREENFIELD SCHOOLS •

LIFE SCIENCES • SHIRLEY • TECH • ADVANCED

MANUFACTURING • NEW PALESTINE • SOUTHERN

HANCOCK SCHOOLS • GREENFIELD • Hancock •

MCCORDSVILLE • EASTERN HANCOCK SCHOOLS •

WILKINSON • AG BUSINESS • FORTVILLE • MT.

2017

Aqua Indiana

City of Green� eld

Daily Reporter/AIM

Duke Energy

Elanco Animal Health

Ferguson Construction

First Merchants Bank

Green� eld Banking Company

Greenwalt Development Group

Green� eld Utilities

Hancock County

Hancock Health

Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors

Milestone Contractors

NineStar Connect

� e Peterson Company

Runnebohm Construction

Town of Cumberland

Town of Fortville

Town of McCordsville

Town of New Palestine

Vectren Energy Delivery

HANCOCK ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

2017ANNUAL REPORT

1985 – 2017

September 21 was a great night as Hancock Economic Development

Council hosted an event to “Celebrate Our Successes and Our Communities”

� e event was held in the clubhouse at � e Preserve at Sugar Creek in New Palestine.

HEDC Executive Director Skip Kuker shared that over the last � ve years, Hancock County has seen $617 million in new real estate and personal property investment and 3400+ new jobs.

Community representatives who shared their accomplishments included:CUMBERLAND Town Manager April

FisherFORTVILLE Town Manager Joe RennerGREENFIELD Mayor Chuck FewellMCCORDSVILLE Town Manager Tonya

GalbraithNEW PALESTINE Town Council

President Jan Jarson.SHIRLEY Clerk-Treasurer Teresa Hester

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS AND OUR COMMUNITIES

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MEMBERS

Walt Justus, Chris Miller and Mike Freuth

Teresa Hester, Shirley Clerk Treasurer Joe Renner, Fortville Town Manager

From left: Skip Kuker enjoys VIP treatment en route to the BWI groundbreaking, Mayor Fewell with BWI dignitaries, Skip talks with Governor Holcomb

BAGI/Hancock County Builders

Browning Investments

Green� eld Area Chamber of Commerce

Hancock County Community Foundation

Hancock County Public Library

Hancock County Tourism

New Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce

Patterson Horth

Pritzke & Davis 

� ank you to our sponsors!

Annual Meeting: Annual Report:

Hancock County School Corporations:Eastern Hancock Community Schools

Green� eld-Central Community SchoolsMt. Vernon Community Schools

BACK FLAPINSIDE FRONT COVER INSIDE CENTER

HEDC LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

2017 was a banner year for the

economy in Hancock County, making it one of the fastest-growing counties in the state! Further, we are delighted that the town of McCordsville was recognized as the 2nd fasted growing municipality in the state! I am proud to say that the HEDC, in cooperation with many business and government leaders, was a key element in ensuring that our long history of growth continued at such a rapid rate.

In his sixth year as Executive Director, Skip Kuker continues to shape the economic fortunes of our county by developing relationships with land owners, site developers, company presidents and

other economic development professionals. His success is made even more impressive considering his continuing battle with cancer, a journey that has inspired all who know and love him. Skip is supported in his e� orts by the board of the HEDC, local redevelopment commissions, and city and county planners all working together to � nd and capitalize on opportunities.

In 2017, Skip and his erstwhile assistant, Connie Schmidt, processed nearly 100 requests for information (compared to 73 in 2016 and 29 in 2015) and submitted proposals to nearly half of these inquiries. Of note, while the majority of requests continue to come from the state economic development authority, 2017

saw a huge uptick in the number of requests made directly to the HEDC o� ce, indicating that Hancock County is independently attracting the interest of developers and businesses.

A few examples of success in 2017 included the Beijing West, Inc. (BWI) auto parts manufacturing plant that broke ground in Green� eld and which will include 275,000 sq. � ., more than $80 million in investment, and nearly 500 jobs in the � rst few years of operation (with additional growth likely in the future). Local employers including Stanley Black & Decker, Avery Dennison, and Wesco/Duke proposed major expansions of plant, equipment, or sta� with

signi� cant capital investments and hundreds of new jobs. To ensure capacity for new growth in the future, a spec building by Shear is underway near the I70 / Mt. Comfort Rd interchange. Even with all this development, Hancock County continues to have the largest quantity (500+ acres) of Shovel-Ready development sites in the state of Indiana!

� e total impact of this growth in 2017 will be nearly $120 million in new business investments and the addition of more than 700 new jobs to Hancock County! � e Hancock Economic Development Council extends our gratitude to all the businesses that announced investments in Hancock County in 2017.In addition to its successes

in development, the HEDC also achieved the following in 2017:

• Ferguson Construction Company and the Hancock County Community Foundation joined in 2017, bringing the total HEDC members to 32.

• Completed an in-depth review and revision of the board bylaws, including a more intentional approach to dues.

Took HEDC board meetings “on the road” to the Green� eld-Central School Corporation, the Mt. Vernon School Corporation, and Elanco.

Hosted a celebration in September focusing on the successes achieved by the communities in Hancock County.

� ere is no end to the items I could mention in this letter, but time and space do not permit, so let me close by thanking all of you for your own e� orts during the year to make Hancock County an extraordinary place to live and do business!

2017 HEDC OFFICERS

MICHAEL FRUTHVICE PRESIDENT

JEFFREY SOMERSTREASURER

APRIL FISHERSECRETARY

2017 ANALYTICS:WEBSITE/ANALYTICS

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV

120011001000

900800700600500400300200100

0

■ SESSIONS ■ USERS ■ PAGE VIEWS

■ SESSIONS: HOW MANY TIMES THE WEBSITE WAS VISITED.■ USERS: AN ENTITY, HUMAN OR AUTOMATED COMPUTER THAT IS CONNECTING TO THE SERVER THROUGH THE INTERNET. ■ PAGEVIEWS: HOW MANY TIMES EACH INDIVIDUAL PAGE WAS VIEWED.

BEIJING WEST INDUSTRIES (BWI)

� e Beijing-headquartered company chose Green� eld in Hancock County, Indiana, as its � rst U.S. production facility. BWI is a premier chassis supplier that designs and manufactures brake and suspension systems for the global automotive market, creating up to 500 new, high-wage jobs by 2021.

REMEMBERINGTOM RONEY

1946-2017

� e HEDC is honored to have known and worked with Tom Roney. Tom served the HEDC for almost 30 years as a member, treasurer, vice-president, and on the executive committee. He is greatly missed. Tom was a champion of Hancock County.

IN MEMORY:

We close another year at the HEDC and I am

blessed to work for such a dynamic community that is growing in population and opportunity. I would like to take us into what I might see for the next year.

� ere is no doubt that we need to continue our conversations with the existing businesses. Not only are they a gold mine of information but they are our best chance of growth, as they are here, they are stable and they are known to us. It sounds simple but it takes time and e� ort to cultivate the correct relationship. We have to look to our board members for help with this, o� en they are our “ears to the ground”.

Our community does not have to be like any other, we can stand alone amongst our peers. So, what do I mean? I am talking about taking risks, creating entrepreneurial space, more amenities that people want to visit and have in their communities, connected trails, walkable downtowns with living space within the area.

� e expected residential growth over 5 years is expected to grow 9% and continue to have our county be in the top � ve for growth among the State. We need to discuss with housing developers how we can ensure that we have the highest standards for these developments to bring in the highest return on the investment and see if we need to have “public-private” partnerships.

I look forward to 2018 and continuing the work that we have done and expanding our outreach to the community.

STEVE LONGPRESIDENT

MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BWI is investing more than $80 million to build and equip a new 276,514-square-foot manufacturing facility in Green� eld’s Progress Park and expect to launch production in August 2019.

US - 91.37% Brazil 1.27% China 1.25%

United Arab Emirates 1.03%India .83%South Korea .65%Phillipines .46%Germany .34%Russia .30%Canada .26%

TOP COUNTRIES FOR

WEB VISITS:TOP SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS:

#1: BWI announcement on 6/27 reached 4,135

#2: Smith� eld Hiring announcement from Work One on 5/4 reached 3,739

#3: Skip’s 5 Year Anniv on 3/2 reached 2,616

■ Hancock 3rd Fastest Growing on 3/27 reached 2,434

■ Ninestar & McCordsville on 7/12 reached 2,204

■ Steve Long EconDev Week on 5/12 reached 1,266

BY THE NUMBERS

4959 sessions4081 users9100 pageviews54 countries47 states

■ 16% of tra� c from social media■ 51.5% from searches■ 10.1% from linked sites■ 22.4% from direct visits

January 1 - Nov, 30, 2017 TOP DESTINATIONS:■ News ■ Largest Employers ■ Sites & Buildings

TOTAL TRAFFIC

16%SOCIALMEDIA

22.4%DIRECT VISIT

10.1%LINKED

SITES51.5%SEARCHES

Sincerely,

Nolan “Skip” Kuker, HEDC Executive director

Sincerely,

Steve Long2017 HEDC President

In 2017, the Hancock Economic Development Council processed nearly 100 requests for information (compared

to 73 in 2016 and 29 in 2015) and submitted proposals to nearly

half of these inquiries.