Media Center
New company could bring 500 jobs to Elkhart County
Reporter: Ryan Famuliner
Email Address: ryan.famuliner@wndu.com
A new project is in the works in Elkhart County that could bring in five hundred new jobs and fill a vacant factory.
Las Vegas-based Energy-Inc. wants to manufacture green technology in Middlebury.
County leaders have been talking to the company since January, and say it looks like this likely will happen.
It's not a done deal yet, but the company's president tells WNDU that they could even start manufacturing as early as October.
Energy-Inc. says they plan to invest an estimated $96 million in a factory that would produce thermal conversion technology.
"Essentially what they do is they take any waste product and they convert it into either energy or some basic components like carbon or nitrogen," said Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder
The company says the technology has been used in Europe for years, but not in the U.S.
The factory would hire 500 people for jobs paying in the $40,000 range.
But the president of the company says they're still waiting until early September to close on a vacant factory north of Middlebury that they say would be perfect for their operation.
They're also waiting to hear back from the Elkhart County council, after they asked for a 10-year tax abatement at the council meeting over the weekend.
The final vote on that issue comes September 14th.
“I think we've done everything we can do the company wants to come here I don’t see any bumps in the road right now… I think in 30 days we're going to know if it's a go or a no go and everything looking real positive right now,” Yoder said.
Energy-Inc. says they're also looking into a project that would create 50 more jobs at the Elkhart landfill; where they'd convert waste into energy. They say they could actually eliminate the need for a landfill.
The company’s president says part of why he chose Elkhart County is because he’s originally from northeast Indiana, and is familiar with the industrial strengths of the area.
He thinks Elkhart County's an ideal place for them to locate because of the close proximity to major cities and railways, and because there are so many skilled factory workers looking for jobs right now. He also says he views the project as a ‘partnership’ with the county, which he hopes will last far into the future.
But, people shouldn't send their applications in yet. Both the company and county stress; while they hope to start production before the end of the year, it's not a done deal yet.
