Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County Fact Sheet
• The EDC of Elkhart County is a not-for-profit economic organization serving the community through "Partnering for Progress" with the cities, towns, chambers of commerce, investor partners, and businesses of Elkhart County. • The primary objectives of the EDC of Elkhart County are the retention and expansion of local businesses, attraction of new businesses to Elkhart County, and local entrepreneurial development.
• Since it's founding, the EDC of Elkhart County has served as the primary economic development organization for Elkhart County. In its short history, the EDC of Elkhart County has worked directly with more than 50 companies, resulting in . . .
o The creation of 3,500 jobs
o New capital investment exceeding $200 million
o More than $2 million in state grants awarded
• The types of assistance the EDC of Elkhart County offers to businesses includes the following:
o Tax Phase-In Processing
o Workforce Recruitment and Training
o Transportation Improvements
o Coordination with Local Municipalities
o Negotiation of State Incentives/Assistance
o Grant and Financial Packaging
o Wage and Benefit Surveys
o Property Search and Evaluation
o Demographic Database
Adams & Westlake: Still on Track
Adams & Westlake Ltd., started in 1857 to supply lamps and lanterns to railroad companies, continues to produce parts for railroads and commuter transit but has branched into military vehicles and other sectors and expanded its workforce.
The company sells supplies to Amtrak and transit authorities from New York to Los Angeles as well as to manufacturers and the Department of Defense. Products include lock hardware, sun visors, luggage racks, curtains and other components for train cars as well as windows for military vehicles and related products.
“We’re very diverse,” President Randy Schneider says. “Business is going strong.”
Adams & Westlake has 36 employees in its 62,000-square-foot plant with a nonferrous foundry, machining department, metal stamping department, sewing department and assembly area.
Each year, it also fills orders for about 1,000 reproductions of the old-fashioned lanterns, made with the same tooling and used as gifts and novelties.
Adams & Westlake, Ltd.
P.O. Box 4524
Elkhart, IN 46514
574.264.1141
www.adlake.com
ObeCo Inc: Net Profits
ObeCo Inc., long a supplier of custom netting and tie down material to the RV and marine industries, started a push for diversification two years ago, soon after Jason Obendorf, son of David Obendorf who founded the company in 1990, joined the business as sales manager.
“I really started to look around the market to see what we could do elsewhere,” Jason Obendorf says. “There’s a lot of other uses for our products,” including applications in the forklift, bus, motorcycle, farm, golf cart, medical and military fields. He expects that uses in stadium seating will provide substantial growth.
ObeCo provides custom design and sewing of the netting products. It also makes letter jackets for seven area high schools. Traditionally, RV and marine accounts have accounted for 80 percents of its business, but already customers outside those industries have grown to 40 percent.
ObeCo Inc.
18536 U.S. Highway 20
Goshen, IN 46528
Phone: 574.266.1809
Fax: 574.264.2408
www.obecoinc.com
Regional Health Care Professionals: Healthy Growth
Regional Health Care Professionals, Inc. is expanding its nonmedical service to people who need care in their homes, complementing the medical services provided by its sister company, Regional Health Care, Inc., which provides medical services.
The agency expects to hire a director and add some 30 patients, supporting 10 new staff positions, including therapists, nurses, aides, companions, homemakers and medical social workers, says President Pamela Fahlbeck--a longtime nurse who started Regional Health Care Professionals in 1999.
The high-tech service uses Honeywell tele-monitors to measure blood pressure and vital signs remotely, as well as Honeywell medication monitors. It is a state-licensed agency and provides long-term and short-term home care to eight counties in Indiana and three in Michigan.
Fahlbeck is also president of Regional Health Care Inc., which provides home health visits in a home or assisted living center and helps patients receive Medicare payments for the work.
Regional Health Care Professionals, Inc.
525 B W. Bristol St.
P.O. Box 128
Elkhart, Ind. 46515-0147
Phone: 574.295.9999
Fax: 574.262.8888
www.elkharthomecare.com
SJC Industries Corp.: Ambulance Leaders
Ambulance manufacturer SJC Industries Corp, which includes sister companies McCoy Miller and Marque Inc., is exploring new markets, including overseas and underserved as well as redesigning vehicles to raise attention and lower costs.
“We have been very aggressive in the export market and have reaped some success,” says President Chuck Drake. “We are launching new variations on existing domestic products to reduce cost or stimulate interest with new designs. We are broadening our distribution into slower territories.”
The company has maintained production and employment staffing despite delays in decision-making by cash-strapped customers, including governments. Drake says demand is building because the fleet is aging and personnel need more training.
“We believe that through innovation we can weather the current situation and be positioned well for acceleration when the economy recovers,” he says.
SJC Industries Corp.
1110 D.I. Drive
Elkhart, IN 46514
Phone: 888.999.2175
Fax: 574.790.6798
www.mccoymiller.com
www.marqueinc.com
Sports-O-Zone: Good, Clean Growth
Sports-O-Zone’s Sanitizing System, a patented process that converts room air to ozone used to disinfect equipment, has proved effective in fighting resistant bacteria, viruses and molds on hard-to-clean surfaces from football helmets to wheelchairs and children’s toys.
Concern about resistant bacteria such as MRSA and Staph has generated interest in the product, which is already used by a dozen NFL teams, college and high school sports teams, nursing homes, day care centers and the military.
The young company grew by more than 50 percent last year and expects to keep growing this year in markets where people wear protective equipment, share items or work in close contact.
“We see our potential customers making our unit a priority in their budget process,” says Mark Eades Jr., director of sales. “They see our unit representing a more cost-effective technology for sanitizing porous surfaces that previously they did not have an answer for.”
Sports-O-Zone USA, LLC
425 Pine Creek Ct.
Elkhart, IN 46516
Phone: 877.264.6062
Fax: 574.294.1679
Email: sales@sportsozone.com
www.sportsozone.com