Southwest Indiana update: the region's top business stories.

AuthorMayer, Kathy
PositionREGIONAL REPORT SOUTHWEST

FUNDING FOR INTERSTATE 69 and growing agribusiness, manufacturing and tourism are giving southwest Indiana an economic boost.

1-69 coming. "We've been waiting expectantly for 40-some years. This is a pretty big step, "says Paul Lake, director of Pike County Economic Growth and Development Council, speaking for the region about the state legislature's funding of Interstate 69.

In Gibson County, which will get three 1-69 interchanges, Todd Mosby, executive director of the Gibson County Economic Development Corp., says, "We're excited about what that will bring for this region."

1-69 will run parallel to the new 234-acre North Warrick Industrial Park near Elberfeld, owned by the Warrick County Redevelopment Commission, and that will help land new industries, says Judy Weatherholt, executive director of the Warrick County Economic Development Department. "The infrastructure to the park is complete, with the State Road 57 entrance constructed as well as access to water and sewer lines. We anticipate a lot of interest to be generated in the park."

Daviess, Greene and Martin counties are also eyeing a boon for the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park, a joint venture covering parts of each county that now encompasses 300 acres and could be expanded to 900 acres. Newcomers would join EG&G Technical Services, a subsidiary of government contractor URS Corp., which just moved its 60 employees to the park, where it provides contract research for Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane.

Agribusiness grows.

Four ethanol plants are in the works in Pike and Posey counties.

Nevada-based Ripatti Group has announced it will build a $200 million plant on 200 acres and process 20 million bushels of corn annually beginning in about three years, says Lake in Pike County.

Two more ethanol plants are slated for Posey County, reports Sally Denning, administrative director at the Posey County Chamber of Commerce. Aventine Renewable Energy will average 110 million gallons in annual production when it opens in fail 2008. St. Louis-based Abengoa Bioenergy Inc. has also announced plans to build, but construction has not yet begun. ASAlliances Biofuels LLC earlier began steps to launch an ethanol plant in the county.

In other agribusiness news, Farbest Foods, a turkey production company Dubois County, is expanding its Huntingburg operations. The company is building a new distribution center, contracting for an additional 3 million turkeys a year and adding 200 jobs to its...

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