goingon
Local Businesses Among Third Round of Manufacturing Readiness Grants
Wednesday, December 23, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with Conexus Indiana, announced the third round of awards totaling approximately $1.5 million to 31 Indiana businesses in Manufacturing Readiness Grants, which Governor Eric J. Holcomb first announced in May under the Economic Activity Stabilization and Enhancement program. The grants are designed to stimulate manufacturing investments that will position Hoosier operations, and the sector overall, for future growth and prosperity.

The 31 manufacturers receiving grants represent 21 Indiana counties and cover a wide range of specialties, including automotive, aerospace and defense, agriculture, machinery and construction, consumer packaging products, and health care and medical. Together, these businesses plan to invest more than $15 million in technology and equipment to position their businesses for future growth by increasing capacity and modernizing operations. Five of the manufacturers – Ameri-Can Engineering, DQE Inc, Meyer Plastics Inc., Primex Plastics Corporation, and Universal Technologies LLC – are accelerating operational investments in health care manufacturing or preparedness technology to support critical COVID-19 response efforts.

Local Recipients include:

DeKALB Molded Plastics (DeKalb County; $20,000 grant award), based in Butler for more than 40 years, is a custom structural foam molder specializing in large, multi-nozzle plastic products servicing the medical, safety, transportation, and material handling industries. The company is installing two automated robot cells with Fanuc robots to increase efficiency.

EarthWay Products (Elkhart County; $100,000 grant award), family-owned in Bristol since 1955, manufactures lawn and garden equipment for turf scientists, landscape professionals, and homeowners. The company is automating a production line of spreaders/seeders with cobots to replace highly repetitive work and improve capacity by 30%.

eti Controls Inc. (St. Joseph County; $60,000 grant award), which was founded in 2019 as part of the ETI Network, manufactures electronic controllers and sensors for various applications including heat tracing that monitors temperature, humidity, and pressurization. Based in South Bend, the company is investing in automated production and inspection equipment for printed circuit boards (PCB) to become further insular to meet stringent quality and delivery demands. Bringing the capability in-house allows the company to manage key component suppliers to increase capacity and manufacture complex PCBs.

Koester Metals Inc. (Steuben County; $20,000 grant award), a sheet metal fabricator formed in Defiance, Ohio, in 1975 and moved the business to Fremont in 2010, is upgrading to a more advanced laser cutting system with expanded load and unload capability to expand capacity and capability for larger and thicker metal, enabling longer lights-out runs. The company is also adding remote monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities.

Micro Etch Technologies LLC (Elkhart County; $75,000 grant award) manufactures small, thin gauge metal components for electronics, medical, aerospace, and other industries. Founded in 1988 in Elkhart, the company is upgrading its manufacturing technology and capabilities with investments in a digital microscope, digital CMM, and chemical etching system.

TouchTronics Inc. (Elkhart County; $50,000 grant award), based in Elkhart for more than 35 years, manufactures wireless and Bluetooth controllers and monitoring solutions for the commercial truck, RV, marine, and public safety industries. This woman-owned business is investing in automated equipment to manufacture and assemble circuit boards, wire harnesses, and injection-molded parts to enhance quality, efficiency, speed, and product performance.

Viewrail / Stair Supplies (Iron Baluster Inc.) (Elkhart County; $20,000 grant award) manufactures premium stair parts for homeowners, builders, and contractors. Based in Goshen since 2004, the company is developing an automated powder coat line to transition from batch to continuous flow as part of an overall automation effort.

The IEDC initially made $4 million available for Indiana Manufacturing Readiness Grants and has since been able to expand the awards for Hoosier manufacturers with support of CARES Act funding. The awards are issued in the form of matching grants up to or equal to the amount of the qualified investment in new equipment and machinery (minimum 1:1 investment match). While the allocated program funding has been exceeded, Conexus, with the input of a peer review panel, will continue to assess applications and make funding recommendations to the IEDC, which will fund select applications if and when additional funding becomes available. Eligibility requirements and the grant application are available online.



MORE HEADLINES

>> News Archive