Indiana Lt. Governor Helps Cut Ribbon at Novae

 

Indiana Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann was on hand to help cut the ribbon for Novae's new building in the Markle Industrial Park.  County, Town and Company officials joined Novae employees in the celebration.  

 

Founded in 1995, Novae is now the 3rd largest trailer manufacturer in the United States and is the 5th largest employer in the Huntington County Manufacturing Community. The 73,000 square foot expansion created 75 new jobs in Huntington County and is the fourth major expansion by the Company since 2005. 

 

The project was the culmination of several years worth of collaborative efforts in Huntington County. The original owners of the property, Bevan & Virginia Best, first worked with the Town of Markle and the County Economic Development Community to organize opportunities to create the industrial park in the early 1990s. Later, the Huntington County Commissioners and the Huntington County Council provided funds for Huntington County United Economic Development Corporation (HCUED) to acquire title to the property. The property received official recognition as an Indiana Certified Shovel Ready Site through the collaborative efforts of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, HCUED and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  

 

The Town of Markle, in collaboration with the Huntington County Commissioners and the Wells County Commissioner, constructed a new water tower to serve the park.  Also, the Huntington County Commissioners and the Town of Markle assisted HCUED client Community Fiber Solutions, in building out the telecommunications infrastructure currently serving the park.

 

Neighboring farmers, Kyle & Lisa Lund worked together with the project to establish a drainage easement to manage surface water run-off and the Huntington County Surveyor and Drainage Board were critical partners in the project.  The Markle Redevelopment Commission worked collaboratively with the Huntington Neighborhood Development Corporation to better coordinate the use of TIF funds to support infrastructure development at the site.

 

"All of these collaborative efforts made it possible for the Novae project to become a reality," said Mark Wickersham, executive director of Huntington County Economic Development.  "Novae's leadership team repeatedly told us that had the due diligence not been completed, the project would not have been in Markle," Wickersham added.  "It is yet another example in the history of economic development efforts in Huntington County, where everyone involved has demonstrated what can be done when the there is a team approach to economic development," he concluded.