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kok娱乐经济发展主任查德·克莱恩从2019年的活动中得出的报告是乐观和积极的.

克莱恩上周在奥西恩市议会前提交了他的报告，因为该委员会是经济发展的资助者之一.

In 2019, 克莱恩解释, there was $99.4 million in new investments by businesses and industries in Wells County. Twenty-eight new jobs were generated with an annual new payroll of $1 million.

克莱恩说:“这比去年增加了约3000万美元，比2017年增加了一倍左右。.

毫无疑问，最大的投资来自位于布拉夫顿Jasun工业园区的美国车轴制造公司. 美国, 为通用汽车(General Motors)和福特汽车(Ford)生产零部件的一级驱动线和传动系统部件制造商斥资7,400万美元购置新设备. 今年8月，该公司从布拉夫顿市议会获得了该设备10年的减税优惠.

米德兰公司, 位于布拉夫顿最西侧的西兰开斯特街的一家大型仓储设施将投资800万美元建造一座200年的建筑,000-square-foot addition to its facility.

The Bluffton Redevelopment Commission, which is composed of members of the Bluffton Common Council, 正在使用亚当斯街税收增量融资区作为担保机制，这将使米德兰获得大约840美元,为偿还米德兰获得的债券而从该项目征收的财产税收入, 克莱恩解释.

Other sizeable local investments included:

• $10 million by Heartland REMC for fiber optic cable to customers of Heartland’

• $5.Weg商业电机公司斥资400万美元，为位于E . 410的前富兰克林电气工厂购置新设备. 春天的圣. The new equipment replaces aging equipment within the facility.

•  $514,000 for manufacturing equipment by Haven Manufacturing, located along Ind. 在奥西安以南700北纬1度. The investment is expected to add two new jobs.

• $440,000 by Perma Column of Ossian for a robotic welder, a CNC horizontal bending machine and a stamping die. The investment is expected to add two new jobs.

• $81,000 by Star Engineering of Bluffton for a new lathe.

“We’ve also seen a lot of commercial investment going on. 这还没有考虑到瓦莱罗在收购大平原工厂后投入的主要投资,克莱恩说。.

“We know that we’re well over $100 million invested in Wells County in 2019, 这是非常了不起的,他补充道. 

在这一年中，克莱恩对kok娱乐现有的企业和工业进行了100多次访问，以讨论扩大业务, 项目定位, logistics and retention challenges. 他还收到了55个网站线索，并提交了15份关于当前合格可用网站信息的回复. 克莱恩解释 the 15 responses is an increase from the past couple of years. 很多公司都在寻找更大的现有建筑. A lot of towns across the state have bare building sites, but few have existing buildings ready to be occupied.

“不幸的是，我们没有看到我们提交的网站线索有多少行动，但我们从建筑线索中得到了很多,克莱恩说。.

Wells County Economic Development还促进了培训项目，有12名Wells County员工参加了培训. Many of those employees received national certifications.

WCED also hosted a Manufacturing Day for area high school students. Participating in the day were Haven Manufacturing, Ossian的包装, and 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics, 椒盐脆饼干公司.，m Almco Steel，和A.T. 法瑞尔，整个布拉夫顿.

55名健康科学教育专业的学生参观了海文工厂，以便他们能够看到医疗设备的制造方面,克莱恩说。.

WCED还举办了一个实习博览会，让学生与当地企业建立联系，获得以工作为基础的学习机会, 克莱恩说.

他补充说，WCED继续通过美国农业部农村企业补助金向kok娱乐的小企业提供低息贷款.

“Unemployment continues to decline, 然而 our employment level is still not where it was in 2016,克莱恩说。. “It dropped in 2017 and we’ve been moving up ever since,他补充道.

The difference is not that great, 然而, as employment since 2010 peaked at 14,304 people employed in in Wells County in 2016 and 14,2019年就业159人.

The unemployment rate in Wells County started 2019 at 3.5%然后上升到3%.2月份为6%. It rollercoastered through March, 五月 and July and bottomed out at 2.1 percent in 9月tember before ending the year at 2.6%.

“我们的失业率在报纸上可能看起来不错，但如果你想经营一家企业，并寻找高素质的员工，那就糟糕了,克莱恩说。, intimating that once unemployment levels reach that low, it means the remaining unemployed are usually, 不管出于什么原因, 失业.

自2012年以来，全县人均收入逐年增长, 从36美元上涨,从2012年的514美元降至42美元,730 in 2018 (figures are not yet available for 2019). 增加5.2017年至2018年的31%超过了印第安纳州东北部其他地区的平均水平.73 percent increase during the same period. 它还击败了美国.S. 平均4分.94 percent for the same time period.

“Of the 11 counties representing Northeast Indiana, Wells County ranks fourth in per capita personal income earnings,克莱恩说。.

Wells County’s Real Gross Domestic Product for 2019 is $1.063 billion, 克莱恩解释, a 6.从2017年到2018年增长了3%，使其成为印第安纳州东北部地区增长率最高的地区. The county had the 12th best GDP growth in the entire state.

“Not only are our companies investing, but they are doing very well,克莱恩说。.

也是从2017年到2018年, the county retained and gained more residents than it had in years past, seeing a positive growth of 196 residents during that time period.

自2013年以来, 仅在2013年和2016年，该县出现了居民外迁——2006年73人，2016年74人. 尽管如此，该县的居民仍在继续增长，即使是在2016年，当时的人口数量是最糟糕的. In 2016 the county still grew by 12 residents.

我们人口增长的主要原因是出生的人比死亡的人多, 然而 in  the past two years we’ve seen overall population growth.

Since 2014, the county has had 307 new home starts. The 60 new home starts in 2017 topped the trend. In 2019, there were 51 new home starts. Twenty-three were in Bluffton, nine in Ossian and 18 in rural areas of the county. There were no new home starts in Zanesville or Markle, Wells County’s other two incorporated towns of significant population. 

“One of the biggest issues is a lack of lots available to build,克莱恩说。.

克莱恩认为，农村房屋开工率赶上城市房屋开工率是一个令人不安的趋势. “Honestly that’s kind of a problem. 我们希望看到城市地区的住房集中增长，这样城市扩张就不会发生,克莱恩说。.

He also laid out projects for WCED for 2020.

“劳动力 availability remains a serious issue for Wells County employers in 2020,克莱恩重申道, 但kok娱乐经济发展局继续努力，将这个社区推广为一个维护和开始新住宅的地方.”

Projects that are currently underway or in planning for 2020 are:

• Develop and implement plans to continue broadband growth throughout Wells County.

•确定并准备可用于住房开发的土地，为入门级劳动力创造额外的产品.

•发起营销活动，提升kok娱乐的地方资产质量，以增加旅游业, 人口的吸引力, 人口保持.

• Facilitate training programs to meet the needs of Wells County employers.

• Develop and implement the Launch Wells County entrepreneur program in High Schools.

•确定项目, 开发计划, 并促进kok娱乐的机会区，以增加对社区的外部投资.

•制定营销策略，促进kok娱乐的商业投资和发展.

• Work with owners of industrial sites to develop “build-ready” development parcels.

•通过美国农业部农村企业补助金申请获得额外资金，以支持小企业发展.

“kok娱乐经济发展将继续与现有雇主密切合作，评估将有助于满足行业需求的其他项目,克莱恩说。.

Other projects that WCED has planned for 2020 include:

•继续积极开展业务保留和扩展访问，以确定需求和机会.

•为kok娱乐工业进行扩建项目提供必要的协助.

•对kok娱乐可用的工业用地进行分析，以促进发展.

•以领导的身份为kok娱乐的市场营销工作建立品牌形象.

“2019年是一个很好的、强劲的一年. I expect that 2020 will continue that pace,克莱恩说。.

查看报告全文 在这里.

 

故事及照片由 格伦Werling; Courtesy of the 新闻-Banner