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Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana E-News Update
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
DOT FOODS, INC. CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF SUCCESS
The Tracy family still owns and operates the company started by their father, Robert, in 1960. Today, celebrating its 50th anniversary, Dot Foods, Inc. is a leader in the food redistribution industry, with nine distribution centers throughout the United States, and a sales center and company headquarters in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. One of those distribution centers is located in Wayne County at the Indiana Gateway Industrial Park near Cambridge City, at the Interstate 70/ State Road 1 interchange.
Dot Foods provides a link between large food manufacturers and food distributors. It's not cost effective for food manufacturers to sell directly to food distributors because of size, warehousing and shipping of orders. Dot Foods purchases product in bulk amounts from manufacturers and then provides it in smaller lots to food distributors. Food distributors in turn offer those products to restaurants, grocery and convenience stores. Dot Foods handles the sales, warehousing and distribution tasks for the manufacturers. Without Dot's services manufacturers wouldn't be able to efficiently distribute their product and distributors couldn't easily access product.
Though highly innovative and sensitive to market demands, the company operates today around the same basic business principle it was started with - help customers improve their business. And Dot Foods has found numerous ways to do that, from offering a vast selection of products from 500 top food industry manufacturers, to relationships with employees, to sustainable practices implemented in all facets of operation.
Dot Foods hit $1 billion in recorded sales revenue in 2000, a highpoint for the company. But in five years the company doubled that highpoint. Currently, Dot carries 92,000 different products. The company distributes product via semi-truck across the United States. Product is hauled in semi-trailers with three temperature zones of storage space - dry, refrigerated and frozen. Those trucks travel 1.5 million miles annually. According to Cambridge City Plant Manager, Tim Loyd, the distribution center in the Gateway Park is strategically located to help keep shipping miles as low as possible. With distribution locations throughout the U.S., Dot Foods is no more than two days out from any of their customers. And with the announcement of their most recent expansion at their Mt. Sterling location, their capability and capacity will increase even further. The $15 million expansion will add 138,000 square feet in warehouse space that will increase storage and improve efficiency in picking products for shipment. Twenty new jobs will also be added. The expansion is correlated to Dot's move into convenience and grocery store distribution. These new sectors require smaller shipments and the new warehouse will be designed to allow for that change.
In 2006, Dot Foods located their distribution center in Wayne County. Currently there are around 170 employees working in the facility, but Dot Foods is in the process of hiring more people to deal with their expansion and growth into the convenience and grocery store distribution sectors. The Cambridge City facility has seen a 6% increase in growth over last year. Plant Manager Tim Loyd says you're very likely to see Dot Foods employees volunteering in a number of different areas in Wayne County, including area little leagues, Easter Seals, Birth-to-Five and Communities in Schools, as well as contributions to the United Way of Whitewater Valley. Likewise there are a number of opportunities provided by the company for families to get together, such as Earth Day, the company's recent 50th Anniversary Celebration and other activities. To promote safety, the company has a Forklift Rodeo as part of Warehouse Appreciation Week. Employees compete against each other at each facility and the champions move on for a company-wide "Grand Nationals" competition. The courses include a number of tasks that must be performed with safety in mind to be successful. An employee from the Cambridge City distribution center was Grand Nationals champion in 2009. The company celebrates Driver Appreciation week as well.
Loyd says Dot Foods believes doing the right thing is good for business. The company was among the first to begin offering 401K and profit sharing programs for employees. Loyd says "A company that does a good job knowing what customers want is going to do a good job caring for their employees." Doing the right thing is also demonstrated in the company's encouragement of charitable contributions locally as well as internationally.
Stewardship can be good for business as well. Dot Foods has worked to implement a number of different sustainable initiatives throughout all facets of their operation and on a company-wide basis. Dot trucks run on bio-diesel. Battery cores, waste oil and tires are all recycled, along with packing supplies including stretch wrap and cardboard. Pallets are used to their maximum lifespan and then rebuilt to extend their usage. All indoor forklifts are electronic. Compressors on refrigerators and freezers were installed to run in shifts to maintain temperatures rather than all off and all on. Motion sensor lighting was installed in warehouse areas as well as office areas. Reports are in electronic format to reduce the need to print copies. In the break room, employees are provided with paper plates and cups made from compostable materials. All employees are provided with reusable mugs that can handle hot or cold drinks. Corporate-wide $30,000 has been saved by reducing the need for Styrofoam cups. In the future, the company is investigating the possibility of utilizing wind energy technology.
Dot Foods may be turning 50 this year, but there's no indication the company plans on slowing down. Future plans include plenty of opportunities to continue with Robert Tracy’s original principle - to help customers improve their business. Some of the areas where growth potential has been identified include box beef, fresh pork and other meat lines as well as over-the-counter drugs, beauty supplies, imported products and disposables. There is enough potential to see Dot Foods well past its 50 year mark and long into the future.
PHASE 2 PROVIDES MORE DETAILS IN TARGET INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Phase 2 of the Target Industry Analysis is underway. This stage of the analysis will focus on industry sectors identified from the first phase completed earlier this year. The EDC of Wayne County partnered with the Economic Growth Group for Phase 1, which concentrated on industries that would match attributes in Wayne County. As a result of that analysis, four sectors were identified and include Transportation Equipment/Metal Fabrication, Logistics and Distribution, Food Processing and Renewable Energy Systems. In the second portion of the analysis, Foote Consulting Group, a site selection and economic development firm with global experience, will use a hypothetical project to develop a cost comparison model for Richmond and Wayne County as compared to three other Midwestern cities. Foote Consulting will do industry specific research and personal interviews with local companies in each of the targeted areas to determine our key advantages by industry. Resulting reports will focus on detailed cost factors including utilities, labor skills and healthcare as well as costs for land and construction for the hypothetical project. The information will be used to create industry specific marketing materials for each target to be distributed in sales calls.
NEW EMPLOYEES ARE JUST A CLICK AWAY WITH INDIANA CAREER CONNECT
Employers and job seekers can find each other through a powerful website created by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Job seekers can post their resumes electronically as well as search a database for jobs that match their skills and experience. Employers can search available resumes, create resume search agents that run automatically, post a job order and manage search results. Additional services are also provided for employers and job seekers along with a section for youth seeking employment. The site provides an email service through which employers and job seekers can communicate with each other. Registration is required to use the site, but services are provided free of charge and are available to employers and job seekers throughout the state of Indiana. Visit their website at indianacareerconnect.com.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
NEW OWNER SEEKS TO BRING HISTORIC RAIL DEPOT BACK INTO USE
The Richmond Redevelopment Commission recently voted to enter into a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of the historic Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, located in what is now Richmond’s Historic Depot District. New owner of the Depot, Roger Richert asked for $500,000 to put toward the $2 million he believes will be required to prepare the building to be leased for retail, restaurant or banquet space. The funding comes from the city’s tax increment financing district (TIF) which is generated from an increment of property tax collected in the specially designated district. Indiana’s laws allow for the captured tax revenue to be used to make improvements within the district to promote job creation. The Economic Growth Group (EGG), a non-profit organization associated with the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce, will oversee the city’s money in the project. The remaining funding will be provided by Richert himself.
Neither Richert nor EGG are strangers to redeveloping historic buildings for new uses. Recently EGG participated in the redevelopment of the historic Spinning Building which is now home to Interior Translations. Richert has successfully renovated the former Miller Brothers Hardware building and in 2004 opened the Richmond Furniture Gallery along with several other buildings located in the Depot District now available for lease as the Gallery Shops. Richert has five other furniture stores in East Central Indiana in addition to his flagship store, the Richmond Furniture Gallery. The Depot District is part of the larger Richmond Riverfront District which provides access to 3-way liquor licenses for around $2,000 when specific conditions are met.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Depot was designed by famous architect Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1902. The depot is counted among Burnham’s most renowned works including Union Station in Washington D.C., the Rookery Building in Chicago and the Flatiron Building in New York City. Initial work on the depot will stabilize the structure. Future work will include, among other things, a heating and cooling system, walls, flooring, and ductwork. Space in the building is already available for lease.
Visit the the Depot website at http://richmondfurnituregallery.com/richmond-opportunities.php.
AVAILABLE SITES/BUILDINGS
STATE UPGRADES BUILDINGS AND SITES DATABASE
A new upgrade to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s (IEDC) sites and buildings database allows for more efficient management of property listings. Information entered into the database will appear on both the EDC and the IEDC’s websites. In addition, the system can be used to submit available properties for project submissions. The database provides a searchable Google property map of Wayne County. Photos and other relevant documents can be uploaded for each property listing.
To search for Wayne County buildings and sites visit the EDC's Buildings and Sites web page.
FAST FACTS
ACCRA 2nd Quarter, 2010
Cost of Living Index
Composite Index Numbers
The ACCRA Cost of Living Index measures price levels for consumer goods and services in 322 U.S. cities. The average for all participating areas equals 100 and each participant's index is read as a percentage of the average for all places.
| Richmond, Indiana | 89.3% |
| Evansville, Indiana | 96.1% |
| Lafayette, Indiana | 98.2% |
| Chicago, Illinois | 116.8% |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | 110.3% |
| Manhattan, New York | 209% |
Wayne County Unemployment Rate
| May 2010 |
11.4% |
| June 2010 |
11.8% |
| July 2010 | 12.0% |
(Note: Unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted)
DID YOU KNOW? B & F Plastics, Inc., located in Richmond, Indiana originated in 1988 as a screen printing company. Today the company has expanded to offer numerous products including pick-up truck mats, sport flooring for fitness centers and pond liners. The company produces several of their own substrate materials as well as many other custom compounded materials. They were recently awarded the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award. To learn more about B & F Plastics and the many products they manufacture click on their logo below.
Since January of 2009, the EDC of Wayne County, through its EDIT fund has assisted existing businesses in the commitment to the retention and creation of over 170 jobs and provided training assistance funds to 14 companies. These projects have resulted in $16 million in new investment in Wayne County. The county's consolidated EDIT fund comes from funding provided by partnering towns in Wayne County who have agreed to provide half of their EDIT proceeds yearly for county-wide economic development projects. Partners in county-wide economic development currently include Wayne County as well as the towns of Cambridge City, Centerville, East Germantown, Economy, Hagerstown, Milton, Mt. Auburn, Richmond, and Whitewater.
For more information, call us at 765-983-4769 or email us at norene@edcwc.com!
Phone: (765) 983-4769 Fax: (765) 966-8956 International: 011-1-765-983-4769 E-Mail: info@edcwc.com
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