LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation's Mission

The Mission of the LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of LaGrange County, Indiana through the enhancement of employment opportunities resulting from the responsible growth and retention of business and industry.

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Recent Events

As the snow melts and the flowers start to bloom, the LaGrange County EDC is beginning to grow as well. Four Northeast Indiana counties, including LaGrange County are now part of the area's Foreign-Trade Zone, providing businesses located in those counties with tools to help them compete globally.

A U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone is a site within the United States that is legally considered outside of Customs territory for the purpose of duties, so goods may be brought into the site duty-free and without formal customs entry. Foreign-Trade Zones provide users with the opportunity to lower costs and boost profits by allowing them to reduce, eliminate or defer the Customs duties they would have otherwise paid.

"We are thrilled to receive this designation. This provides another tool in the toolbox for our economic development efforts to create and sustain a vibrant and viable business community," said Keith Gillenwater, President and CEO of the LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation. "Its a great day for Northeast Indiana!"

Please visit LaGrangeCountyEDC.com for more information regarding the U.S. Foreign Trade Zone.

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Business News

The year 2014 brings new goals for the LaGrange County EDC. One of those goals is to visit our local businesses. We have started this spring with visiting EXO-S, Gro Alliance, Indiana Interstate Enterprise LLC, Kabri Products, Owl Toy Craft, and Riverside RV.

Gro Alliance has a proud history of providing high quality seed and specialty crop production and has consistently exceeded the expectations of some of the most demanding companies and organizations in the world. Gro Alliance has a history of diverse crop production including GMO and non-GMO corn and soybean seed, organic corn, food grade soybeans and yellow, white, blue and red specialty corn grain and seed.

Indiana Interstate Enterprise, LLC is a RV repair company. The business currently does warranty work, insurance claims, custom repair, and paint. They work on every make and model of RV.

Owl Toy Craft is a toy making family that crafts simple, unpainted, wooden toys, such as: tractors; trains; barns; marble rollers; grain elevators; wagons; buggies; and wooden fences.

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Need your GED?

Let IMPACT help you in obtaining your Adult High School Equivalency Diploma. This program was originally known as the GED; however, it is currently known as the HSE, High School Equivalency.

Classes are offered in the mornings and evenings in Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, and Whitley counties.

The HSE assessment, covers the subject areas of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. The cost of the exam is $85. Individuals are eligible to take the exam if they do not hold a diploma from an accredited high school or its equivalent, is a resident of Indiana for a minimum of 30 days immediately preceding the day of testing, and has either officially exited high school or at least 18 years of age. If you are not 18 but at least 16 years of age, you may take the exam only if you have obtained recommendation from an official school superintendent.

If you are interested in the IMPACT program to obtain your HSE, please contact the institute at 1-888-349-0250 ext. 251.

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Wage and Benefit Survey

We are once again participating in the four county Wage and Benefit Survey. This survey will allow us to obtain up-to-date information concerning actual compensation practices and packages. This is essential as we work to attract new businesses to locate in LaGrange County and help others expand here. This information will also benefit existing businesses as it will help them remain competitive in the workforce. Participants that complete the survey will receive a copy of the report with no additional charge.

This survey is comprehensive and confidential. We will collect actual wage information for more than 100 positions in management, production, technology, transportation and other areas. The benefits section compiles information on health insurance plans and costs, time off, retirement plans, financial incentives, workplace practices such as training opportunities, wellness incentives and child care assistance, and other areas.

The survey is taken online at

www.wagesbenefitsurvey.com. When you register, you will be asked to enter a survey code. The survey code is UHYEii5 and is case sensitive. The survey website will be open from March 17-May 2.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at 260-499-4994 or ltormanen@lagrangecountyedc.com.

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President's Perspective

Although it has been a cold one, we are finishing off a very successful winter here at the LaGrange County EDC. We have had many exciting accomplishments, including welcoming new businesses to LaGrange County, working on expansion projects of existing business, and a number of intriguing capacity building projects.

We were also pleased this season to host our 5th Annual Investor's Dinner where we were able to honor eight business, including: Crossroads RV, Exo-S US LLC, Lake Area Designs, Lake Park Industries of Indiana/Midway Products Group, Mudd-Ox Inc., Nishikawa Standard/NISCO, S&H Metals, and West Point Woodworking.

We are thrilled heading into the spring and summer of 2014! We have a number of new initiatives we are working on that have the chance of being game-changers for our community - Stay tuned!

-Keith Gillenwater, President & CEO

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