Reaching the end of the month of June, at Startup Indiana we are excited to relay some buzz within the startup community.

Roche Diagnostics in Indianapolis announced on June 20th their plans to expand the Indiana location of their company. Currently employing 3,000 Hoosiers, the company will invest $300 million and add 100 jobs by the year 2017. Roche Diagnostics is proud to be an organization encouraging growth in the health information and science industry. They are a leading company in in-vitro diagnostics, which are tests that can detect diseases, infection or other health-related conditions.

Spartech Packaging Techonologies in Muncie announced in early June that it will invest in a $19 million expansion. The packaging company’s current employment in Muncie is 114, and it will add another 32 due to the expansion efforts. Spartech specializes in custom engineered plastic products, thermoplastic sheet and rollstock.

BRC Rubber and Plastics, Inc. located in Hartford City released the information on June 4th that they will be adding 51 jobs by 2013. The company specializes in the manufacturing of rubber products.

A big congratulations to our local growing companies making Indiana proud! With new branches emerging and successful events taking place, we are looking forward to what July will bring.

Also, make sure to welcome Startup Montana, the 25th region to join Startup America! Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to get updates on what’s happening in the Treasure State. You can also visit them on their website, http://startupmt.org/. Look out for more regions to come!

Everyone’s raving about our state climbing the charts in terms of business expansion. Local entrepreneurs can vouch that there are numerous reasons why Hoosier companies are finding success. From statewide traditions and sports franchises to advantageous tax policies, Indiana’s Top 100 gives not five, not ten, but 100 reasons why Indiana should be the place to start your business. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation hosts an interactive site for you to learn something new about your own state.

Here are some of our favorites:

#2) Indiana’s life sciences sector is burgeoning, baby! From 2002 to 2009, nearly 9,000 new jobs were added to this $44 billion sector. That’s an increase of more than 21%.

#22) Shhhh! We’re incubating! The Purdue Research Park is the largest university-affiliated incubation complex in the country.

#46) Ladies and gentlemen, start your business! Kiplinger calls Indianapolis one of the 10 best cities in the country to do just that.

#100) We keep productivity up by keeping taxes down! In recent years, Indiana has cut property taxes by more than 30 percent and corporate income taxes by nearly 25 percent.

Have anything to add? Don’t hesitate to click online and leave a comment or a picture. We all know there are absolutely more than 100 reasons why Indiana is a fantastic place.

Here is a quick look at a few  Indiana companies  announcing noteworthy expansions and business plans to add more employees this week. Check out three businesses we’ve decided to highlight.

Purity Wholesale Grocers, Inc. in Lebanon announced on May 14th that they plan on expanding their distribution center in the Lebanon Business Park by a whopping 150,000 square feet. The Lebanon council voted unanimously to approve a 10-year tax phase-in for the expansion. Purity Wholesale Grocers is a company founded in the mid-west that specializes in everything from frozen foods to beauty products. The company makes up one of the largest wholesalers in the U.S.

Indianapolis-headquartered Business Furniture made public on May 14th its merging with Dayton, Ohio’s Everybody’s Workplace Solutions. CEO David Bratton says this will be a great expansion opportunity for Business Furniture. The company is an authorized Platinum Steelcase dealer that provides education, corporate and healthcare facilities with functional, attractive environments and services.

Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. announced May 16th their plans for a 52,000 square foot expansion. Costing around $75 million, the Lafayette branch will add 100 jobs by the start of 2015. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer. The company has admirably added 600 employees in the last three years.

A congratulations goes out to Purity Wholesale Grocers, Business Furniture and Subaru of Indiana Automotive. We wish you all possible success to help keep Indiana one of the leading business states in the country!

The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce,  Develop Indy, the economic development group for Marion County, the  Indy Partnership and Business Ownership Initiative groups have announced plans to merge to create one consolidated approach to economic development.  Read More: 

The state of Indiana has been consistently recognized as an ideal state for business, and that’s a lot to live up to. But we can do it Hoosiers! “It’s time for Indiana to flex its emerging broadband muscle and secure a leadership position for its small business and entrepreneurs across the state,” says Smithville Digital’s President and CEO, Cullen McCarty.

Some local companies are ahead of the game. Check out companies like SealCorp USA, Berry Plastics and RepuCare who are all contributing to our state’s reputation in business advancement!

SealCorp USA is a company that develops high-quality products for roofing, automotive, construction, electrical and telecommunications projects. The Evansville location here in Indiana announced on May 9th of this year that they will be moving to a bigger location within their hometown. With the company to invest around $2.6 million in equipment over the next ten years, they are expected to create at least 35 new jobs and retain 47.

Berry Plastics Corporation, another Evansville-grown business, is a plastics and packaging manufacturer and distributor. Among the plants located nationally and internationally, the Richmond, Indiana injection molding  plant deserves special mention. The company announced that they will spend $4.4 million to expand production and purchase additional equipment. Currently at 240 employees, the Richmond plant also plans to add ten jobs to the rotation.

The Indianapolis business RepuCare is a professional provider of health care staffing and workplace employee health and wellness services for companies and governmental programs. RepuCare released on April 25th that they plan to increase their staff with as much as 82 new jobs by 2015. They will lease a new building on North Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis, and they plan to purchase new and improved information technology and telecommunications systems.

“Small businesses are really the engine of job creation in the U.S.,” says Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, “and they have been for a long time.” We want to extend a big congratulations to these companies who can serve as an inspiration to small businesses everywhere. Keep up the hard work!

From home based business to a company with more than 50 employees, and plans to 110 more in the next few years, One Click Ventures is on a roll.   They have announced plans to move into a new 68,000 square foot facility in Greenwood which will serve as office and distribution center for the 7 year old company.

[Read more...]

According to an email from the IEDC the rest of the county is figuring out what those of us here in Indiana already know.  This is a great place to start and grow a business.

Indiana climbed to fifth inChief Executive magazine’s annual survey of best states for business in the nation. This is the third top 10 ranking for the Hoosier State in less than eight months and evidence that we are building the nation’s best place to live, work and profit.  In an excerpt from this month’s issue, here’s what the editors at Chief Executive had to say about Indiana:

“North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Utah held up their positions in the top 10, with Indiana moving up a notch to fifth. CEOs indicate that workforce quality is the state’s single greatest strength, and since it became the 23rd right-to-work state last year, the Hoosier State is likely to punch above its weight competitively in the future.

‘Indiana is like a breath of fresh air,’ volunteered one manufacturing CEO. ‘I have operated on both coasts, the Southeast, and Chicago and Indiana is where I will keep my manufacturing operations.’”

[Read More] about Indiana’s latest accolade.

Did you miss our kick off event for Startup Indiana?  Here is a quick summary of what you missed:

• A chance to rock the house with 350 founders, investors, developers and entrepreneurs
• Rapid pitches by more then 20 new start ups
• An introduction to the Startup American movement by  CEO Scott Case.

I caught up with Scott after his presentation, and he was gracious enough to share a few thoughts with me.  So even though you can’t capture the energy of the event, you can get a feel for what it was about from the short podcast below.

State’s latest startup: Startup Indiana

by Andrea Davis

Indianapolis’ startup community has emerged from the coffee shop and exploded into the mainstream, proving the American dream is alive and well despite our recent economic nightmares.

Case(s) in point: Networking group Verge draws hundreds of young tech entrepreneurs to monthly meetings where they exchange business cards and ideas. The 5,750-square-foot Speak Easy venue—billed as a “Moose Lodge for geeks”—serves as agathering space for the in crowd. And business-ownership classes offered in community centers around the city are attracting more participants than ever before.

Read the rest of the article here