Johnson County Development Corporation

Cheryl Morphew, President & CEO

317-736-4300  |  cmorphew@jcdc.org   |   WEBSITE

      

Just below Indianapolis on I-65, Johnson County offers easy access for employees commuting from Columbus and Indianapolis; for visiting clients in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Louisville, and for shipping to customers throughout the United States. A well educated, stable labor pool, low cost of living and business-friendly government explain why new businesses locate there and existing businesses stay.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., the Findlay, Ohio, tire manufacturer, is moving a warehouse operation to Franklin. The 808,500-square-foot building in Franklin Tech Park near Interstate 65 will open in 2011 with 60 workers. It will be one of the largest LEED facilities in the state.
Precision Cutoff of Indiana, LLC, which specializes in metal tube and bar cutting and fabrication, moved into a 110,000-square-foot facility in Franklin’s Hurricane Industrial Complex. Precision outgrew its facility in the Toledo area and decided to open a new operation in Franklin because of the city’s proximity to I-65. Precision invested about $2 million. Plans call for hiring 47 employees, including 40 operators.
Companies are also expanding in Johnson County. Electro-Spec, a Franklin company that specializes in gold, silver, nickel, copper and tri-alloy electroplating, just completed a $2.1 million expansion, including equipment.

“What’s always impressed me about the Johnson County Development Corporation (JCDC) is their aggressiveness,” says Electro-Spec President Jeff Smith. “They don’t just help with tax abatements for building expansions or equipment purchases; they go the extra step to help existing businesses grow. We got about $200,000 worth of training grants from the state recently. JCDC Executive Director Cheryl Morphew actually came down and helped us meet with the state workforce development folks and guide us through the process. For us, $200,000 in training grants was just as big as the tax abatement for our expansion.

“The other benefit we’ve seen is Johnson County’s proximity to Indianapolis and Columbus. We have a nice mix of people who work for us who live in Columbus or Indianapolis. It’s a nice central location.”

That appreciation is echoed by Richard Miller, president, Miyu Furniture, a distributor of high-end outdoor furniture that recently relocated to Franklin, where they occupy 35,000 square feet.

“Johnson County has a lot of good people to draw from,” Miller says. “We were offered economic incentives for training employees and capital equipment expenditures through the state of Indiana. Cheryl Morphew worked with us on that. We felt the people truly had an interest in us coming here. Everybody was very helpful.

“It’s a small town away from Indianapolis, and my employees don’t have to fight rush hour traffic. It just made sense for everybody. The rent was much cheaper. We got a great deal on our lease.”

Another beneficiary of JCDC’s support is Tilson HR. The provider of human resource outsourcing moved to a recently completed $7 million, 46,000-squre-foot office building in Greenwood. Tilson will occupy 18,999 square feet of the building and the rest will be available for regional mid-market firms looking for Class A office space.

“We received tax abatements that allowed us to keep the new construction costs down and offer competitive rent,” says President and owner Brent Tilson.

He likes Johnson County for a number of reasons. “One is the proximity and ease of getting to three cities: Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville. We can get to downtown Indianapolis and to the north side in 30-35 minutes. Second is the workforce. We have good schools, and that’s important for people looking for a place to work and raise their families.  Next is taxes. Taxes in Johnson County are very affordable. Also, there’s a great quality of life. We don’t have the traffic congestion and headaches that go with some of the markets in the city and the outlying areas.”

Companies considering relocation should know that Franklin Tech Park has been declared “shovel ready," the state’s designation for sites that have undergone extensive title work, proof of ownership, legal and environmental review, and qualify for expedited permitting with state regulatory agencies.

The 260-acre mixed-use business park is at the southeast quadrant of I-65 and State Road 44 in Franklin. It is principally designed for bulk distribution and logistics facilities, as well as light manufacturing. The park offers parcels from two to 90 acres.

Another great thing about Johnson County’s location is that big city opportunities and entertain-ment are a quick drive away. Greenwood has one of the area’s largest shopping malls, plus multi-plex theaters and live music venues. Indiana Wesleyan, Marian College and Indiana Tech all have satellite campuses in Greenwood.

Franklin College, a 1,000-student, nationally ranked liberal arts and sciences college; a campus of Ivy Tech State College, the state’s designated community college; the restored Artcraft Theatre, and many other amenities highlight life in Franklin. Both communities have miles of paved bike and walking paths that will eventually connect the two cities.

“Companies that come here are often surprised that we can offer so much and still be so affordable in terms of startup and operating costs,” said the JCDC’s Morphew.

Johnson County draws from a workforce of more than 59,000 within commuting distance, and that’s a major reason for its successful economic development projects. Another is a special high school-oriented career program.

The Central Nine Career Center in Greenwood is affil¬iated with 10 area high schools. Its 100,000-square-¬foot campus contains seven buildings for classrooms, laboratories, offices and other instructional resource facilities, and it’s currently undergoing a major expansion that includes a restaurant.

Central Nine trains students in a variety of manufacturing core skills, including welding, computer drafting, electronics, information technology and machine tools. The goal is to create graduates with multiple skill sets to make them more attractive to employers.
It’s another of the many things that make Johnson County so attractive to businesses.

Johnson County

Johnson County was created on May 5, 1823 and was formed from Delaware New Purchase.

The County was named for John Johnson, a judge of the Indiana Supreme Court.

The County Seat is Franklin, was laid out in 1822 and the first settlers were Samuel Herriott, George King, John Smiley and W. G. Springer. By 1849 it was the site of Franklin College, had four good churches (one for each of the denominations of the Old and New School Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists), a County Seminary, about 250 houses and a population of 1,750. Also in 1949, a "plank" road was underway to the bluffs of the White River and was projected to extend to Mooresville.

Johnson County is divided into 9 Civil Townships as follows: Blue River, Clark, Franklin, Hensley, Needham, Nineveh, Pleasant, Union and White River.

Cities, Towns and Communities include Amity, Anita, Banta, Bargersville, Bluff Creek, Bud, Critchfield, Edinburgh, El Dorado, Frances, Franklin, Frances, Greenwood, Hendricks, Hopewell, Imperial Hills, Kinder, McCarty, Mt. Pleasant, Needham, New Whiteland, Nineveh, Old Bargersville, Princes Lakes, Providence, Reds Corner, Rocklane, Samaria, Smith Valley, Stones Crossing, Trafalgar, Urmeyville, Waterloo and Whiteland.

Johnson County Population - 139,158