The nearly $350 million in capital project investment that Wells County experienced in 2007-08 is a tough act to follow.
And while the global economic downturn has caused some in our nation to question the validity of free-market capitalism, Wells County has seized this unusual moment in history to build economic-development capacity.
Indeed, the public- and private-sector leaders who established Wells County Economic Development have long focused on the “first things” of sustainable economic growth:
•The continuous cultivation of strong families, which provides fertile ground for a world-class work force and exemplary quality of life.
•An ongoing, community-wide dialogue that values faith, the free exchange of ideas, critical thinking, civility, personal responsibility and productive creativity.
•A unanimous refusal to allow politics to enter the economic-development process.
•The identification and funding of capacity building opportunities to enhance economic growth potential.
To be sure, this dedication to “the first things” continues to pay dividends in Wells County, even in what some might consider the worst of times.
For example:
•Wells County is home to, not one, but two of the 2009 Indiana companies to watch: Alexin LLC (Bluffton) and Nesco Sales and Rentals (Bluffton).
•Metaldyne emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring and will continue its driveline machining and assembly operation in Bluffton’s JaSun Industrial Park.
•Bluffton Regional Medical Center recently opened a $3.1-million renovation and development of a women’s center that features new labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum (LDRP) rooms for obstetric patients, an area of private rooms for gynecological patients and comfortable spaces for visiting family members.
•The Wells County Leadership Academy graduated its first class in May 2009. This program is an ongoing collaborative effort on the part of the Wells County Community Foundation, the Wells County United Way, the Huntington University Foundation and the Wells County Chamber of Commerce to empower community leaders.
•Buskirk Engineering, a cutting-edge manufacturer of biomass densification systems, expanded into an existing industrial building on the east side of Ossian.
•Pretzels Inc. (Bluffton) installed a new line that will enhance its specialty food production capabilities.
•The Bluffton/Decker Industrial Park (135 acres) will soon be home to one of the first “shovel-ready” sites to emerge from the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s new certified shovel-ready program.
•Harrison Plaza was recently purchased by a dynamic new owner who has a vision for capitalized growth along Bluffton’s southern corridor.
•The Bluffton Regional KOA Campground will hold its grand opening in June 2010.
•Several Bluffton manufacturing plants have survived internal competitive consolidation processes.
•The Northeast Indiana Foundation has provided Wells County Economic Development with grants that have enhanced capacity building in the areas of shovel-ready site certification, business retention and expansion, site selector visits and evaluations, and organizational benchmarking.
•The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s LEDO council continues to facilitate synergies that better prepare our region for future economic-development opportunities.
This is not to say that Wells County has been immune to the global economic downturn.
Rather, it is to say that the previously mentioned achievements reflect the commitment of the many outstanding leaders — past and present — who have made and continue to make Wells County a place where ideas and success converge.
MIKE ROW is the executive director of economic development for the Wells County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development. He can be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or at www.wellsedc.com.
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