Terre Haute Area Economic Development Corporation

Overview of the Accomplishments of the Terre Haute Economic Development CorporationBelow are Highlights of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation's Activities for the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year*****ZINKPOWER Selects Vigo County for New $47 Million Hot-Dip Galvanizing FacilityWhat is corrosion? According to Wikipedia, "Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment." "Rusting, the formation of red-orange iron oxides, is a well-known example of electrochemical corrosion. This type of corrosion typically produces oxides or salts of the original metal and results in a distinctive coloration."Historical references to corrosion can be found as far back as the beginning of the first millennium. A Roman philosopher, Pliny (AD 23-79), wrote at length about ferrum corrumpitur or spoiled iron. More recently, in a textbook entitled, "Die chemische Behandlung der Rohstoffe" ("The chemical Treatment of Raw Materials"), published in 1877, it was stated, "The love that iron has for oxygen causes great suffering because of the rust it produces and because we hardly possess sufficient means to combat it." *While most of us typically look at corrosion as a relatively minor nuisance, in fact, the cost of corrosion to the global economy is staggering. It has been estimated that the global cost of corrosion is approximately $3.5 trillion annually, roughly 3.4% of annual global Gross Domestic Product.There are many examples where corrosion has led to significant economic cost and tragic loss of life. In 2018, a bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy, resulting in the death of 43 people. According to the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University at the time, "Italian engineering experts have heavy suspicions that corrosion to the bridge's steel cables contributed to the collapse, saying that it decreased the bridge's overall strength by 20%"In December, 1999, a Maltese oil tanker broke in two while traveling near the coast of Brittany, France. Nearly 19,800 tons of oil were spilled. According to a group known as Corrosion Doctors, "In an inspection in Portland in July, 1994, holes were discovered in the main deck coaming, indicating that signs of corrosion were already in place more than five years before. It was also found that there were holes in both the portside and starboard inert gas system risers, which are critical items of safety equipment. There was yet more evidence of corrosion, with the ship's watertight doors not sealing properly and wasting on the door coamings."In Bhopal, India in December of 1984 - one of the world's largest industrial disasters occurred - resulting in the death of over 2,000 people. Corrosion caused two toxic gasses, coupled with a pesticide, to leak into the atmosphere from a pesticide plant. More specifically, there was the penetration of a large amount of water into a tank with over 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC), which caused a chemical reaction, resulting in a rapid rise of pressure and water. Heat generated by the reaction - coupled with chloroform concentrations higher than normal - along with the presence of an iron catalyst caused by the corrosion of the stainless steel tank wall resulted in the opening of a safety valve. Subsequently, wind blew the resulting cloud of gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to the toxicity of the various ingredients, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives. (The official death toll was 2,259, but unofficial numbers were as high as 8,000.)So, corrosion (and the prevention thereof) is a very big deal, resulting in people dedicating their entire lives to preventing this naturally-occurring process, thus providing safety, commerce and increased quality of life to billions of people around the world. The creation of Germany-based ZINKPOWER is a classic entrepreneurial success story. Magda and Willi Kopf founded ZINKPOWER in a small, hot-dip galvanizing shop in Goppingen, Germany in 1973. Today, the company operates 50 facilities in 13 countries around the world. Each facility is dedicated to the prevention of metal corrosion, through hot-dip galvanizing, powder coating and other processes. Later in 2025, ZINKPOWER Terre Haute , LLC will commence operations as the newest facility within ZINKPOWER and the KOPF Group.We first spoke to representatives of ZINKPOWER in late 2018. In January, 2024, we received a call from Executive Vice-President Joe Langemeier stating that the company was ready to proceed with its Terre Haute/Vigo County project. After acquiring a project site from Great Dane Terre Haute (which will be ZINKPOWER Terre Haute's most significant customer), the company broke ground on its new facility on October 3, 2024.ZINKPOWER anticipates total investment in its new state-of-the-art hot-dip galvanizing facility of over $47 million, with $25.7 million being invested in real property (buildings) and $21.5 million in personal property (equipment). Approximately 100 new full-time jobs will be created by the new project. ZINKPOWER Terre Haute will be the company's fourth facility in the United States, joining sister plants in Texas, Oregon and Wisconsin.The Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation has worked closely with ZINKPOWER representatives (beginning in late 2018) in regard to the company's Terre Haute/Vigo County project. We are looking forward to the commencement of operations later this year. * Die chemische Behandlung der Rohstoffe passage courtesy of ZINKPOWER's website.Amazon Hub Delivery Center Opens in Vigo County Industrial Park IEarly December, 2024 brought the opening of one of Amazon's newest Hub Delivery Centers in the Vigo County Industrial Park I. At the February 13, 2024 meeting of the Vigo County Redevelopment Commission, it was revealed that Amazon would be constructing a "last-mile" Hub Delivery Center at the southwest corner of Industrial Drive and Carlisle Street in the Vigo County Industrial Park I. Construction commenced in earnest a few weeks later, with the facility opening just in time for the 2024 Christmas season. The new facility will serve Amazon customers within an approximate one-hour radius of the Vigo County Industrial Park.Amazon's Hub Delivery initiative was officially rolled-out by the company in July, 2023, thus our local facility was one of the first in the nation. In addition to Amazon's own employees (both full and part-time), Amazon will be partnering with small businesses and independent contractors to deliver packages as well. The total project employment at the new Vigo County facility will be approximately 200, about evenly divided between Amazon (both full and part-time) as well as private contractors (both full and part-time). Interestingly, Amazon's Hub Delivery program is especially keen in engaging existing local businesses as contractors for the delivery of packages. According to Amazon's website, this is how it works:Step 1 Each day, Amazon will deliver packages to the participating contracting business.Step 2 The contracting business' staff will deliver packages (within their area when they have time during the day).Step 3 The contracting business will get paid for every package that is delivered, thus providing another source of income to the business.Furthermore, Amazon's Hub Delivery business model makes it easy for a new contractor to get started as (a.) no delivery experience is required; (b.) there are no long-term contracts; (c.) the packages are delivered with the contracting business' existing staff and vehicles; (d.) the contractor is paid weekly via direct deposit and (e.) an Amazon app guides the contractor through each day's deliveries.The new Vigo County Industrial Park I Hub Delivery facility is 55,000 square feet in size, at a total investment of approximately $10.6 million. As of January, 2025, employment at the facility was nearly 100. This figure will grow over time, particularly later in 2025, when we, once again, approach the holiday season.The Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation commenced work with Amazon and its representatives on this project in August, 2023. ENTEK Construction Leaps Out of Starting Gate; Subsequently Slows Due to Federal Funding FreezeSeptember 6, 2023 brought the formal groundbreaking ceremony for ENTEK's new $1.5 billion lithium-ion battery separator facility, a facility that at full build-out will be approximately 1.6 million square feet in size and employ approximately 640 people.Continued at Schedule O