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Economic development director reports $200M in year-to-date CapEx, multiple expansions and recruitment leads
Summary
Greg Hildebrand reported the county has $200 million in year-to-date capital investment and roughly 230 jobs created so far this year, with four active attraction projects, six retention projects, and several major local expansions including Southwire’s $80 million project.
Greg Hildebrand, Marshall County’s economic development director, gave the council a third-quarter update on Oct. 13, saying the county has about $200 million in year-to-date capital investment and that projects accounted for roughly 230 jobs so far this year.
Hildebrand said the county has four active attraction projects and six active retention/expansion projects. He highlighted recent local developments: an approximately $5 million personal-property tax abatement for American Container to support new printing and cutting equipment, an $80 million expansion at Southwire expected to add about 100 employees, and an expansion at a polymer recycler (CT Polymer) that will add roughly 50,000 square feet of production space. He also said Alpha Flight at Plymouth Airport agreed to purchase four new training planes and associated simulation software, with delivery expected in 2029, and that there are positive signs for development in other areas such as Culver and the US-31 corridor.
Why it matters: Hildebrand said workforce and housing remain the county’s biggest constraints—developers frequently seek larger projects than the county can support and employers cite housing and labor availability as limiting factors. Economic-development officials said local education and training investments, including the recently opened Marshall County Career Innovation Center, are assets for workforce training and adult education.
Supporting details: Hildebrand described the company SDC (a die cast firm on Pioneer Road) nearing completion and preparing to hire for production later in the quarter; he said Berea(?)/Bereavement’s Southwire (named in transcript as Southwire) continues to expand. He also noted that US-31 funding is under statewide discussion and may include tolling options, and that final design schedules for some road projects (such as the 10/31 intersection design) have slipped.
Ending: Hildebrand said the county will continue recruitment and retention efforts, emphasizing collaboration with schools and training programs to build pipelines for the jobs expected from announced and prospective projects.
