Businesses receive second round of manufacturing grants

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) – The Indiana Economic Development Corp. and Conexus Indiana have awarded a second round of Manufacturing Readiness Grants to 31 Hoosier businesses. The $3 million in funding comes from the Economic Activity Stabilization and Enhancement program designed to spur investments in manufacturing.

The manufacturers receiving grants represent 21 Indiana counties and cover a wide range of specialties, including automotive, aerospace, defense and agriculture, among others. The IEDC says four of the manufacturers are making investments in healthcare manufacturing technology to support COVID-19 response efforts.

“Digital transformation is critical for the future of Indiana’s manufacturing base,” said Mitch Landess, vice president of innovation and digital transformation at Conexus Indiana, the state’s advanced manufacturing initiative. “Conexus Indiana is pleased to help support so many small- and medium-size manufacturers make investments in smart manufacturing technologies.”

The grant recipients include:

• American Quality Molds – Wayne County; $53,500 to upgrade equipment, including 3D printing and additional instruments, tools and software.
• Arcamed LLC – Marion County; $150,000 to upgrade equipment with technology to achieve better efficiencies and broader capabilities.
• Barber Manufacturing Co. Inc. – Madison County; $100,000 to make modifications to its specialty production equipment.
• Catalyst Product Development Inc. – Marion County; $159,500 to expand its capabilities in additive manufacturing, Electrical Discharge Machining, and micro-molding.
• Decatur Mold, Tool and Engineering Inc. – Jennings County; $65,000 to enable continuous production and a fully-automated, smart process.
• Decatur Plastic Products LLC – Jennings County; $98,000 to invest in a new flocking line driven by robotics.
• EARL Solutions LLC – Jackson County; $100,000 to invest in automated liquid fill equipment and label-making equipment.
• Eckhart & Co. Inc. – Marion County; $6,000 to invest in Power BI to use a data-driven approach to increase efficiencies of labor usage and improve processes.
• Entech Inc. – Elkhart County; $100,000 to modernize its existing manufacturing facility and install new equipment for product expansion.
• Georg Utz Inc. – Bartholomew County; $50,000 to implement a full Manufacturing Execution System with interconnectivity between machines and IOT sensors, material planning, production control and Enterprise Resource Planning.
• Global Plastics Inc. – Boone County; $100,000 to invest in precisely-calibrated and automated work cell molding equipment to accommodate expansion.
• Helmer Scientific LLC – Hamilton County; $200,000 to invest in an expansion with expected surge in COVID-19 vaccine-related demand. 
• Hightech Signs – Allen County; $130,000 to invest in a new cutter to support short-term mask production and long-term standard business.
• Huhtamaki – Grant County; $10,000 to continue technology enhancements with the addition of data analytics software.
• Italpollina USA Inc – Madison County; $116,677 to build a new production unit to make a biological control agent that acts as a biopesticide.
• Jeco Plastic Products LLC – Hendricks County; $72,000 to move into aerospace and defense and invest in equipment modifications and precision measuring devices.
• Jomar Machining & Fabricating – Elkhart County; $100,000 to invest in a robotic welding system.  
• Kimura Foundry America – Shelby County; $38,000 to produce castings and purchase new equipment to enhance operations and efficiencies.
• Kirby Risk Corp. – Tippecanoe County; $78,750 to invest in a digital transformation and automation to increase efficiencies.
• Mid-West Metal Products Co. Inc. – Delaware County; $22,400 to add robotics to automate parts run on press brakes, as well as training its workforce on robotics.
• Myers Spring Co. Inc. – Cass County; $70,000 to invest in fully-automated equipment with remote monitoring access to improve quality.
• NASCO Industries Inc. – Daviess County; $100,000 to upgrade machinery to gain efficiencies and reduce material waste.
• Nutrition 101 Inc. – Madison County; $100,000 to invest in robots and automated machinery to depackage products to improve efficiencies.
• Perfecto Tool and Engineering Co. Inc. – Madison County; $113,500 to reorganize its workflow and production cells, renovate its shop and purchase new lathes and mills.
• Premium Rock LLC – Elkhart County; $50,000 to begin increasing its workforce, launch a new product and invest in a new process and equipment.
• Recovery Force Health LLC – Hamilton County; $157,500 to invest in specialty equipment for its manufacturing process.
• Semiconductor Test Supply LLC – Morgan County; $47,720 to automate solder printing and inspection and add capacity to existing assembly robots.
• Standard Integrated Solutions Inc. – Pulaski County; $50,000 to invest in cobots to tend Computer Numerical Control mill and press brakes.
• TBK America Corp. – Wayne County; $89,444 to upgrade its Richmond facility processes with a cloud-based Warehouse Management System with Enterprise Resource Planning integration.
• Trinity Guardion LLC – Ripley County; $200,000 to invest in in-house production of hospital bed barriers to prevent cross infection risk between patients.
• Tri-Pac Inc. – St. Joseph County; $100,000 to add manufacturing lines to increase capacity and expand capabilities to manufacture prescription medical devices and over-the-counter drugs.

In August, the IEDC and Conexus Indiana awarded nearly $2 million in first round grant funding to 20 Hoosier businesses.