Officials hold a ceremonial $10,000 check from Duke Energy after the Wedcor Industrial Park in Wabash County was chosen for the 2024 Site Readiness Program.
Pictured from left are Chris Schwinden, partner, Site Selection Group; Sarah Salisbury, director of Site Selection, Indiana Economic Development Corp.; Katy Preidt, economic development manager, Duke Energy; Scott Long, mayor of Wabash; Tenille Zartman, president and chief executive officer, Grow Wabash County; Chelsea Parson, development and marketing project manager, Grow Wabash County; Patrick Sullivan, Grow Wabash County board member; Amber White, office administrator, Grow Wabash County; and Kristi Lunquist, Grow Wabash County board member. Photos provided.

News Release

PLAINFIELD — Duke Energy has selected two properties in Fulton and Wabash counties for inclusion in its 2024 Site Readiness  Program, which prepares high-potential business and industrial sites for economic development investments and markets them nationwide to companies looking to expand or relocate their  operations.

The two properties are the Rochester South Industrial Park in Fulton County and Wedcor Industrial Park in Wabash County.

Duke Energy works with Banning Engineering and Site Selection Group to identify high-potential sites, then partners with county officials and local economic development professionals to  develop a strategy for getting the sites ready to market to  industrial prospects. After each site’s state of readiness has advanced, Duke Energy strategically markets them nationwide to companies looking to expand or relocate their operations. Duke Energy will award up to $10,000 to each site to help prepare them to attract projects.

The Rochester South Industrial Park is a site for potential industrial development based on access to US 31, topography, geotechnical attributes and land availability, according to a news release from Duke Energy. The site is strategically located between two metropolitan centers — New Carlisle and Kokomo — that have collectively seen more than $20 billion in investments in recent years.

Wedcor Industrial Park in Wabash County has two rectangular lots that amount to over 230 acres of developable land in proximity to the already established Wedcor Industrial Park. Existing infrastructure will allow projects to break ground quicker than if a project were to start from scratch. The site’s proximity to US 24, as well as Wabash County’s location within a day’s drive of most of the country, makes the location even more appealing to developers, according to Duke.

“This program is a stamp of approval that due diligence has been completed and is an important step forward in attracting new businesses to our region,” said Tenille Zartman, president and chief executive officer for Grow Wabash County. “We are putting our best foot forward for companies looking to expand or start here in Wabash County.”

Michael Ladd, executive director of Fulton Economic  Development Corp., also praised the investment.

“The proposed industrial park represents many things for Fulton County — hope for a renewed and better future and jobs where youth will not have to leave to find good paying employment elsewhere,” Ladd said. “We look forward to what the future will bring.”

Duke Energy has helped prepare 47 properties in its service territory that have won 29 major projects since the program started in 2013, drawing nearly 10,000 new jobs and $14.6 billion in capital investment to the state.

“For more than 10 years, Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program has joined with cities and counties across the state to make their industrial sites more competitive,” said Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “It’s been a collaborative effort and  instrumental tool to bring major economic development wins to the communities we serve — resulting in job creation, new tax dollars and investment in Indiana.”

For many years Site Selection magazine has recognized Duke Energy’s economic development work in the publication’s annual list of “Top Utilities in Economic Development.” Including the Site Readiness Program, Duke Energy helped generate a total of $6.4 billion in capital investment in Indiana that supported more than 4,500 jobs for the state in 2023.

Pictured from left are Jim Straeter, president, New Holland; Steven Ray, executive director, North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council; Haley Tomlinson, senior economic development manager, Duke Energy; Trent Odell, mayor of Rochester; Sarah Salisbury, director of site selection, Indiana Economic Development Corp.; Charlie Sparks, manager, CESparks LLC; Jennifer Jordan, government and community relations manager, Duke Energy; Bryan Lewis, president, Fulton County Board of Commissioners; and Michael Ladd, executive director, Fulton Economic Development Corp.