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Whitley County Economic Development Corporation
Even though Ultra Electronics – Undersea Sensor Systems, Inc. (USSI)
has a long, successful history in Whitley County, the company has never
been content with the status quo. Growth and innovation continue to
define USSI, which designs, develops, and manufactures advanced
underwater sensors and communication devices for military, homeland
security, and commercial use.
According to Joe Peters, president of pro-
grams, “Whitley County is a great home for
USSI because they have shown over and
over what it takes to get — and keep — busi-
nesses and jobs in the area.”
USSI started out as a division of
Magnavox, then Raytheon acquired the
business in the mid ‘90s, and in 1998 USSI
became a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-
based Ultra Electronics and opened up shop
at a purpose-built facility in Park 30 in
Whitley County.
Long known as a supplier of sonobouys
and surveillance systems for submarines,
the company expanded its business in 2008
when Ultra Electronics consolidated its
Cleveland-based operation and moved the
design and manufacture of advanced first
responder products into operation at the
Whitley County plant. According to Peters,
that expansion added 60 new employees,
increasing the staff to 375, where it has re-
mained fairly constant for the past few years.
In 2009 USSI introduced the HyperSpike
family of acoustic products, a line of rugged,
high-power, long range acoustic hailing and
communication devices that can send voice
messages and alert tones over 2,000 meters
and can be used for crowd control, mass no-
tifications, border/port security, law enforce-
ment, and more.
In 2010 the company expanded yet again
when USSI moved the manufacture, over-
haul, and repair of high-pressure pure air
generators (HiPPAG™) for aircrafts from its
facility in the UK to the United States. Two
Ultra Electronics sites — Rochester, New York
and Columbia City, Indiana — were in the
PHOTO: Joe Peters, President of
Ultra Electronics – USSI
Ultra Electronics – USSI
I N D U S T R Y C L U S T E R
DEFENSE / AEROSPACE
“Whitley County is a great
home for USSI because they
have shown over and over
what it takes to get — and
keep — businesses and jobs in
the area.”
Joe Peters, President of
Ultra Electronics – USSI
Defense/Aerospace Profile: Ultra Electronics – USSI
running. Peters said that the willingness of
state and local governments to offer finan-
cial incentives was one of the major deciding
factors in choosing the Columbia City site as
home for the air generators. Those incen-
tives included up to $565,000 in perfor-
mance - based EDGE tax credits, $150,000 in
state training grants, ten-year tax abate-
ments and Northeast Indiana Fund -Talent
Initiative training dollars.
As business grew in 2011 and the need
for space became more crucial, the company
purchased the 250,000-square-foot Autoliv
facility next door in Park 30 and gradually
moved to the new plant in early 2012, never
missing a day of production. “Whitley
County EDC really helped make the move
happen,“ Peters said. “The EDC worked hard
with Autoliv to get our two companies to-
gether so that USSI could buy the building
and lease back 100,000 square feet of the
building to Autoliv.”
In that same year, the parent company in
the UK decided to move its division head-
quarters for the HiPPAG™ from Arlington,
Virginia to Whitley County so they could be
co-located with the overhaul and repair
company. “Frankly,” said Peters, “not only is
Northeast Indiana a great place to do busi-
ness, but the cost of doing business is much
cheaper in Whitley County than in Virginia.”
The business — now called PALS (Precision
Air & Land Systems) — uses 10,000 square
feet in the new building. “This is a great
arrangement for all three businesses,”
according to Peters. “We stayed in Whitley
County because there was absolutely no
reason to leave and because we had local
cooperation at virtually every step of the
process.”
WORKFORCE READY
Peters said that another factor in choosing
Whitley County was the availability of a
quality technical and manufacturing
workforce. He said that all the hourly
employees at USSI are from the local area
and most of the salaried employees come
from Northeast Indiana. “Fortunately, not
only does this area have a long history of
expertise in the defense and manufacturing
industries, but the area is committed to
training top talent,” said Peters. “In addition
to a talented local workforce, we have ready
access to our suppliers and pride ourselves
in using lots of small, local businesses. They
have quality products and the technology to
support our industry,” Peters said.
In 2009 Lilly Endowment awarded $20
million to help fund the Talent Initiative in
Northeast Indiana, which not only helped
train workers, but also provided the money
to enhance and improve college engineering
and IT programs at regional colleges. To
date, 15 USSI employees have taken
advantage of the Talent Initiative funds for
training in soldering, systems engineering,
and IT technology.
The newly-formed Eagle Tech Academy
in Columbia City will continue to provide a
new crop of STEM students who excel in
science, technology, engineering and math.
According to Peters, USSI is committed to
working with Eagle Tech and provides
speakers for the students during the school
year and extern experiences at the site for
teachers during the summer months. “The
best way to keep good people in Northeast
Indiana is to let them know that there are
good jobs here,”Peters said.
“Frankly, not only is Northeast Indiana a great place to do
business, but the cost of doing business is much cheaper in
Whitley County than in Virginia. We stayed in Whitley County
because there was absolutely no reason to leave and because
we had local cooperation at virtually every step of the process.”
Joe Peters, President of Ultra Electronics – USSI
UltRA ElECtROnICS – USSI At A GlAnCE
Established:
1998
leadership:
Joe Peters President
total Employees:
375
Address/Contact:
4578 East Park 30 Drive Columbia City, In 46725 Phone: 260/248-3500
Web: ultra – ussi.com
Site Details:
250,000-square-foot facility ¸ 25’ ceiling height
¸ 17 acres
¸ Two dock doors
¸ Green element: Geothermal HVAC
ADDItIOn OF nEW PRODUCt lInE OF HIGH-PRESSURE AIR GEnERAtORS (HiPPAG™) Manufactured for U.S. Military Planes
timeline:
January 2012 to December 2014
WhitleyEDC.com 888 / 244 – 5506
KEY PlAYERS & PARtnERS:
Whitley County Economic Development Corporation
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)
WorkOne northeast
InCEntIVES: DECIDInG FACtORS:
Availability of intellectual and technical resources
Willingness of local and state governments to offer monetary incentives
lOW COSt OF lIVInG
Peters said that rarely does his company
have to recruit from outside the area, but
once people relocate to the area, they usu-
ally want to stay. “The low cost of housing
in the area is certainly a factor,” Peters said,
“but primarily people like it here because of
the quality of life.” USSI works to improve
the lives of its employees by promoting
wellness programs, weight loss support,
and smoking cessation programs, and every
fall employees participate in an athletic chal-
lenge with several local companies. Peters
said that he also appreciates the sports
venues available in the Fort Wayne area,
including IPFW basketball, TinCaps baseball
and Komet hockey, plus several profession-
al baseball, basketball, hockey and football
teams within a three - hour drive.
Not only does USSI appreciate all that
Whitley County has to offer, but Whitley
County returns the praise. As part of the
Whitley County EDC’s 20th anniversary cel-
ebration, EDC President Alan Tio recognized
five local businesses for their contributions
to the county’s economic development ef-
forts. USSI received the prestigious Whitley
County Architect award. “With this award
we are turning the spotlight on industry
pillars that have made substantial contribu-
tions to our economic success,” Tio said.
USSI is not content to rest on its laurels,
though. Peters said that they have extra
space and are looking to expand. “We want
to find complementary business to sustain
and grow our business and have full sup-
port of the parent company.”
PHOTO: Work cells on the USSI lean manufacturing production floor.
$565,000 state EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy) tax credit for a job creation
$150,000 state training grants
talent Initiative training dollars
tax abatement
Whitley County 10 - year property tax abatement
WhitleyEDC.com
220 W Van Buren Street, Suite 102 Columbia City, IN 46725
888 / 244 – 5506 NEIndiana.com
Regional Defense Companies
ITT Corp. 1,203
B.A.E. Systems Platform Solutions 1,015
Raytheon Systems Co. 950
C&A Tool Engineering Inc. 463
Ultra Electronics – USSI 374
Riverside Manufacturing 300
Reelcraft Industries 170
Stuart Manufacturing 138
Nu-Tech Coatings 127
Huntington Electric, Inc. 102
Whitley County companies are bolded.
Incentives
Indiana Economic Development Corporation
Ö EDGE and HBI tax credits
Ö 21st Century Research and Technology Fund
Ö Small Business Innovation Research Initiative
Ö Venture Capital Investment Tax Credit
Whitley County
Ö CEDIT
Ö TIF
Cities and Towns
Ö Tax abatements for new construction or equipment
Defense Opportunities
In August 2009, Partners In Contracting Corporation established the
Procurement Technical Assistance Center for the Northeast Indiana
Region. The center is a resource providing assistance with all aspects of
marketing to federal, state and local governments. It is a not-for-profi t
organization and there is no fee for most services. PICC - PTAC is partnered
with the Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association with a goal of
forward identifying and strengthening the defense cluster supply chain.
For more information on PICC - PTAC visit www.PICCorp.org or contact
Gil Perry at the PTAC offi ce in Fort Wayne at 260 / 481 - 0491.
Wages, 2012
Occupation Average Wage
Software Developers, Applications $67,600
Software Developers, Systems Software $84,053
Electrical Engineers $75,421
Mechanical Engineers $62,650
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians
$47,570
First - Line Supervisor / Managers of Production and Operating Workers
$50,398
Electrical & Electronic Equipment Assemblers $28,683
Team Assemblers $22,672
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers & Weighers
$28,371
Source: EMSI Covered Employment - 2012.4
Future Growth in Defense
Lilly Endowment Inc. provided $20 million to an affi liate of the Community
Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and the Northeast Indiana Regional
Partnership to accelerate the development of Northeast Indiana’s
workforce and talent resources. The program, entitled Talent Initiative,
supports the development of education, training and talent initiatives in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Initiative — an
unprecedented collaboration in Northeast Indiana — is better preparing the
region’s workforce to capture the high-quality job opportunities available
in the near term and those of the future.
Components of Talent Initiative include support for the following critical elements:
Ö Retrain more than 3,300 adult workers in Northeast Indiana
Ö Enhance the Advanced Manufacturing program at Ivy Tech - Northeast
Ö Expand the systems engineering and wireless technology programs at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW)
Ö Create 6 New Tech High Schools within school corporations in Northeast Indiana, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses
Ö Support professional development in PBL to 1,300 regional educators beyond New Tech High Schools
The Talent Initiative includes signifi cant and targeted educational and
workforce programs for the aerospace and defense industries. The
programs also will be relevant to the workforce development needs of
other advanced manufacturing sectors in Northeast Indiana. Northeast
Indiana is home to over 160 defense / aerospace prime contractors
and suppliers. During 2005 and 2006 the six largest fi rms in this sector
received a total of $2 billion in prime contracts from the Department of
Defense.
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