In the News
Less than six months after announcing its arrival during his State of the City address, Mayor Eddie Melton christened what will become Gary’s new FedEx distribution center.
Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at 1 Buffington Harbor, which took place even as crews were at work on the 317,000-square foot facility, was attended by officials from every level of local government, including most of the Gary Common Council, as well as U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, and Gov. Mike Braun.
As he prepared to help break ground on a new $60 million FedEx facility in Gary, Gov. Mike Braun acknowledged how important Northwest Indiana is to the rest of the state.
“The region often gets overlooked,” Braun said. “But this is going to inspire a lot of people to invest here, and it’s going to give a lot of confidence to our state government to make sure it’s a comeback, and it’s a renaissance. … We’re just getting started.”
“We’ve been seeing tremendous growth here in the North American market,” Daifuku Intralogistics America COO Clint Lasher said. “The original facility here was opened in 2019. While we always had plans to expand it, we reached maximum capacity in just a few years and needed to immediately begin planning that expansion. We had many partners that needed our services, goods, and systems for e-commerce during COVID-19 which kicked off this boom, and that growth has continued.”
U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, called the expansion of Daifuku Intralogistics America Corp. “a proud day” for the area given the work and wealth the business will continue to create.
“If you look at the big picture of what this does for Hobart and Northwest Indiana, it’s a proud day,” Mrvan said.
Daifuku poured more than $35 million into expanding its Hobart factory, doubling its production capacity.
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission’s comprehensive economic development strategy has been given a $70,000 boost from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The plan, posted at nirpc.org, was adopted in May following public input sessions late last year.
According to the EDA, the funding will promote the strategy for Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties by bringing the public and private sectors together to strengthen the regional economy and create more job opportunities.
Following a tour of Carmeuse’s Buffington campus in Gary, Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, expressed his gratitude for local steelworkers.
As vice-chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Mrvan said he’s dedicated to keeping the steel industry alive in Northwest Indiana.
Carmeuse, a major supplier to the steel mills along the lakefront, is investing $1 million in its Buffington Harbor plant.
United States Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, toured the plant Wednesday, touting how steel tariffs have protected jobs and encouraged investment there. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, American Iron and Steel Institute President and CEO Kevin Dempsey and union leaders visited the facility on the Lake Michigan lakeshore that provides lime and limestone, key ingredients in steelmaking, to local steel mills.
Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said economic opportunities and future sustainability for Northwest Indiana shouldn’t be “sacrificed for shortsighted political purposes.”
Mrvan wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that he’s concerned about the rescission of federal funding for a Citgo terminal in East Chicago, according to a Friday news release.
Today, Rep. Frank J. Mrvan sent a letter to Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation Sean Duffy regarding the recently announced rescission of federal funding for a CITGO terminal located in East Chicago, Indiana.