By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana and the country will benefit from the recently announced expansion of Dow AgroSciences’ headquarters, the state’s secretary of commerce said.

The agriculture-based company, headquartered in northwestern Indianapolis, said last week it would invest $340 million in various projects over the next five years.

Included in the company’s plans are a 175,000 square-foot research and development building and a 14,000 square-foot greenhouse. Company officials said they expect to create more than 550 scientific and commercial jobs by 2015.

“Dow is a big part of our biotech efforts here in Indiana,” said Mitch Roob, the state’s secretary of commerce and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC). “We’re developing a strong biotech sector in Indiana. It further buttresses our contention that Indiana is the home of much of the agricultural research and development going on in the world today.

“We’re pleased we were able to convince them this was the place they wanted to grow. This is about feeding the world in Indiana, and making the world more productive.”

State officials had been concerned Dow AgroSciences would possibly choose to move some services and facilities elsewhere, Roob said.
“We thought there was a real risk of Dow maybe taking this business other places; other places in the world, not just in America. This was a global search, not just an American search,” he said.

Dow AgroSciences’ decision to remain in Indiana was based on several factors, including the infrastructure, pro-business environment and overall high quality of life, said Kenda Resler-Friend, the company’s corporate communication leader.

“We are an Indiana business, but we are also a global business,” she said. “We needed to do what’s right for our business. This is a part of a global expansion, as well.”

Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Co., has sales of $4.5 billion, according to company figures. The company employs more than 1,200 people in Indiana and 5,400 worldwide.
The company was offered incentives by IEDC and the city of Indianapolis to stay in the state, according to statements from Dow and the IEDC. It offered Dow AgroSciences up to $12.5 million in performance-based tax credits and $205,000 in training grants.
The city has committed, pending final approvals, to provide the company with $20 million of property tax-increment financing assistance to help defer project costs.

“Indiana has cultivated a pro-business environment, with leaders in both the public and private sector being very committed to expanding the life sciences and building critical mass in related industries,” said Antonio Galindez, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences, in a statement. “This makes for the perfect setting for our ambitious growth plans.”

Gov. Mitch Daniels said the expansion boosts the state’s presence in agricultural science. “R&D leadership in the life sciences is a dream of every state in the union,” he said in a statement.

“Here in Indiana, it’s not a dream, but a vibrant reality, and Dow AgroSciences’ steady growth is a major reason why. This expansion makes Indiana a true world capital of agricultural sciences.”
If Dow AgroSciences’ expansion helps bring other research companies to the state, the company would welcome that, Resler-Friend said.

“We’re very committed to being a part of this life sciences hub,” she said. “More than one opportunity in town is wonderful. All of the momentum builds on each other. A rising tide lifts all ships.”
Dow AgroSciences will benefit from a strong worker pool and the state, and universities such as Purdue, will benefit from the opportunity to keep graduates in-state, Roob said.

The workers the company will hire will be skilled, highly paid employees, he said.

Purdue and Dow AgroSciences already have a working relationship, as Dow announced last fall it would expand its research operations to the university’s research park in West Lafayette. The expansion is expected to create 30 jobs by 2014.

Purdue and its College of Agriculture are pleased Dow committed to building a facility at the research park, said Mark Hermodson, interim associate dean for research at the college.

“While we have excellent interactions with the (Dow) scientists and administration at their Indianapolis campus, there is no substitute for frequent face-to-face conversations both in the workplace and elsewhere,” he said. “Those contacts will increase dramatically with the West Lafayette location.

“We also expect that our students will be successful in competing for positions at the new location, further strengthening the ties between (Dow) and Purdue.”