FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — WANE 15 sat down with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun Monday for an interview discussing multiple ways the Hoosier State is working to increase economic development.
Braun primarily discussed Hanjung America, a South Korea-based manufacturer specializing in energy storage system components, breaking ground on its first North American facility Tuesday. The plant will be located in Huntington and is expected to provide hundreds of jobs and begin operating in 2027.
According to a February press release from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the factory will support the supply chain for Stellantis and Samsung SDI’s StarPlus Energy electric vehicle battery manufacturing operations in Kokomo.
On Monday, Braun also announced the launch of Iron Nation-Indiana, a partnership designed to aid economic growth and connect Indiana with “world-class Israeli technology companies.”
Braun: Iron Nation-Indiana to create ‘strategic bridge’ between Indiana, Israel
Below is a full transcript of the interview, which has been slightly edited for clarity.
1. How will existing industries around Hanjung America help complement and strengthen Indiana’s economic growth?
I mean, when I got here, the IEDC went through a forensic audit because there was questions about what it was doing. Now, it’s completely transparent. Again, we’re going to obviously pick the low-hanging fruit with companies that have a lot of places in Indiana already. The fact that they can see we’re open for business. We make it easy. It’s not a wrestling match. They’re generally checking here before they go to any other entrepreneurial state, especially if they’ve got a location here. For the states that are making a lot more red tape — put government maybe in place of the free enterprise system –maybe cite our neighbors to the west. We’re getting a lot of people moving into Indiana from Illinois to live here, not to mention businesses. So sooner or later, both will vote with their feet, and it’s been so gratifying to see what we’ve done in the past, and now making it a very easy process to reach out to us, and we’re making sure that we don’t let any stone go unturned when we hear of businesses wanting to expand or relocate, And then when they have the discussion with the entrepreneurial individuals and our own IEDC, it’s made things easy. That’s why we’ve gotten a lot done in a little over a year.
2. How important is it for Huntington, a city that has lost manufacturing in the past decade, to have business return to the area?
Well, they’re one of our 92 counties, and they’re probably 70 to 75 of them that probably have seen some businesses wither or even lost them, and the more you can get kind of a “we’re open for business.” Make it easy, and each county is going to probably have some formal economic development unit. We want them to work with us at the state, and it is just getting known in a short period of time that we’re a business friendly place. We move at the speed of business, not government, and that’s differentiating us both locally and statewide, and people are taking notes so they can see it.
3. In light of rising gas prices, what does it say about Indiana that it is making a notable investment in the renewable energy ecosystem?
Well, regardless of what you’re doing, and it fits into the broader economic development context, companies like [Hanjung] are going to end up not only creating high paying jobs, but also produce into our national economy. And most of them, you know, go beyond that. It is just a win-win because the two elements to being successful — especially for our own kids to come back and make a living in Huntington, their home — you’re going to have to have prospects for economic growth. That was going to be largely contingent on high speed internet everywhere in rural counties, and we’ve knocked it out of the park there, that is kind of what they and all the other counties other than the ones [needed] — there might be 10 to 15 of them that have had other things that have made it easier. Fort Wayne has been an oasis of prosperity. Indy and the surrounding bubble counties, two metro counties, Floyd and Clark in Louisville. They’re the strongest counties in the Louisville Metro area. Evansville. Then you’re getting into a lot of rural areas that want to get in on it, and that’s where I’m going to focus my attention. Spread that attention around the state and make sure we’re working with local governments to make this happen. And this is just another example of a country that loves doing business in Indiana, and they’re looking at Huntington. It’ll be a blessing for that county and the community.
4. Are there any specific tech industries you hope to see come to Indiana through the Iron Nation-Indiana partnership?
I knew Israel was a dynamo when Sen. Rick Scott and I, when I was in the Senate, visited in 2019. When you look how they’re surrounded there, you can see the current issues they’re dealing with, with security. They’re by far, if not, the most entrepreneurial country in the world. They’re right up there in the top handful of them, so I [could] sense it then. Luke Messer, who has been working with them, done a great job, brought them into my office, a slate of entrepreneurs, probably a year ago. We just hit it off, and it’s happened that quickly, that Iron Nation is about a steely country that is so good at technology. So, this whole idea of turning Indiana into a technology hub — we talked about life sciences just a couple weeks ago — we’ve got everything it takes from the universities. We’re the biggest state in advanced manufacturing per capita. We’re the logistics center of the country. And then you combine these high paying jobs that come from technology-based businesses. That is what Israel is looking to us for, not Silicon Valley, not the State of New York, but because we have that perfect mix of vitality, low cost, entrepreneurialism, and [they] can see that as a governor [who has] been an entrepreneur and a state legislature that’s putting the template down there when we need legislation and an Indiana Economic Development Corporation that’s reaching out, people are coming here. They like what they see. So, that’s what this is about. It’s another example — South Korea we were talking about earlier. This is starting almost a new relationship because they’ve gravitated elsewhere. Now, they’re looking to do more in the US. I’m glad to say Indiana is probably focus number one.
5. What has it been like working with former U.S Rep. Luke Messer through Iron Nation-Indiana?
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