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.