Iotron Industries, a global leader in radiation processing, broke ground on their expansion project during a time when sterilization is a key priority. The expansion will add 34,000 square feet to facilitate another line of sterilization capability.
“Over the last few years, due to increased market demand in the U.S. and Canada, our Indiana facility has grown to full capacity,” said Aaron Starkey, Iotron’s Vice President of U.S. Operations and Head of Business Development. “The current global pandemic has further bolstered the need to increase the supply for reliable, high scale and domestically available irradiation services.”
Construction for the expansion began on May 13 with a groundbreaking ceremony led by The Hagerman Group.
“We are honored to once again handle Iotron’s construction needs in the U.S.,” said Hagerman Executive Vice President Brad Smith. “Year over year, most of our projects are with existing clients, which demonstrates the relationships and trust we build and maintain with our clients. We congratulate Iotron on this expansion project, as together we build a better future.”
Iotron Industries currently operates in a 54,000-sqare-foot facility in Park 30 and provides sterilization, bio-reduction and material modification services for the orthopedic, medical device and agricultural industries. The existing site houses Iotron’s IMPELA® brand electron-beam accelerator system, which uses no radioactive materials and is powered by standard commercial electricity.
“Whitley County is fortunate to have this unique company as a part of our diverse economy,” said Dale Buuck, Whitley County EDC president. “On behalf of our business community, I want to congratulate the Iotron team on their past success and I’m excited to see where the future leads them.”
At the request of the Whitley County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the Whitley County Redevelopment Commission (RDC) approved financing for Iotron’s expansion project through a bond agreement.
“The bond was a great way to incentivize Iotron’s expansion to save the company interest costs and use funds already generated by the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district to continually improve economic development in the county,” said Jim Argerbright, Whitley County RDC president. “The use of the bond shows our flexibility as a county and alleviates the use of a tax abatement for taxpayers.”
Iotron Industries expanded its operations to the United States and Whitley County in 2011 and chose to expand in Columbia City due to the proximity to local orthopedic, medical and agriscience industries, along with being ideally situated for coast-to-coast logistics and distribution.
“With this expansion, we will create 30 to 40 new jobs during the next three years,” added Jeff Blakely, Iotron’s Corporate Vice President of Organizational Development. “This is just the next chapter in Iotron’s 30-year history,” Blakely continued. “Our plan moving forward is to continuously innovate, add to our already superb skill sets, position our employees for success and scale our business to meet the needs of our customers. We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone, thanks to the continued dedication of our people, our strong customer partnerships and the unwavering support from Whitley County and the State of Indiana.”
The Iotron expansion is scheduled to be completed this year.
Source: Whitley County Economic Development Corporation
About Whitley County EDC
The Whitley County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is the lead economic development agency in Whitley County, Indiana. The EDC works closely with local, regional and state partners to support our industry clients’ growth and success. Our mission is to lead a comprehensive economic development program that retains and expands employment opportunities for residents and attracts business investment to Whitley County. The Whitley County EDC was established in 1992 and represents Whitley County, Columbia City and the towns of Churubusco, Larwill and South Whitley. For more information about the EDC visit whitleyedc.com.
About Iotron Industries
Iotron Industries provides sterilization, bio-reduction and materials modification services for the agricultural, orthopedic, medical device and specialty plastics markets. Iotron offers a team of dedicated experts to facilitate material procession requirements utilizing Electron Beam irradiation technology. For more than 25 years, Iotron’s highly experiences staff has been providing a knowledgeable approach to the development of unique processes associated with a broad array of products and materials, earning Iotron recognition as a global leader in radiation processing. For more information about Iotron visit Iotron.com.
