Automotive Supplier Growing In Northeast Indiana

Ventra Angola will invest $8.1M and create up to 88 jobs in Angola, IN with the help of up to $675,000 in tax credits and training grants from the state.

Ventra Angola, a parts manufacturer for the automotive industry, will expand its operations in northeast Indiana, creating up to 88 new jobs by 2019. The company, which is part of Illinois-based Flex-N-Gate, will invest $8.1 million to increase manufacturing capacity at its 128,000-square-foot facility in Angola, IN. Ventra Angola will purchase new equipment, including roll mills, and reconfigure its operations in order to accommodate the growth.

Ventra Angola Indiana
Image: Flex-N-Gate

“Today’s news wouldn’t be possible if not for the commitment and talent of our workforce in Angola, a workforce that has been directly responsible for years of success and now an extremely promising future for our Ventra operation,” said Bill Beistline, vice president of procurement at Flex-N-Gate. “We are also grateful to Mayor Hickman and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, because it takes a special kind of partnership to create jobs and make expansion plans of this magnitude a reality. Our company is proud to operate three plants in Indiana, all of them thriving, and there is no question the best days for our Ventra operation in Angola are just ahead.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) offered the company up to $650,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $25,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. It is not eligible to claim the incentives until employees are hired.

Flex-N-Gate Corporation is the 10th-largest original equipment supplier in North America and the 38th-largest supplier in the world, according to Automotive News. The company employs more than 18,750 people at 55 manufacturing facilities and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Spain. In addition to its Angola facility, Flex-N-Gate also operates Indiana facilities in Covington and Veedersburg.

The company plans to increase its production of parts by 70 percent to support a new contract with General Motors. It will start installing new equipment in the first quarter of 2017 and ramp up production in October 2017.

“The city of Angola is excited that Ventra Angola is expanding in our city. This is exactly the type of jobs and investment we have been working toward through economic development planning,” said Mayor Richard Hickman. “Ventra Angola’s $8.1 million dollar investment shows great faith in our community and the skills of our local workforce. These are quality jobs with the kinds of wages and benefits that will help draw more people to our community. We appreciate the hard work that the IEDC has put in to bring this expansion to Angola, and we are grateful that Ventra Angola is choosing to invest in our city.”

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