Dubois Strong commits $50,000 to Purdue Technical Assistance Program and VU partnership
· The program and partnership have provided nearly $35 million in economic impact to Dubois County
Dubois Strong staff will transfer $50,000 worth of financial support this week as part of a yearly commitment to Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP). Vincennes University (VU) commits financially to the partnership and Vincennes University Jasper Campus provides office space for TAP’s local Business Industry and Account Manager, Adam Auffart.
Between September 2007 and September 2012, the partnership between Dubois Strong, Purdue TAP, VU, and VUJC has resulted in nearly 35 million dollars in economic impact in Dubois County.
“Our continued commitment to Purdue and its Technical Assistance Program is a strong show of support for all they have done and what we believe they still can do in Dubois County,” said Marc Steczyk, Dubois Strong’s Chairman. “It is also a commitment to the existing businesses in our County and a means of providing them with unique and valuable resources and training that might otherwise not be available to them.”
Without the support provided financially and otherwise by Dubois Strong and VUJC, the Purdue TAP would, likely, be located in a higher population area such as New Albany or Evansville and the bulk of the local Business Industry and Account Manager’s time would be spend out of the area.
“Although Purdue TAP has provided a strong positive impact to the area already, I feel we’ve only scratched the surface. The objective of our partnership is to bring Purdue TAP’s and VUJC’s immense resources to all companies within Dubois County who seek business growth, productivity and workforce improvement. The biggest misconception is that we only work with manufacturers; we work regularly within the service sector, not-for-profits, government and institutions too. The impact these clients report reflects the value and return on their investment,” said Auffart.
The first formal agreement between Dubois Strong and Purdue and began in September 2007 and ran through August 2010. The board re-affirmed support, along with VUJC, in April of 2012 and are committed to supporting the efforts of the Purdue TAP through March 2015. As a part of the partnership, Dubois Strong and its members are eligible to participate in any of the five to six free Southern Indiana Network of Advanced Manufacturing (SINAM) events per year.
PURDUE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM’S ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR DUBOIS COUNTY
(SEPT. 2007-SEPT. 2012)
- Total Companies Served 11
- Total Economic Impact $34,943,500
- Sales – increased $8,675,000
- Sales – retained $21,400,000
- Cost savings $3,315,000
- Investment $1,553,500
- Total Jobs Impacted 221
- Jobs Created 10
- Jobs Retained 211
Purdue University’s Technical Assistance Program supports performance improvement in companies and organizations through various programs and services that utilize faculty, students, and staff in nine statewide offices. Impacts are considerable, and since 1986 TAP programs and services have assisted over 10,000 organizations, trained over 21,000 employees, boosted sales by $523 million, increased capital investments by $140 million, contributed to cost savings of $67 million, and saved or added over 10,000 jobs in the state, according to the organizations that were assisted. Purdue TAP is the NIST MEP Center for Indiana.
Dubois Strong is Dubois County, Indiana’s, economic development source for innovative entrepreneurs and thriving businesses. Michael Cummings is the Interim President while also serving as the Director of Marketing and Investor Development. For additional information about Dubois Strong, including how to become an investor, please visit www.duboisstrong.com, email success@duboisstrong.com, or phone 812-482-9650. The Dubois Strong office is located at 309 North Geiger Street in Huntingburg.