Five companies commit to adding 500 jobs in Fishers

More than 500 new technology and engineering jobs are coming to Fishers over the next four years, the city announced Monday.

Five Fishers-based companies plan to add a total of 511 jobs and make capital investments totaling $9.6 million by the end of 2021, the city said.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has offered the five companies a total of $5.6 million in conditional tax credits and up to $495,000 in training grants based on their job-creation plans. The companies must meet their hiring goals before they can receive the incentives.

The announcement caps off what local officials say is a record economic development year for the northern suburb—2,185 new jobs and $64.5 million in capital investment were committed in 2017. The total average annual wage for all the jobs proposed so far this year is $66,000, which is higher than Hamilton County’s average wage of nearly $57,000.

The companies that announced growth plans Monday:

• Aggressively Organic Inc., an ag-tech company focused on ending food insecurity by innovating agricultural practices, plans to create 200 jobs and make a capital investment of $734,250 by the end of 2021.

The 3-month-old company sells a variety of small systems that allow people to grow fresh produce, such as basil, lettuce and kale, wherever they work or live. The plants only need water every six to 12 months.

Aggressively Organic is currently located at Launch Fishers.

The IEDC has offered the company $2.5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants.

• BrainForest Centers LLC, a digital brain-mapping firm that uses technology rather than drugs to help treat brain dysfunctions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, plans to add 185 new jobs and make a capital investment of $7.4 million by the end of 2021.

BrainForest, 9748 Lantern Road, was founded in 2015 and opened its Fishers office Feb. 1. It also has a location in West Lafayette.

The IEDC has offered BrainForest $1.8 million in tax credits and $100,000 in training grants. The company had no employees outside of ownership when it reached a preliminary agreement with the IEDC in June.

• Clarke Solutions, an engineering firm that specializes in services for clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, nutrition and supplement, and food and beverage industries, has committed to adding 60 jobs to its existing workforce of 111 by the end of 2020.

The 18-year-old company, 9100 Fall View Drive, fulfilled a previous contract with the IEDC when it pledged in 2011 to add 29 jobs by the end of 2013.   

The IEDC has offered Clarke Engineering Services LLC, which does business as Clarke Solutions, $575,000 in tax credits and $70,000 in training grants.

• Complete Structural Consulting Inc., which provides engineering services to steel fabricators, general contractors, architects and steel detailers, plans to add 30 new jobs by the end of 2021 and make a capital investment of $1.5 million.

CSC said it will add those jobs to an existing staff of seven at its Fishers office at 9880 Westpoint Drive. The company also has offices in Gainesville, Florida, and Falls Church, Virginia.

The IEDC has offered the 5-year-old company $285,000 in tax credits and $75,000 in training grants.

• In Search of Technology LLC, an IT firm specializing in strategy and mobile-app development, has already filled six jobs and plans to add 30 more over the next four years.

The 2-year-old company announced its growth plans last month, but it was included in the city’s announcement Monday afternoon.

ISoT is based in Launch Fishers, but the company previously told IBJ that it plans to search for new space in Fishers or on the north side of Indianapolis.

The IEDC has offered ISoT $472,000 in tax credits and $50,000 in training grants.

“The type of economic growth we’re seeing in Fishers is the result of the intentional vision to make Fishers a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial community,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said in a written statement. “To see the numbers of homegrown and Fishers-based companies being celebrated today shows that the momentum of initiatives such as Launch Fishers and the upcoming Fishers IoT Lab are critical to the future of entrepreneurship and economic growth for our city. These companies announced today come alongside the more than dozen companies whose growth we celebrated this year.”