Indian engineering firm plans to open 500-worker North American HQ in state

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Thursday during his trade mission to India that a Bangalore-based engineering firm has agreed to locate its North American headquarters in Indiana, creating up to 500 high-wage jobs by the end of 2023.

The firm, Axiscades, provides product engineering to firms in a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, heavy engineering, automotive, energy, medical and health care. It plans to invest nearly $10 million over five years to establish operations in Indiana.

Axiscades has not picked a location. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said the firm has a short list of sites under consideration. It plans to make a final decision by the end of this year and launch operations by April 2018. 

Axiscades already employs more than 1,900 workers across North America, Europe and Asia, including 250 engineers in North America stationed at the company's offices in Peoria, Illinois, and Montreal, Canada, and on-site at clients' facilities.

The company plans to begin hiring for Indiana engineering jobs next spring.

"Under the leadership of Gov. Holcomb, Indiana is leading in the areas of science, technology, engineering and manufacturing, which offers us the right environment for our business growth," Sudhakar Gande, vice chairman of Axiscades, said in a written statement.

Axiscades, which has 14 engineering centers across the globe, has many corporate heavyweights as clients, including GE, Caterpillar, Bombardier, Airbus and Siemens. 

To support Axiscades' hiring plans, the IEDC offered the company up to $4.3 million in tax credits and up to $500,000 in training grants. The incentives are performance-based, meaning Axiscades can't claim them until workers are hired. The IEDC also will consider additional incentives through the state's Industrial Development Grant Fund to support infrastructure needs.