After nearly 80 years in business, a Bargersville company is looking for room to expand and add new technology, but has run out of space.
Now, Roy Umbarger and Sons is planning to relocate their feed division out of their long-time facility in downtown Bargersville.
The new location, on about 83 acres off State Road 44, east of Franklin, will keep the fourth-generation company in Johnson County and closer to an interstate, since more than two-thirds of the feed they make goes outside of Indiana, co-owner and president Marty Umbarger said.
The company’s grain division, located on the south side of Bargersville, and the fertilizer business that moved to Union Township several years ago will both remain in their current locations, Umbarger said.
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But the company’s feed mill is landlocked on about 5 acres, with County Road 144 running through it and the railroad bordering it. And the specialty feed business has been growing well over the last 20 years, he said.
“We really, quite frankly, have to make more space,” Umbarger said.
“This is the biggest jump our family has ever made in our 79-year history.”
Another concern is with the future growth and traffic expected right around their current facility, with County Road 144 slated as an interchange for Interstate 69, hundreds of new homes planned and a new Center Grove elementary school opening next year. Their family had been discussing how to handle the growth and increase in traffic, and thought now might be the time to move closer to an interstate, Umbarger said.
More than 67 percent of the feed they manufacture is delivered outside of the state. As they have gotten more into specialty feeds, their reach has grown, with 180 dealers in 30 states, Umbarger said.
“You can see why being close to an interstate is important to us,” he said.
The fate of their current facility has not yet been decided, though they want to keep their retail business in Bargersville, Umbarger said. Building a new facility would likely take about a year and a half, and they want to have discussions about what would be best for the community before any decisions are made, he said.
The company looked in multiple areas for property, including along the route of I-69 in Morgan County and Johnson County. They wanted to stay as local as they could, but also find the right location, he said.
Now, the company plans to invest $13 million in a new feed manufacturing facility, warehouse and office space off State Road 44, on the west side of County Road 600E, a little more than a mile east of Interstate 65. The property is more than 80 acres, but the new facility will likely take up 20 to 25 acres, Umbarger said.
With more space, the company could also upgrade to a more modern and efficient mill, which would allow them to continue to grow, he said.
The property is located in an area of the county that is meant for agriculture and where Franklin could expand industrial development in the future, and the new facility would follow both of those paths, Umbarger said.
Company officials have asked the county for a 10-year tax abatement on both the new facility and the equipment going into it.
The tax break, which would phase in property taxes over a period of 10 years, would allow the company to retain 26 employees from its current location and keep those jobs, including employees from the feed mill, drivers and office staff, in the county, Umbarger said.
The company is also investing significantly in the property, with both the facility and equipment, and would generate tremendously more in property taxes over the abatement period than if the land remained vacant, Umbarger said.
County council members are considering the request, Johnson County Council president Rob Henderson said.
The county rarely gets or considers requests for tax breaks, and hadn’t had one in more than 20 years until recently with this request and a memory care facility that has also asked for a tax break, he said.
When the memory care facility request came to the county, officials met with the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to discuss how to set up a process for those requests. After that was in place, the Umbarger family approached them about a tax break, Henderson said.
The investment estimate is significant, and the company is working to keep its operations and jobs in the county, and that is important, Henderson said. And the company has a long history here and has invested significantly in local communities already, he said.
The new facility could also spark further development in that area, which could help bring in even more tax revenue, he said.
County officials are reviewing the application, and plan to have a discussion about the request at their meeting next month, Henderson said.
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Roy Umbarger and Sons is planning to move its feed division from its current location in Bargersville. Here is a closer look at their plans:
What would move: The feed division, along County Road 144 and the railroad tracks, would move to a new location on more than 80 acres of land off State Road 44, west of County Road 600E, east of Franklin.
What would stay: The grain division would stay in Bargersville, along with retail operations. The fertilizer division would remain in its location in Union Township.
Investment: $13 million in the building and equipment; retaining 26 jobs, including feed mill employees, drivers and office staff
Tax break: The company has asked the county for a 10-year tax break on the building and equipment, which would phase in taxes over 10 years
Timeline: Construction of a new facility would take about a year and a half
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