Media Reports UTEC Moving to Fort Wayne February 28, 2020 Report Sources in the Fort Wayne, Indiana media are reporting that UTEC is relocating from Huntington, Indiana to Fort Wayne, Indiana. "The entire economic development community has been constantly monitoring the situation at UTEC since receiving their WARN Notice of January 5, 2017, in which the Company announced its decision to relocate manufacturing to Monterrey, Mexico," said Mark Wickersham of Huntington County Economic Development Corporation. "UTEC has been a wonderful corporate citizen in Huntington over the years and we will miss them. While we wish more could have been done to discourage the relocation, not only did we receive fantastic support once the Company made their official decision, but the economic policies driven by the White House have put our local industrial base on a very fast track of growth," Wickersham said. 2019 was the biggest year ever for the clients of Huntington County Economic Development Corporation with 19 projects committing $59.6 million in new capital in Huntington. Industrial vacancy rates fell below 2% in 2019 while unemployment is at a record low and PCPI is on the rise in Huntington County. Shortly after UTEC announced the relocation to Mexico, the Company voluntarily reimbursed the taxpayers of Huntington County nearly $700,000 in tax abatement. "They cooperated with workforce development teams to help transitioning workers and continued their timely payment of property taxes," Wickersham continued. "And I'm told with this current move, no jobs will be lost," he added. "Our County's unemployment rate of 2.9% is significantly lower than when the original announcement was made. The inventory of existing, top quality, industrial space is at a premium in Huntington County. I am totally confident this building will have a new owner and employer in the very, very near future. Our industrial future is brighter than ever, prospering with the Nation's incredibly strong economy. As a result, this actually is a genuine win for Northeast Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Huntington," Wickersham said. "The economic development team at Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., not only honored our Regional culture for economic development, simply put, we're friends and colleagues. They have honored Huntington in every way during this process," Wickersham concluded. Click here to see details from WPTA Channel 21Alive.