DELAWARE COUNTY, Indiana – A long unused railroad spur in an industrial park will finally be used and will bring millions of dollars in revenue to Delaware County.
The rail spur in the Park One/332 industrial park in Western Delaware County was built to facilitate moving huge wind turbine parts for a plant that was announced in 2008, but it was never used after the world economy – and the company – faltered.
The Delaware County commissioners and Brad Bookout, the county’s director of economic affairs, have for several years marketed the rail spur located in the industrial park at Interstate 69 and Indiana 332. The county has now found a company that will use the spur as a rail shipping point.
SRM Concrete of Smyrna, Tennessee, has agreed to lease the spur from the county for seven years, with an option to purchase the spur after seven years.
The total revenue to the county over the seven-year period will be $3.5 million.
In addition to the lease, the company will build a $9.5-million facility on the site for inbound concrete mix that will be off-loaded into a silo. Trucks will be loaded at the location and will distribute concrete to SRM facilities throughout the Midwest.
The announcement caps a long effort by the county to repurpose the rail spur.
The spur was built for Brevini Wind, a maker of wind turbine components that invested $36 million in buildings and equipment in Delaware County but never used the rail spur, which connects to a nearby rail line.
The Brevini facility was ultimately sold to Muncie Power Products, which did not need the rail spur. Delaware County later worked with Good Industries to build a base of businesses that could ship using the rail spur but that effort was stopped by the Covid pandemic and Good eventually notified the county they would not be able to fulfill the plan.
Since the spur was completed several years ago, it’s been used as an off-loading area for Norfolk & Southern equipment for track repair and maintenance.
Mike Hollingshead, Chairman of SRM, said the rail spur will be a very useful site for the company.
“SRM plans to immediately begin work at the site and anticipates up to 15 employees,” Hollingshead said. “SRM is the largest concrete company in the United States. The company donates 10 percent of profits back to the community each year.”
SRM has annual revenue of more than $3.3 billion and has more than 6,300 employees. The company serves customers in 19 states.
“The county rail spur has been a difficult asset to sell and/or lease,” Bookout said. “I cannot think of a better company than SRM to conduct operations at the spur. Being one of the largest concrete companies in the U.S., their commitment to being good community partners is welcomed.”
“The county has worked hard to turn the rail spur into an asset for businesses and the economy, and we’re looking forward to what SRM can do with it,” Commissioner Sherry Riggin said.
“The commissioners have hoped to find good, productive use for the rail spur,” Commissioners President Shannon Henry said. “SRM can use the spur for projects through the Midwest.”
“Since the Brevini project failed, the commissioners and our economic development team have worked hard to turn lemons into lemonade,” Commissioner James King said. We’re happy to welcome SRM to the Delaware County business community.”
About Delaware County Economic Development
Dynamic and forward-thinking economic development is the specialty of Delaware County, Indiana. In 2015 the Delaware County Commissioners privatized the County’s economic development activities. Since that time, the County has developed its own business retention and expansion programs that are in constant contact with the multitude of industry within the County. In addition, efforts to identify and attract various suitable industry throughout the world are undertaken on an annual basis. For more information, contact Brad Bookout at bbookout@augustaconsultingllc.com.