Written statement released Tuesday morning by the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance:

R3 Composites Corporation, a manufacturing company headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, is expanding into a vacant automotive plant in Grabill. The new operation, will occupy the former Meridian Automotive plant, had been idle since 2009. R3 Composites will bring a total investment of $4.5 million to Allen County with a projected 400 new jobs.

"Once again, Indiana is proving that there's no more productive environment to manufacture products than our state," said Governor Mitch Daniels. "R3 Composites could have chosen to locate anywhere, but they are bringing hundreds of jobs to Northeast Indiana because of our talented workforce and supportive business climate."

R3 Composites specializes in engineering custom molds and in the conversion of existing metal and plastics products to composites for a wide range of products from automotive applications to bathroom fixtures. The company considered a number of locations in the Midwest and Southeast United States, but decided on the Grabill facility because of the suitable building and the talent of the Northeast Indiana workforce.

"We welcome R3 Composites to Allen County," said Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters. "R3 Composites will benefit from the business-friendly climate and our talented community that will make up their employee base. We are grateful for the 400 new jobs that R3 Composites will bring to Allen County and look forward to partnering with them."

"R3 Composites is pleased to select Grabill, Indiana, as the site for our manufacturing facility," said chief executive officer, Roy Carver. "This facility will be dedicated to making both proprietary and custom compression molded products for a wide range of customers. We believe Allen County is a strong community in which to do business."

The Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance compiled a competitive package worth more than $2.8 million with incentive offers from property tax abatement savings, a performance based incentive, an Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) credit, a Talent Initiative grant, and moneys from the Skills Enhancement Fund and WorkOne Services.

"The City of Fort Wayne is encouraged by the significant investment and jobs being added to the community by R3 Composites," said Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. "This is another example of a company from outside of our area locating here because of our dedicated workforce."

"The town of Grabill is pleased to work with R3 Composites," said Wilmer Delagrange, Grabill Town Council president. "We look forward to having them in our community for many years to come and believe the values and work ethic of the citizens of Grabill will meet their needs."