By STARR MILLER

Indiana Correspondent

RUSHVILLE, Ind. — By now, the word has spread across the state that the agricultural based company Cormo USA is setting up first production facility in the United States in Rushville.

The firm, which takes corn field waste and turns it into useable products, will bring 250 high-paying jobs to the area.

 “This is an extraordinary addition to the Rush County community,” said Rushville Mayor Mike Pavey. “We have world-class manufacturing in Rushville, yet Rush County is an agricultural county. Cormo USA will add an agricultural piece to those world-class operations. They not only benefit the employment base of the county, but will also offer income opportunities to Rush County farmers as well as farmers in surrounding counties.”

Rush County Economic and Community Development Director John McCane said the timeline for the project was nothing short of amazing, and the final decision on Cormo’s part is a testament to the storied history of Rush County’s agriculture.

The new facility, which the company plans to break ground on this summer, will process maize straw from up to 150,000 acres of corn fields each year into a 100 percent sustainable peat moss substitute (TEFA) for agricultural uses and into foam products (BABS) for material science uses. This patented process has been utilized at the company’s pilot plant in France.

The company, which was incorporated as a joint venture by Switzerland-based Cormo AG and Florida based Sustainable Projects Group Inc in 2018, will invest approximately $29.5 million to establish this first U.S. production plant in Rushville, constructing and equipping a state of the art facility on 10 acres in the Commerce Park at Rushville.

“Indiana, and particularly Rush County, offers the perfect combination of entrepreneurial spirit, hardworking talent and agriculture which is mission critical for our company,” said Stefan Muehlbauer, president of the Board at Cormo USA in a press release from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “After an extensive site search across corn-producing states, Cormo USA is looking forward to the next phase of the company’s evolution. We are especially grateful for the knowledgeable team at the IEDC and the support of Mayor Mike Pavey in Rushville as well as his team. They have shown exceptional professionalism and shared our commitment to not just an environmentally- but also an economically-sustainable future.”

To support its growth, Cormo USA plans to begin hiring for plant operations and management positions in the next 3 to 4 months, with additional positions in logistics, scientific testing and marketing in the year 2020. New positions are expected to offer average salaries 50 percent above the state’s average wage.