14News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, OwensboroNew jobs coming to Dubois Co

DUBOIS CO, IN (WFIE) –

Dubois County has the lowest unemployment rate in Indiana, but now more jobs are on the way.

Ten new jobs will be available through Indiana Furniture Industries in Jasper.

Ten jobs may not sound like a huge number, but when they are good paying, highly skilled positions with a company that has deep roots in the area, they're definitely welcomed.

Indiana Furniture Industries began in Dubois County more than 100 years ago, and today, it employs close to 300 people.

According to Jim Dinkle, President of the Dubois County Area Development Corporation, the company is about to take on a new $11.5 expansion.

He says, “It will enable the company to expand into about 30,000 square feet of new manufacturing space here in the city of Jasper.”

Indiana Furniture had a few extra incentives to make this expansion happen.

First, Dinkle says, $100,000 in training grants from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. It's performance based, meaning the company must in-return hire new employees and train them. Dinkle says they will hire ten new employees for highly skilled jobs.

In addition to this grant, last week the Jasper Common Council awarded Indiana Furniture a 10-year property tax abatement.

The hope is that the tax abatement will convince more local businesses, like Indiana Furniture, to stay put and expand.

Indiana Furniture wasn't the only Jasper company to receive this property tax abatement.

Stens, a distribution company, also received the abatement, and according to Dinkle, has a year to decide whether to utilize it by expanding.