By Anna Skinner
At the end of 2015, AgReliant was one of two Westfield companies recognized to bring high-wage jobs to Indiana. AgReliant, a seed company in Westfield that primarily sells corn and soybeans, will be furthering the city’s development as it constructs a new headquarters near its old location.
“We built and are moving in next week a new office in Westfield right across the parking lot,” Craig Newman, president and CEO, said. “It’s pretty spectacular. We have doubled the amount of space and anticipate doubling the number of people that we have at this location.”
AgReliant was one of 17 companies to travel to the statehouse to be recognized for bringing employment to central Indiana.
Newman said over time, the company will hire for a variety of positions such as IT, accounting and administrative support. Throughout the next five to 10 years, he said he plans to bring in an additional 40 to 50 employees.
“When you are hiring more people, there’re people that will live in Westfield and buy goods and services here, and just the fact that we are located here, even if they live in surrounding suburbs, they will be going out for lunch in Westfield,” Newman said. “We are very happy about being here, and we’ve had a good experience here the last 15 years, so now we are committed to the future here.”
Thieneman Construction, also based in Westfield, was recognized for bringing employment to the city as well.
“We are glad to have Thieneman Construction and AgReliant Genetics call Westfield home,” Westfield Mayor Andy Cook said. “Westfield’s business sector continues to grow stronger every day thanks to great companies like these. We as a community are excited about our successes over the past year, and are proud to be a part of Indiana’s economic development.”
