Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc. Announces New Facility and Jobs

Decatur, IL – The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County (EDC) announced today that Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc is constructing a new Decatur facility to accommodate existing and new production processes. With this announcement, Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc will invest more than $5.5 million dollars in the project, retain 30-40 jobs and create 25 new jobs in Decatur.

“It is encouraging to see small manufacturing businesses grow and succeed here in Decatur,” said Mayor Paul Osborne. “Decatur is proud of Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc. for its recognition as the SBA 2006 Small Business Champion of the Year Award,” he added.

John Wagner, President of Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to continue to expand our business in Decatur. I want to personally thank the staff of the Economic Development Corporation as well as the Mayor, administration and staff of the city of Decatur who all worked to make this expansion a reality for us.”

The $5.5 million dollar project will be supported through Construction Materials Sales Tax Exemptions and Property Tax Abatement through the Decatur Macon County Enterprise Zone. Administered by the EDC of Decatur and Macon County, the Enterprise Zone offers a variety of state and local tax incentives to promote job development and investment in the region.

“The expansion of Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc continues to build upon Decatur’s growing manufacturing sector and creates more good paying jobs in Decatur,” said Tim Rogers, Vice President, EDC of Decatur and Macon County. “We are pleased to assist yet another local company as they expand to meet the growing demands for local products and services”.

Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc was created in 1996 when the assets of Decatur Pattern Works were purchased through a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan. In 1997, John Wagner began to diversify Leading Edge’s products and services when he started an in-house engineering division to make technical designs a primary sales tool in addition to being a production plant. By purchasing plastic injection molding machines, Leading Edge designed and produced revolutionary railroad tie pads for such customers as CSX and Union Pacific Railroads. In 2001, Leading Edge Engineering was created and headquartered in Chicago. In 2003, Leading Edge purchased Frontier Plastics located in Phoenix, AZ to offer plastics injection services to their customer base in Arizona.

John Wagner’s entrepreneurial success recently won him the SBA 2006 Small Business Person of the Year Award and was a national finalist for the SBA Entrepreneur of the Year Award where he met with President Bush in Washington D.C. “Leading Edge Enterprises, Inc is the kind of company that we want to continue to support in Decatur and Macon County. They are truly a success story”, stated Tim Rogers.

The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County is a nonprofit public-private partnership responsible for non-retail business attraction, expansion and retention efforts in Decatur and Macon County. In the last two years alone, the EDC has worked with local, state and federal partners to access nearly $25 million in assistance to local employers. The EDC has also facilitated projects which have resulted in the creation and/or retention of over 2,300 jobs and private sector capital investments of more than $60 million. These efforts have resulted in the Decatur MSA seeing one of the largest two year decreases in unemployment of any metro area in the state and experienced the lowest August unemployment rate since 2000.