Company Plans $18M HQ and 120 New Jobs
Balance Holdings Inc. (BHI), an agricultural firm based in Muncie, is acquiring 33 acres at I-69 and SR 67 in Delaware County for development of a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters and demonstration greenhouse. BHI plans to invest $18 million in new buildings and equipment at the location.
To date, BHI has already hired 34 people in Delaware County and have plans to hire more than 120 employees within the next 18 months.
The facility will specifically be for the continued development, design, and assembly of its patented ECSIA® system. ECSIA® is Environmentally Controlled Sustainably Integrated Agriculture (ECSIA®), Commercial Regenerative Agriculture (CRA) technology that grows nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, and herbs as prescription-grade foods.
The project is financially backed by Capital Gains Corp. of Palm Harbor, FL.
“We’re really excited to be working with BHI on the development of their facility,” Delaware County Commissioner James King said. “BHI’s team has been incredibly forthcoming with their plans and entrepreneurial spirit to continue business expansions that grow the local tax base and develop the site.”
Delaware County’s Director of Economic Affairs, Brad Bookout, worked with BHI to help position the project for development. Bookout said, “Being community minded, BHI does not want to put the County at any risk. BHI’s strong financial position makes this a project that any community would love to work with. We’re really excited to have such a strong partner willing to make this level of investment in Delaware County.”
Pending municipal approvals, the County is assisting with a bond issuance for the project. Funding for the $2 million issuance is 100% provided upfront by BHI and is repayable from tax revenue generated exclusively from the buildings BHI plans to construct. No existing taxpayer funds or taxpayer back up are necessary for the project.
The ECSIA® system was developed in 2010 by founder Glynn Barber (CEO of BHI). After multiple trials, Barber perfected the system and began marketing it to schools, nonprofits, hospitals, community organizations and others. Seeing the potential for use by hundreds of organizations throughout the world, Capital Gains Corp. sought partnership with Barber to take the system to production and market it nationally through BHI.
BHI plans to commence construction on the Delaware County facility in the fall of 2020. Other out lots will be for sale within the development. Currently, two other companies are considering potentially co-locating adjacent to the BHI facility in Daleville.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Peter Florio from BHI stated, “We’re following through with an aggressive ramp-up of the ECSIA® system for full-scale production in Daleville. The location is incredible for what we plan to do and the assistance from the County has been second to none.”
