LOCAL BUSINESS BRIEFS: Kate Leichty to manage accounting office | News

GOSHEN — Kruggel Lawton CPAs, an accounting and business advisory firm, has hired Kate Leichty, CPA, as senior manager for its Goshen office.

Leichty is a Goshen native, graduated from Goshen High School and received a bachelor of arts degree in accounting with a minor in business from Goshen College.

Leichy began her career with Crowe LLP in Elkhart, and relocated to California to help build the firm’s office in Sacramento. She and her family relocated back to Goshen in 2017, at which time she returned to Crowe’s Elkhart office. In her role at Kruggel Lawton, Leichy will lead the delivery of tax services to clients, coach and supervise professional staff, and serve as a firm-wide resource on pass-through entities and state and local tax matters.

Premium Rock expanding

ELKHART — Premium Rock, a manufacturer of engineered stone panels, will expand its Elkhart operations, creating up to 74 new jobs by the end of 2024.

According to information from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the company will invest more than $9.1 million to double its 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 30244 C.R. 12 and add new machine and product lines. The company began construction in September and expects the expansion to be operational by May.

“We’re excited to expand our operations in Indiana and believe the Elkhart community and state of Indiana both provide a great quality of place and low cost of living, which is important to us for our growing team,” said Premium Rock CEO Terry Ploetz. “Being from Elkhart, it means a lot to grow our company in the community we’ve grown up in and are excited to create jobs and expand our footprint in Elkhart.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Premium Rock LLC up to $750,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s plans to create up to 80 new jobs by the end of 2024. The tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired.

Zimmer Biomet foundation to partner with NAACP

WARSAW — Zimmer Biomet, a musculoskeletal health care company, has created the Zimmer Biomet Foundation and joined in a multi-year partnership with NAACP.

The foundation and partnership includes:

• Commitment of $2 million through the next three years to support partnered efforts with NAACP to end racial injustice and advance diversity and equality. This includes support for public health work conducted by local NAACP chapters across the country, as well as funding for the establishment of the first NAACP Black Opportunity Index, which will serve as a resource for addressing health care disparities and expanding medical access to underserved communities.

• Supporting STEM education, enabling community health and providing disaster relief.

• Matching Zimmer Biomet employee contributions to all non-profit organizations.

• Expanding team member programs. This includes the introduction of the ZB Scholarship Fund for employee dependents, the Team Member Relief Fund and the company’s volunteer match and volunteer time off programs.