Bastian Solutions, the Carmel subsidiary of Japan’s Toyota Industries, announced Tuesday plans to move its headquarters to a new $130 million corporate campus in Noblesville with a giant manufacturing plant.
Construction on the 162-acre site near East 146th Street and Promise Road is expected to begin in the next 24 to 36 months. The campus includes Bastian’s headquarters and innovation center, which totals approximately 180,000 square feet, and a 400,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility.
Bastian designs, manufactures and installs conveyor systems, robotics, software and other material handling products used in a variety of applications from retail distribution centers to automotive manufacturing and distribution.
The company plans to create 250 new jobs and retain 400 employees in Noblesville over the next five years, moving to a new corporate campus.
“Our investment in the Noblesville campus will be our largest investment to date,” said Aaron Jones, CEO of Bastian. It demonstrates our commitment to the material handling industry, Indiana, and we look forward to building on the roots we have established here to ensure success for the next 70 years.”
According to IBJ research, Bastian is the second largest engineering company in the Indianapolis area and the seventh largest logistics provider in the metropolitan area. Outside of Central Indiana, the company has offices and facilities in more than 10 of his locations in the United States, as well as offices in Brazil, Canada, India, and Mexico.
“Bastian Solutions is investing not only in our own future, but also in the future of Noblesville,” Mayor Chris Jensen said in a prepared statement. “This project speaks to Bastian’s commitment to job growth and economic development in Noblesville.
The new campus will have additional land on site to accommodate Bastian’s future growth, according to Noblesville Communications Manager Robert Herrington.
When completed, the Bastian Campus will be Noblesville’s second largest corporate headquarters facility. SMC Corp. of America, the city’s largest private employer, has more than 2.6 million square feet of total building space at its 345-acre North American headquarters campus located north of 146th Street and west of Howe Road.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation pledged up to $4 million in incentive-based tax credits under Bastian’s hiring plan. IEDC also pledged up to $2 million in allocable redevelopment tax credits.
Allocable Redevelopment Tax Credits are used to provide incentives for businesses to invest in redevelopment of vacant land in Indiana.
Bastian’s new corporate campus is located approximately 13 miles from its current headquarters at 10585 N. Meridian St. in Carmel.
Bastian also operates an advanced manufacturing center in Westfield, an R&D and logistics center in Indianapolis, and a custom automation facility in Greenfield. Bastian’s facility in Westfield opened in 2018 at Northpoint Industrial Park. This is a large mixed-use development along US 31st Street and East 196th Street.
Bastian’s marketing director, Stefanie Hardy, said the new corporate campus in Noblesville won’t affect the company’s greenfield locations.
Hardy said Bastian is still evaluating options for consolidating the company’s Carmel, Indianapolis and Westfield facilities.
Founded in 1952 by Elgan Stark, the company was originally known as EC Stark Co. Inc. and supplied material handling products such as casters, trolleys and carts.
In 1967, Stark’s son-in-law, Bill Bastian Sr., bought the company that became known as Bastian-Stark Material Handling Corporation. The company was renamed Bastian Material Handling Corporation in 1971 and Bastian Solutions in 2012.
In 2017, Toyota Advanced Logistics Group acquired Bastian for $260 million as a way to enter the logistics business.
Toyota Advanced Logistics Group is a division of Toyota Industries Corporation in Japan. Both of these companies are separate companies from the famous Japan-based automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation.
Founded in 1926, Toyota Industries operates more than 200 companies, including Toyota Material Handling North America, based in Columbus, Indiana. Toyota Material Handling North America is a forklift manufacturer with plants in Columbus, New York and Iowa.