Track & field equipment maker growing in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A manufacturer of track and field equipment is growing in Clinton County. Richey Athletics has invested nearly $2 million to relocate to a vacant building in the Frankfort Industrial Park and add a small number of jobs.

The more than 70,000-square-foot building along State Road 28 more than double’s the company’s previous manufacturing capacity. Richey says the move also brings its manufacturing and distribution operations under one roof.

Richey Athletics was founded in Michigantown in 1962. The company manufactures high jump and pole vault standards and pits, as well as related equipment, that are used by high schools and colleges nationwide.

Co-owner Michael Griffy tells Inside INdiana Business the company invested more than $1.8 million to acquire and renovate the Frankfort facility. Plans are also in place for an additional $300,000 investment in new equipment that will allow the company to enter the football equipment space.

Richey Athletics employs more than 20 at the facility and Griffy says the company added two salespeople. Additionally, the company has formed a partnership with The Crossing School in Elkhart, in which students will become interns at the facility.

The project went forward with the help of a $690,000 U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan provided by The Farmers Bank and the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corp.