Chris Sikich

chris.sikich@indystar.com

Gov. Mike Pence announced Monday that Determine Inc. will move its headquarters to Indiana to join what's fast becoming, he said, "Silicon Prairie."

Determine Inc. (NASDAQ: DTRM), which provides cloud-based business management tools, currently is based in the heart of California's Silicon Valley in San Mateo.

"Thank you for choosing Indiana to grow this publicly traded, high-tech company and create high-paying jobs right here in the heart of the heartland, or as we like to call it, the Silicon Prairie," Pence said at a news conference at Carmel City Hall.

The state will offer Determine Inc. $400,000 in conditional tax credits based on plans to hire 24 employees by 2019. The company has 160 associates worldwide, including 35 in Indiana.

Determine Inc.'s clients include Kellogg's, Sony, Republic Airways and Nordstrom. The firm will spend $720,191 to lease 9,000 square feet of space from Atapco at 615 W. Carmel Drive and close a smaller office it leases at 12800 N. Meridian St. in Carmel.

The company will maintain offices in California, Georgia, France and Great Britain.

Patrick Stakenas, Determine's CEO, said the company chose Indiana due to its high-tech talent pool, centralized location, tax incentives and low cost of living.

"Midwest is key for us," Stakenas said. "We have investors in New York, we have people in (Washington) D.C., Chicago, Atlanta. Indiana is just a perfect location for us. It's easy to get to."

This isn't the first time Pence has joined Carmel officials for a jobs announcement this year. In January, he and Mayor Jim Brainard announced financial services company Allied Solutions will move its headquarters from the U.S. 31 corridor to Midtown in 2017, moving more than 500 existing jobs and creating more than 600 by 2025.

Pence took a moment to address the massacre Sunday in Orlando. He said the hearts of Hoosiers are heavy in the wake of the attack and he extended the state's support to Orlando's LGBT community. The governor asked Hoosiers to send thoughts and prayers to the victims, their families and the LGBT community in Orlando.

Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.

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