WASHINGTON, IND. — Grain Processing Corp. (GPC), a manufacturer and marketer of corn-based products, unveiled plans to invest $70 million to expand its operations in Washington, Ind., creating up to 16 new jobs by 2019.

 Muscatine, Iowa-based GPC said it plans to expand its Maltrin maltodextrins capacity over the next few years at its 600-acre Washington, Ind., complex, accounting for the largest expansion at the plant since it started operations. GPC is in the process of finalizing the engineering design and requesting the necessary permits to begin the construction phase of the additional finishing capacity.

GPC, which currently has 150 employees in Daviess county and more than 1,500 Kent Corp. employees globally, plans to add new production associates in Washington when the project is operational in the next few years.

“The selection of our Washington, Ind., site for this new multimillion dollar expansion was due to several factors,” said Gage A. Kent, chief executive officer and chairman of Kent Corp., parent of GPC. “The business friendly leadership of Indiana Governor (Mike) Pence and his economic development team showed us they were committed to helping GPC grow. We were also impressed with the local economic development team and the community members who demonstrated they really wanted us to expand our Washington facilities.”

GPC develops and distributes a variety of corn-based products worldwide, including maltodextrins, corn syrup solids and starches for the food, pharmaceutical and personal care markets; ethyl alcohol for beverage and industrial use; starches for the paper, corrugated box, textile and wallboard industries; corn oil; animal feed ingredients and pet care products. The Washington plant opened in 1998 and currently processes 80,000 to 100,000 bus of corn per day.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered GPC up to $250,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s investment plans.