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Weekly UpdatesLIKE THE REST OF INDIANA and the nation, northern Indiana has had its economic challenges, but Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph counties have good news to report, especially in life sciences and medical products manufacturing.
Life sciences strong. Warsaw is cementing its claim as the "Orthopedic Manufacturing Capital of the World" with expansions at four companies that already employ a combined 4,000 and are about to add another 260 new jobs, reports Joy McCarthy-Sessing, president of Kosciusko Development Inc.
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The county's top employer, Warsaw-headquartered Zimmer Inc., with 3,000 now on the payroll locally, is investing $19 million for a 50,000-square-foot addition to one of its existing facilities and plans to add another 100 employees by 2011. Zimmer designs, develops and produces orthopedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants and related orthopedic surgical products.
Symmetry Medical, which makes orthopedic instruments, has announced a $6.2 million upgrade in machinery and site remodel. It operates two facilities in Kosciusko County, in Warsaw and Claypool. Now employing 575, the company is adding another 60.
In Pierceton, Paragon Medical is adding 20,000 square feet to its plant, where 400 employees make surgical cases and trays, surgical instrumentation and implantable devices.
Startup OrthoPediatrics Corp., which began operations in 2007 with 10 employees, has grown to 26 and plans to add 100 new jobs over the next three to five years. The company, which makes orthopedic items for children, has announced it will invest $5 million in either a facility addition or a new building and add new equipment, too.
Other orthopedic manufacturers "doing tine" in the county, McCarthy-Sessing says, are: DePuy Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company employing nearly 1,300; Biomet Inc., now a private company with a workforce of more than 1,200; and Medtronic, with 540 on the payroll.
Marshall County also has its claim to the orthopedics industry with CSpine Inc., which last year built a $3 million, 4,000-square-foot facility in Plymouth to house its research-and-development and prototype operations. Its products are spinal orthopedic and dental devices. "They employ a handful so far, with plans to grow over five years to about 50 people," says Doug Anspach, executive director of the Plymouth Industrial Development Corp. and Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. CSpine is the first tenant in the 74-acre [T.sup.2] Technology Park.
In South Bend, Heraeus Kulzer Inc. is consolidating its North American headquarters with its 25,000-square-foot manufacturing operations and spending $1.65 million on renovations, reports Donald Kopis, marketing and communications manager for Project Future. A global manufacturer and distributor of dental products, the company plans to boost employment locally from today's 100 to 145 by 2012.
Startups, research, The first building in South Bend's Innovation Park at Notre Dame, a two-site park totaling 95 acres, is underway The $10 million, university-owned incubator is targeted for fall completion. Three more buildings are planned to go up between 2010 and 2018. "It's not just commercialization of intellectual capital," says Patrick McMahon, executive director of Project Future. "It's a tool for transitioning a significant portion of our economy."
Another project with economic potential for the area comes from Notre Dame being named to host the fourth nanoelectronic research initiative for the Semiconductor Research Corp. Operating as the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND), the center links Notre Dame, Purdue University, other universities, research firms and technology companies. The research initiative's charge is to develop the next generation of logic devices that would replace today's semiconductors. MIND will focus on developing architectures that will allow the new devices to be incorporated into machines.
Company to watch. In Elkhart, Inter-Cambio Express Inc., a money transmitter serving Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America, is doubling its employment to 103 and spending $2.3 million on new information technology infrastructure and architecture, reports Dorinda Gus, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County. The company was named a 2008 Indiana Company to Watch by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Some manufacturing growth. Several of the region's manufacturers are expanding.
Aearo Technologies, a 3M Company headquartered in Indianapolis that makes safety glasses and other industrial safety equipment, has broken ground for a $4 million facility in Plymouth to replace its existing facility. It should open by mid-2009. The company currently employs 91 in Marshall County and will add another 42, Anspach says.
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Also in Plymouth, Zentis North American Food Solutions, which processes fruit for jams and bakery and dairy foods, is adding new production lines. Currently employing about 100, the German company also will add another 50 employees. "They've made $30 million in investments since they came to town," Anspach says. The company began production in Plymouth in October 2006.
He's hopeful, too, about the economic outlook. "We've had no closings and no major layoffs."
In Elkhart, KIK Custom Products is spending $24 million to expands its facility and adding 190 workers to today's 700. The company makes consumer products such as Fabreeze Air Effects, Axe Body Spray, and products sold under the ' L'Oreal, Dove, Suave, Sunsil, Thermasilk, Salon Selectives and Rave brands.
Mishawaka's AM General plant was awarded a $248 million U.S. Army contract to build high-mobility, multipurpose vehicles throughout 2009; it's also midway on two contracts totaling $729 million for Army Humvees.
Also in Mishawaka, Better World Books, an online bookseller founded by Notre Dame students five years ago to fund worldwide literacy, has secured support from Good Capital and 18 private investors.
RV industry hurting. Indiana's recreational vehicle industry, much of it centered in Elkhart County, has been hard hit by the downtown. "Due to the fuel and economic conditions, our market has been negatively affected," Gus says. Half of the county's workforce had been employed in manufacturing, with 46 percent of that in the RV industry.
Among those with layoffs: Kinro in Bristol; FlexSteel in New Paris; Monaco Coach Corp. in Elkhart, Wakarusa and Nappanee; Newmar Corp. and Terra Group, both in Nappanee; Sundowner Trailers in Elkhart; and Pilgrim International and SunnyBrook RV, both in Middlebury.
From July through November, the WorkOne office had more than 71,000 visits. The state of Indiana allocated $3 million in education and training funds to help displaced workers, and a regional Rapid Response Task Force came together to address workers' needs. The coalition includes WorkOne, the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County, educational systems and organizations.
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