Manufacturing continues to be a key economic driver in the state and region, contributing almost $100 billion to Indiana's gross domestic product and employing more than 520,000 Hoosiers last year, according to state officials.
While steel remains a major manufacturer in the region, employing thousands, state officials and area professors said it's the small- and medium-sized manufacturers here, like Urschel Laboratories in Chesterton and newcomer Hoist Liftruck in East Chicago, that are leading the growth charge.
Dean Schroeder, Herbert H. and Agnes S. Schulz professor of management at Valparaiso University, said many of these smaller companies incorporate technology and pay wages comparable to white collar positions.
"Northwest Indiana is unique. We have a very large number of medium-sized manufacturers that are global in their reach," Schroeder said. "It's an ideal situation. They're up to date on technology, sometimes even making the technology."
And the pay scale for some of these jobs?
According to the Indiana Manufacturers Association, those employed in manufacturing earned an average weekly salary of $1,178. Hoist Lifttruck listed its average salary at $55,000 a year.
Made in the region
Holly Gillham, a spokeswoman for Indiana Economic Development Corp., said more than 20 manufacturers have worked with the agency on expansion plans in Lake and Porter counties since January 2013, adding more than 1,800 jobs.
She said Hoist Lifttruck and Pratt Industries in Valparaiso together plan to create more than 600 new jobs, and Merrillville-based MonoSol is adding 150 jobs with its new Portage manufacturing facility.
Tax incentives have helped fuel the growth, she said, but companies have found other benefits in locating in Indiana,, including lower workers' compensation-related costs.
Regional manufacturers make machinery to cut food, firefighting equipment, plastic containers, and of course steel, among other items.
Tony Sindone, economics professor with Purdue Northwest North Central campus, said industry is very important for Northwest Indiana, even more so than for the state.
"This is absolutely a good thing, especially moving forward," Sindone said. "We need to make things to sell."
A lot of what is made in Lake and Porter counties is sold in the region, nationwide, and even globally, bringing money into the local economy, he said..
Schroeder contrasted manufacturing with retail.
"A job in retail pays very little and the money spent on goods goes outside the state to a corporate office somewhere else and to China or wherever the goods are made," Schroeder said. Manufacturers, on the other hand, make products here and sell them outside the state and country, bringing the money back here.
The new face of manufacturing
Industry experts agree manufacturing has changed. One local company, Midwest Service Center, has about 85 employees at three Hobart locations where employees make blades and parts for power generation machinery.
They work in a clean, well-lit building on large modern machines. Mike Peters, the company's purchasing director, said their employees include engineers and machinists who must have math and computer skills and be able to read blueprints. Peters said they can earn $55,000 to $70,000 a year.
Michael Jones, program chair for energy technology at Ivy Tech College's Valparaiso campus, said manufacturers in Northwest Indiana have veered into a mix of technology and manufacturing.
"Companies want a technical certificate or associate's degree. These are excellent jobs and there are plenty of opportunities," he said.