By Rick A. Richards
PORTAGE – The sustainability of economic development for the future in Northwest Indiana was examined by the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council recently at Woodland Park in Portage.
Mark Maassel, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, talked of the “three legged stool” of economic development – innovation, business retention and expansion, and the attraction of the area.
It’s the last of those three things that the Quality of Life Council was most interested in.
“Companies have a list of things they look for, but the final decision really comes down to quality of life issues,” said Maassel. “Those are what really separate one area from another.”
For the most part, companies know they can get similar deals from states or regions in labor costs, incentives, highway access, skilled labor and energy costs, said Maassel. But it’s the items at the bottom of a long checklist – crime, the availability of colleges and universities, housing costs, the rating of public schools, healthcare and cultural and recreational opportunities that often are the deciding factors.
Representatives from three area companies talked about their reasons for choosing Northwest Indiana they made the decision to locate in the area.
Ralph Kokot, owner and president of Vanair in Michigan City, said the company was considering several locations when it decided to consolidate smaller operations in southern Michigan and northern Indiana into a single building.
Two years ago, the company opened a new 60,000-square-foot building at the south edge of Michigan City. Since then, Vanair has expanded from 14 employees to 84 and will soon begin a 30,000-square-foot expansion.
“If you talk about attraction – and I’ve had the opportunity to travel – there is nowhere else I’d rather be. I live in the area and it’s home. When I worked with the people in Michigan City and LaPorte, it was a great experience. There was so much collaboration and the decision to locate in Northwest Indiana just screamed at us.”
Stephanie Baker, the chief financial officer at MonoSol, said the international company could locate anywhere in the world but is comfortable in Northwest Indiana.
“The one drawback we’d like to see addressed is that Indiana doesn’t offer the same incentives to existing companies as it does to new companies. There isn’t the same help to retain business as there is to attract new business.”
Baker said MonoSol, which has plants in Merrillville, Portage and LaPorte, as well as in the United Kingdom, rejected a proposal to move one of their operations to Europe because of the relationship it has built with its communities and workforce in the region.
Robert E. Johnson III, owner and president of Cimcor in Merrillville, said the software security development company is firmly committed to Northwest Indiana. Among Cimcor’s customers are GM, Citgo, Alcoa and a dozen others.
“All of this work in computer software is being done in Northwest Indiana. We’re one of just 18 companies producing approved products for the Department of Defense,” said Johnson. “80 percent of our employees come from Purdue and the work ethic that exists in Norehwest Indiana you can’t find anywhere in the country.”
Johnson said that in order for the state to attract more companies like his, it needs to create additional capital and develop an “angel network” of deep-pocketed investoers to help entrepreneurs get started.
“I’m pleased to be a part of Northwest Indiana,” said Johnson.
