One-Stop-Shop for Hoosier Entrepreneurs

Starting your own business may seem like a daunting task, but the Indiana Economic Development Corporation has launched a free website that minimizes many of the headache-causing tasks running and starting a business may cause.



Visit Indiana BizCafe for easy access to:

• Small Business Innovation Research Grants; find mentors, board members, and industry experts
• Financial Opportunities for your business, whether from investors or government grants
• Products and services from other Indiana entrepreneurs
• Opportunities to offer your products and services to other Indiana entrepreneurs
• Procurement opportunity alerts that matches your specs
  

Visit ChooseNEIndiana.com for more information about starting and expanding your business in Northeast Indiana!

Vera Bradley Makes History

Northeast Indiana will be well represented in this year's Rose Bowl parade January 1, 2009. Fort Wayne-based Vera Bradley will be featuring its Spring 2009 collection, including its newest breast cancer awareness pattern, while holding the 17th spot in the 89 float lineup. Vera Bradley's participation will mark the first time in history a fashion collection has been introduced during this event.

Founded by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller, Vera Bradley is a fashion retailer producing quilted cotton travel sets, handbags and accessories. This homegrown business has exploded in recent years and Vera Bradley's patterns can be seen in such television series as Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, According to Jim, Samantha Who and appears in more than 20 feature-length films, including the recent teen cinema phenomenon High School Musical 3. Vera Bradley patterns have also made their way to celebrity gift lounges at the 2008 Tony Awards, 2008 Daytime Emmys and 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

This year's float is being designed by Festival Artists Worldwide and centers around the theme "Hope Grows", furthering their message and hope for a breast cancer free future. After a dear friend lost her battle with cancer, co-founders Barbara and Patricia founded the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer and began producing limited edition breast cancer patterns that are sold with partial proceeds supporting the foundation's research and awareness campaigns. “The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is committed to eradicating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by providing financial support for research and research-related projects.”

Participating in the Rose Bowl parade is one more avenue in which this flourishing northeast Indiana company is using its success and influence to continue their fight against breast cancer across the country. We all look forward to seeing one of our own in the infamous Rose Bowl parade on New Year's morning!

[Also, keep your eye out for Fort Wayne-native and breast cancer survivor Heidi Floyd who will be featured on the float alongside Sex and the City actress, two-time Emmy award winner, Tony Award Winner and breast cancer survivor Cynthia Nixon as well as two other breast cancer survivors hailing from Pasadena.]

Chemicals Top Automobiles in Hoosier Manufacturing Industry

The financial trouble we are watching U.S. car manufacturers struggle to stifle may not be entirely due to the economic recession. In fact, the car-making industry may simply be losing steam. According to a study completed by the Indiana Business Research Center, the car-making industries decreased .2% in terms of percentage in the state GDP between the years of 1996-2006.

While Americans will always buy cars, and there will always be a need for this industry, automobiles just aren't the top dog anymore. In the same decade in which the auto industry was stagnant at best, Chemicals were gaining speed and increased their share of the state GDP from 15.8% to a whopping 19.7%.

As society's level of expertise in life sciences increases and grows more complex, there is a growing need for suppliers an active industry to support these advancements. The Hoosier state has taken its efficient experience in manufacturing automobiles and is once again stepping up to support the nation in this transition. With its nationally-renowned business environment, Indiana has proven that it knows what it's doing when it comes to manufacturing...well, anything.

View more about Northeast Indiana's Medical Device Industry
See Northeast Indiana's Medical Device Sales Sheet

View more about Northeast Indiana's Advanced Materials Industry

2008 Northeast Indiana Accolades

Putting to work Indiana's homegrown innovative and well-trained workforce, northeast Indiana is now holding its own in the national and international arena. 2008 has been a tremendous year with many of the region's counties and companies garnering recognition for their successful contributions to community, Indiana and the United States' economies.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) ranked Steuben County the top Hoosier county in terms of job attraction; Steuben has held onto this position since 2005. Also topping the list included 8th ranking DeKalb county and the 3rd highest county, Noble. Noble County also ranked 1st in the state per capita in job creation in 2008 and placed 10th in the state per capita at attracting new jobs.

Allen County's Fort Wayne was recongized in Business Week Magazine's 2009 Best Places to Raise Your Kids survey as the top Hoosier City to Raise Kids.

In IEDC's inaugural Top 50 Indiana Companies to Watch, three northeast Indiana companies were recognized for their successes and solid business foundation:

eXcellon Technologies Inc. Electronics Engineering Fort Wayne
Micropulse Inc. Medical Devices Columbia City
Univertical Corp. Metal-plating Chemicals Angola

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has recognized four northeast Indiana companies for their dedication to actively pursing environmentaly friendly business practices. Only 39 companies statewide have earned membership into the Indiana Environmental Stewardship Program, four of which reside in our region:

Karl Schmidt Unisia, Inc. Fort Wayne
BF Goodrich Tire Manufacturing Woodburn
Eaton Clutch Division Auburn
First Vehicle Services Fort Wayne

Governor Mitch Daniels also recently recognized several companies with the Indiana Governor's Century/Half Century Business Awards. Northeast Indiana companies earning this award are:

Sprunger Shoes (100 Years) Adams County
Goeglein's Catering (57 Years) Allen County
Grabill Bank (62 Years) Allen County
The Hagerman Group (100 Years) Allen County
Chronicle-Tribune (143 Years) Allen County
Zay Leasing & Rental, Inc. (55 Years) Huntington County
Dalton Corporation (88 Years) Noble County
Ligonier Telephone Company (112 Years) Noble County
Angola Concrete Products Corporation (128 Years) Steuben County
Brandt's Harley-Davidson (59 Years) Wabash County
Whitley Manufacturing Co. Inc. (62 Years) Whitley County
ShindigZ (82 Years) Whitley County

Congratulations to all of northeast Indiana in its continually successful economic development efforts. With a new year beginning, 2009's successes are just waiting to be revealed.

2008 Indiana Accolades

Hoosiers have always known that our economy and workforce are among the best in the nation and throughout 2008, experts have certified this statement time and time again.

Site Selection Magazine ranked Indiana in its Top 5 Best Business Climates in the 2008 Business Climate Survey. This ranking is a 6-spot jump from 2007 and places Indiana 1st in the Midwest and also helps to claim the accolade for the Most Improved State in the Nation.

In CNBC's 2008 America’s Top States for Business survey Indiana garnered the Most Improved State for Businesses yet again, placing 3rd nationally and 1st in the midwest for Business Friendliness, outranking other Midwest states by at least 8 slots. Indiana was also nationally ranked 4th in Transportation, tied Oklahoma for 6th place in the Lowest Cost of Doing Business
4th Nationally in Transportation and tied for the 11th rank for Lowest Cost of Living.

Forbes Magazine cited Indiana as having the Best State Business Tax Climate in the Midwest and also noted Indiana's 6th Lowest Cost of Business rank in its 2008 The Best States for Business survey.

Gaining its highest credit rating state history, Standard & Poor increased Indiana's credit rating to AAA in 2008, becoming one of only nine states in the country to have this top rating.

Chief Executive Magazine polled 605 top executives and ranked Indiana in the top 8 best states in its 2008 Best & Worst States To Do Business. This placement topped all other Midwest states by more than 15 places on the survey.

Ernst & Young placed Indiana first in the nation on a per capita basis for announced jobs created by company investments in its 2008 U.S. Investment Monitor. This marks the second year in a row for Indiana's high marks in this study. Indiana also ranks 2nd in the nation in new capital investments and in 2007 attracted three of the nation's top megaprojects in terms of job creation.

The Tax Foundation completed its 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index and placed Indiana 14th Nationall in Overall Business Tax Climate. Indiana claimed its top spot in the Midwest for the 6th straight year and also earned a top 7 rank in the Property Tax Index.

In IBM Global Business Services' 2008 Annual Report, Indiana was ranked 6th in North America for job attraction based on job numbers and also leads the nation in attracting new jobs through foreign investment. The Global Location Trends-2008 Annual Report also placed Indiana 2nd in overall attraction of production jobs from international companies.

The Indiana Business Research Center at the IU Kelley School of Business released the 2008 Indiana’s Global Exports Report and placed Indiana in the 12 exporting states in the nation, citing Indiana's 2007 export totals at $25.9 billion. This study also ranked Indiana 5th nationall in U.S. exports of vehicles and parts as well as 3rd nationally in U.S. pharmaceutical exports.

Development Counselors International ranked Indiana 10th in its national Best States for Doing Business survey after surveying 281 U.S. Corporate Executives. Joining the in accolade distribution, Indiana's 2008 Logistics Directory ranked Indiana in the top 10 in more than 30 logistics related categories and in the top 6 for more than half of those.

Northeast Indiana Goes 'Green'

With our renowned Hoosier Hospitality, we care about more than just Indiana citizens and visitors; we care about the environment.

Environmental concerns are motivating more individuals and businesses to look at their own practices and ask the question, "Am I helping or hurting?" Whether you agree with the global warming stance or not, it is not a question in anyone's mind that we have to take care of the earth better than we have in the past.

'Green' manufacturing has become a focus-point in the United States as we all search to become independent of foreign oil and energy efficient in every sector of the economy. Northeast Indiana has joined in this movement of searching for earth-friendly, business-friendly energy alternatives. This includes the creation of alternative-energy sources and 'green' businesses, as well as restructuring existing operations.

Four companies in northeast Indiana have succeeded in this restructuring endeavor at a level which proves their commitment to be environmentally conscious: BF Goodrich Tire Manufacturing, Eaton Clutch Division, First Vehicle Services, and Karl Schmidt Unisia, Inc. These companies are only four of 39 Indiana businesses that have been awarded the status of Indiana Environmental Stewards.

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Environmental Stewardship Program is a voluntary, performance based leadership program designed to recognize and reward Indiana regulated entities for going above and beyond current environmental regulations. In recognition of their efforts, the state grants several benefits to companies who reach this level of environmentally-aware practices.

Though they have not been honored as Environmental Stewards, several other northeast Indiana companies are doing their part to reduce waste and improve the environment.

Thermafiber recently announced a $5 million investment to upgrade equipment, reduce energy consumption and increase 'green' manufacturing capabilities. This investment will reduce energy consumption as well as their carbon footprint.

Triple Crown Services is already using environmentally-friendly practices but has recently begun an awareness campaing to encourage other transporters to follow their lead. The campaign calls attention to the environmental advantages of the hybrid RoadRailer trailer technology it uses and to the stamp of approval the technology recently received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“What we hope is that shippers will become much more aware of the option of this alternative solution to their transportation needs,” said Dan Federspiel, a spokesman for the company.

Northeast Indiana and its companies are accepting the challenge to not only provide for their communities, but to help take care of them as well. Follow this link to learn more about Indiana's Environmental Stewardship Program, who's eligible and how its members' efforts are benefiting their businesses and communities.

New! Access to Four Northeast Indiana Industry Sales Sheets!

With the help of the Community Research Institute (CRI)
and input from our local economic development partners, you now have access to our sales sheets that contain data and information highlighting four of our six industries:

Financial & Insurance Services
Food Processing
Medical Devices
Transportation and Logistics.

Dive into the facts and let Northeast Indiana work for you!

Hoosier Workers Fulfilling the Needs Presented by Advanced Manufacturing Industries

Yesterday's expertise is the prime foundation for tomorrow's industry. This is the mantra that many of Indiana's former manufacturing workers are touting as they prepare to readily adapt to the new jobs and needs in today's workforce. Governor Mitch Daniels has made available more than $13 million in training grants and Indiana's former RV workers are taking full advantage of these funds.

Workers who qualify for these funds have the ability to recieve up to $6000 in free tuition. Priority placement will be provided to former RV workers and will allow them financial backing to enter into or complete an associate's degree program or certificate program, as well as take advantage of numerous support services. Local WorkOne offices will be helping qualified workers enroll in approved education programs.

RV workers have the knowledge, experience and capabilities to transition into the field of advanced manufacturing when they recieve the proper training. And in Indiana, particularly in northern Indiana where the orthopedics industry is thriving, these specially trained workers will be in demand for months and years into the future.

See how northeast Indiana's workforce is transitioning and fulfilling today's workforce needs. Northeast Indiana is ready for your new advanced manufacturing and advanced materials business or expansion.