The Elkhart Truth 2022 Business & Industry - Elkhart County

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Business Industry 2022

BOOM TOWN

We’re Building the Future While Restoring the Past.

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BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

The Elkhart Truth

The Elkhart Group Dave Bennett with the Dave Bennett Quartet pounds out Jerry Lee Lewis tunes during the Elkhart Jazz Festival.

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Let the good times roll

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nyone who lived through the Great Recession of 2008-09 and all the economic misery that followed would appreciate the boom times of Jon 2022.

Gard Double-digit unemployment and round after round of factory layoffs have been replaced in Elkhart County by an environment where employers are desperate for workers – and are willing to pay a premium for them.

“Really, all you have to do is turn a nut onto a bolt,” a hopelessly enthusiastic manager at one boat manufacturer said during a recent job fair. He was offering starting pay of $19 an hour – plus a $1,000 hiring bonus.

Workers willing to invest of themselves in the finer points of “advanced manufacturing” are in demand even more, with an endless array of scholarships, grants and apprenticeships being offered by companies and their public-sector partners for training.

And still, the jobs keep coming.

Manufacturing is leading

Index

the charge, thanks in part to a sudden nationwide interest in recreational vehicles, but Amazon flexed its economic muscle too recently when it announced it would built an 800,000-squarefoot fulfillment center on the northeast corner of the Indiana Toll Road and C.R. 17 along with a 180,000-square-foot delivery station. The company will need to fill 1,000 jobs to run those facilities, adding a welcome blast of diversity to the local economy.

Such demand for workers puts extra pressure on labor costs and housing, but cities and towns across the county are working overtime to entice more people to live here – and to make this a better place for those who already do.

Back-to-back events and activities, including a four-day jazz festival, art festivals and an air show, along with amenities such as theaters, hiking trails and parks, and plenty of shopping and restaurants – even programs to help you get to know your neighbors – make people excited about calling Elkhart County home.

Jon Gard is the managing editor at The Elkhart Truth. He can be reached at jgard@elkharttruth.com.

An era of economic growth...................................................................3 Southgate Crossing back in business....................................................6 A legacy of craftsmanship.....................................................................8 From brain drain to brain gain...............................................................10 The Elkhart Truth

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Elkhart Truth photos

ABOVE: Work continues on the Amazon fulfillment center in Elkhart. BELOW: Steel tube fabricator Marson International, 3230 Magnum Drive, Elkhart, is investing $2 million in an expansion expected to add new technologies and jobs.

BOOM TOWN

Economic development, led by giant Amazon project, flourishing economy flourishes, observers say, but it also presents challenges in housing and labor. sprawling Amazon “This is an exciting time,” said distribution center rising Chris Stager, president and CEO from farmland north of of the Economic Development the Indiana Toll Road is perhaps Corporation of Elkhart Counthe most dramatic economic ty. “And not just because of development project in the area, the Amazon project and other but it isn’t the only one. investments, but because of the Businesses in the past year have direction we’re heading.” invested hundreds of millions of Stager said his office particdollars on scores of plant expan- ipated in about $420 million sions and new facilities, creating worth of economic development thousands of new jobs. projects last year, efforts that This remarkable growth spurt will create about 3,000 jobs. By is worth celebrating as the local comparison, the average over the

By JON GARD

jgard@elkharttruth.com

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previous five years has been $160 million worth of projects per year and about 1,800 jobs.

The broader picture, according to Stager, is that employees in the new 800,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center will work alongside the company’s robotics technology. The state-of-the-art

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

building will be used to pick, pack and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.

The new 180,000-square-foot delivery station will power the last mile of Amazon’s order process See BOOM TOWN, page 18

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BACK IN BUSINESS New owners hope to make Southgate Crossing a destination again

Farmers’ Market in 2007.

The building was pretty much ready to use, and by May they had a variety of new restaurants and shops in place, according to DeCola.

Now they have to persuade people that Southgate is worth visiting again.

“They more or less shut down during COVID

By JORDAN FOUTS except for the auctions, they kept those going. It jfouts@elkharttruth.com was just mainly doing a lot of cleaning, getting it back up to shape to start having businesses fter closing on the buy, bringing in move in again,” DeCola said. “We opened this new vendors and reopening in time kind of business in December. That’s not ideal. for Christmas – and doing it all during But also some of the experiences that people a pandemic – there’s still one challenge facing have had here previously or in the past couple new Southgate Crossing owners Mike DeCola years, with not much being here, trying to and Cami Mechling. change people’s mindset and let them know The pair bought the big red peg-and-beam- there is life here again and things are moving style barn property at C.R. 26 and S.R. 19 forward.” south of Elkhart late last year. It was being DeCola’s own impression of the building was strong from the start. It’s roughly the size of used mainly for auctions at the time, and a football field with three floors of shops, all hadn’t seen much of its original purpose overlooking an open central area, and a set of since it was built as American Countryside

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BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

stairs leading even further up into the cupola.

“I was here when it first opened. Loved it then, and we actually came to the auction sometimes with Cami and her parents,” he said.

“The first thing people do when they walk in is just look around. It’s a beautiful structure.”

He said it was built as a proof of concept for another massive timber frame structure: The Ark Encounter museum in Williamstown, Kentucky.

“People just love how unique it is and how beautiful it is with all the wood. They just really want it to succeed, so everybody’s been really excited for us,” Mechling said. “They tend to walk in and look up, and go up and look down.”

As much as people love looking at the building, DeCola said their challenge now is to get people to come see what’s inside it.

‘What it was meant to be’

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ABOVE: The interior of Southgate Crossing offers a dramatic overview.

TOP RIGHT: Southgate Crossing owner Cami Mechling stands above the antiques area of the store.

Elkhart Truth photos

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20 208841

farmer’s market hard not long after it opened, squashing what had been some ambitious plans, DeCola said. The property was sold to the Himes family about 10 years ago.

DeCola came to Southgate with experience including five years as the general manager of Coppes Commons in Nappanee. Mechling is the executive director of the Nappanee Farmers Market.

“We’ve been in this type of industry for years, commercial real estate, so we thought, let’s talk to the owners and see what we can put together,” DeCola said. “Cami and my background is in this type of atmosphere, so we used the contacts we already had plus the space itself brings vendors.

People come in all the time, they say how happy they are that we’re doing it, love what we’re doing and want to be a part of it.”

Southgate Crossing now hosts a coffee shop, ice cream parlor, hot dogs and Mexican food and a craft beverage supply company, as well as around 70 antique and art dealers. Mechling said wood stain artist Angie Thieszen is one of the bigger draws.

Other artisan booths include handmade doll clothes, succulent pots and restored and upcycled furniture.

“Once people know that those artists are here, then they continue to come back and buy their work,” she said.

DeCola added that the frequently changing inventory is something that brings people back.

In spring they started holding flea markets on the second Saturday of the month, and they have an event space with line dancing and live music. DeCola and Mechling said they hope to host more events, from baby showers to business meetings, and may renovate the second-floor area to be a little more private.

They also want to offer more in the way of a traditional farmer’s market, with fresh produce and flowers.

“Our expectations or plans are to make it a great environment to house small businesses and restaurants and event space,” DeCola said. “Do some more outdoor activities, try to bring some of the farmer’s market aspect back, make it a little bit more what it was meant to be.”

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COMMUNITY OF

MAKERS

Craftsmanship runs the gamut, from RVs to quilts and crafts

By BLAIR YANKEY

byankey@elkharttruth.com

W

hen it comes to arts and crafts, Elkhart County has a diverse scene.

Whether it’s RVs or musical instruments or boats, motorcycles or handmade products, craftsmanship is on full display and an attribute that creatively enhances what’s unique about the county.

“I think we have a long history of being makers, and it’s spanned a lot of different definitions,” said Terry Mark, director of communications for the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau, an organization that has been pitching the county to visitors and residents alike for more than 30 years.

Events such as Elkhart’s ArtWalk and Goshen’s Arts on the Millrace are events that draw people near and far. Both public events highlight local artists and musicians, some of whom are experienced and others who are just learning their craft.

Mark said the quality in craftsmanship is consistent across Elkhart County, whether it’s the more urban areas like Elkhart or Goshen, or the more rural communities like Middlebury and Nappanee. The bureau recently adopted the phrase “well-crafted” as a way for the community to brand itself.

“There’s a consistent commitment to quality, and I think that plays itself out in the shops, restaurants and what we have to offer residents and visitors,” he said.

The county also prides itself on having a rich Amish culture.

Nappanee, for example, offers over PAGE 8

ABOVE: Kyle Norwood assembles a Janus motorcycle at the plant in Goshen. The Halcyon 450 is one of the company’s most popular models.

RIGHT: Welding is a skill honed by employees at pontoon boat manufacturer Bennington Boats in Elkhart.

Photos provided

200 shops from leather goods to hand-woven rugs and farm-totable foods, according to the Nappanee Chamber of Commerce.

“Over the years, we have a lot of visitors interested in Amish culture and also the quality and lifestyle it represents,” he said.

One local manufacturer this year received statewide recognition for its craftsmanship.

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Janus Motorcycles is the first-ever winner of the Coolest Thing in Indiana contest from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. The manufacturer bested runner-up Hoosier Bat Co. of Valparaiso and 62 other competitors from around the state in the bracket-style tournament.

The Goshen-based company manufactures small displacement motorcycles in a vintage style. The company was co-founded in 2011

by Richard Worsham. The motorcycles are built to order and sold directly to riders in all 50 states.

“Motorcycling in our book is something that brings people together and is best enjoyed on a small, lightweight, beautiful machine, which is what we make and what makes us stand out in the motorcycle market,” said Grant Longenbaugh, co-owner and general manager of Janus Motorcycles.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau also tries to highlight local Elkhart Truth file photo artists and public art through The A vendor displays his products at the Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival in Nappanee.

Quilt Gardens, Mark said.

The Quilt Gardens are celebrating their 15th anniversary this eight other locations.

Bristol, Middlebury, Millersburg In all, more than a million blooms year with the addition of Seward The 24 gardens are located in and Wakarusa. Planted in quilt will be planted. They are on display Johnson sculptures at each site plus Elkhart, Goshen, Nappanee, patterns, each garden has a theme. through Sept. 15.

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BRAIN DRAIN TO

BRAIN GAIN Internship and fellowship program enFocus marks 10 years

attraction and retention, and has had a presence in Elkhart County for half of that time.

Over 1,000 people have participated in internship and fellowship programs since 2012, completing more than 350 projects for both private businesses and local governments. Participants are also able to develop their talents through the organization’s curriculum and its mentorship

By JORDAN FOUTS program. jfouts@elkharttruth.com The founding vision for enFocus was to stem the brain drain in Indiana by offering graduates something meaningful to work on, Wiand ndrew Wiand, director of enFocus, wants to bring the right said. The community benefits from the expertise they bring and the minds to bear on the kinds of problems that business owners interns forge ties that may make them more likely stay in the area. lose sleep over.

“The original civic focus was, how do you get recent graduates to The program this year is marking a decade of offering fellowships to want to stay here? You give them a purposeful work experience,” he recent college graduates from around the world while putting their skills said. “The thought was, if you could help cities, counties, schools, nonto work locally. It was founded in South Bend with the goal of talent profits, health care organizations improve their services at the same

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Andrew Wiand stands in the ETHOS Innovation Center in Elkhart.

Elkhart Truth photo / Jordan Fouts

time working on really meaningful work.”

Wiand was speaking from the ETHOS Innovation Center in Elkhart, where enFocus set up satellite offices in 2019. The program had already been active in Elkhart County for about two years by then.

The move into Elkhart was a natural one. Wiand said it soon felt like they had always been here.

“The biggest, proudest accomplishment is that in 10 years, we are really a part of the fabric of this community and we have worked with a lot of our leaders to try and chart a better future for the region,” he said. “I think it is very clear that Elkhart is a relational community and that has been extended to us.”

The organization next has its eye on southwest Michigan. Wiand said they would like to reach a combined staff of 50 people, fellows and

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ENFOCUS From page 11

full-time staff alike, after starting with a headcount of seven in 2012.

They would also like to increase their activity with startups, along with growing their fellowship programs in other areas. Project manager Stephen Kabele said he liked that he could spend a third of his time working on a startup idea involving Parkinson’s disease treatment.

“I saw enFocus as a place where I could bring creativity and human-centered design to solve challenges within local companies and the community,” Kabele said.

The big vision for the organization is to be a national model, according to Wiand.

“Long, long term, we have talked about this model being somewhat portable. We believe it’s natural growth to extend across our region, which we have,” he said.

“What are other regions that might benefit from this?”

Elkhart Truth file photo

Fellows with enFocus explain projects they’ve implemented throughout the year at the group’s annual Impact Celebration.

regional colleges. Wiand said potential fellows go through a fairly rigorous screening process to assess their skills and how well they fit with the program, and only a fraction of the applicants are accepted.

The organization is competing for talent with higher-paying industries, so they have to make sure would-be applicants see the Brain gain benefits.

As it expanded, the organization “These individuals have offers added an industrial fellowship to from all over the country and aim its talent toward economic they’re very competitive. So our growth areas. With that, Wiand value proposition is: You will, in said enFocus moved from just your one or two years here, lead brain gain to a more targeted projects, receive professional approach by addressing technolo- development, make an impact and gy and other needs that businesses be farther in your career – because express. a lot of our fellows get manager or “Our industry fellows are mostly director positions – you’ll go farindustrial engineers, mechanical ther in your career with us, faster. engineers, at a master’s level. The And you’re making a big impact,” fact that we can source them here he said. “And it tends to resonate. and then offer them as a service Not with everybody – we don’t to the companies is a big deal,” he always compete on compensation said. “In general, it’s better to have – but we compete on mission and more access to talent than less. impact.”

Would organizations here have Industry innovation fellow Jody access to folks from all across Suryatna said he was drawn to the the world with these particular program because the types of roles disciplines when they source and that he would normally find in recruit? Maybe. We just amplify his field didn’t hold much appeal. that. I think also the model of, He found himself gaining skills in let’s help you solve the problem process improvement and optimiand develop that talent along the zation, which he expected, but also way, so by the time that you’re business development, product willing to hire ... there’s also kind development and event planning. of a nice talent pipeline for the “One regret that I did have in organizations.” my time as an undergraduate is To recruit talent, enFocus makes that I did not explore as much a pitch at dozens of career events as I should have what I could do held by around 60 national and with my degree, and as a result, PAGE 12

I found that typical mechanical engineering roles did not appeal to me,” Suryatna said. “enFocus promised an exciting opportunity for projects that were somewhat in line with my degree and passions but would go beyond what a typical mechanical engineer would do straight out of university.”

Problem solving

Wiand said they try to keep a well-rounded portfolio of civic and business projects, but most of the inquiries they get these days are about talent and problem solving.

“Folks may say, ‘I have a specific problem I’d like to solve, I’d like to develop a strategic plan, I have a technology issue, or I’m really interested to hear more about getting to know your talent, where can we start?’” he said. “Beyond the initial who are we, what do we do, we might say, ‘What keeps you up at night? And is it a business problem or technical problem?’”

They develop a plan from there, through phases of discovery, design and implementation. A few fellows may be assigned to the project or a talent pool with certain expertise may be tapped for a specific task.

Depending on how much work needs to go into identifying the problem, the entire project may be wrapped up in six months or the research phase may take a year in itself. Sometimes the business or organization already knows what the problem is but wants help designing a solution.

John Herzig, supply chain direc-

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

tor for Robert Weed Corp., said they came to enFocus in mid-2021 hoping to get a fresh set of eyes on their restocking process. The company supplies wood products for the RV industry.

They have employees with up to 30 years of experience, he said, but wanted an outside perspective to check their math.

“Everybody is moving to data, moving to analytics and how those analytics get processed,” Herzig said. “It’s really not about spitting out numbers, it’s, help us build the story behind the numbers.”

He said they had two enFocus team members with them for most of the three- to four-month process. In that time, the pair would periodically meet with company representatives, go off and crunch some numbers and come back with their findings.

The result was gaining better insight into the items the company buys and how it buys them, Herzig said.

“Were we buying too many of certain materials that we could have bought half that and accomplished the same?” he said. “Those are the decisions we made, that we could actually be as effective, we could hold fewer inventory items of specific sizes and still serve our customers the right way.”

The organization later helped Robert Weed Corp. receive a $120,000 technology grant from the state, to implement a 3D vision system for identifying material and product defects. Wiand said enFocus is proud of its 74 percent win rate with the Manufacturing Readiness Grants.

Herzig said the company came to enFocus the same way many companies do, through personal ties and word of mouth. It’s effective, but he also wonders how the organization can move beyond that.

“I really enjoyed the engagement with them, they have a lot to offer.

You wonder from a marketing standpoint, how do you build beyond just relying on that word of mouth?” he said. “That’s a great thing, don’t get me wrong. But boy, there’s got to be other marketing streams because that’s a great organization that provides a lot of benefit to a lot of organizations, and they’re probably just scratching the surface.”

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Demographic data Fast Fact

90 percent of the U.S. population is within a day’s drive of Indiana

Distance from Elkhart to ...

1 Indianapolis, Indiana: 150 mi.

2 Warsaw, Indiana: 25 mi.

3 South Bend, Indiana: 25 mi.

4 Cincinnati, Ohio: 255 mi.

5 Columbus, Ohio: 225 mi.

6 Cleveland, Ohio: 241 mi.

7 Toledo, Ohio: 140 mi.

8 Detroit, Michigan: 200 mi.

9 Grand Rapids, Michigan: 102 mi.

10 Lansing, Michigan: 138 mi.

11 Chicago, Illinois: 120 mi.

12 Minneapolis, Minnesota: 530 mi.

13 St. Louis, Missouri: 392 mi.

Labor Force (Elkhart County) Labor Force: 116,133 Labor Force within 25 mile radius: Utilimaster With an employee count above 500 616,278 Average Yearly Wage: $57,853 Fast Fact Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 65 percent of all RVs produced in Fast Fact the U.S. are made in Elkhart County.

Indiana is a right-to-work state Source: RVBusiness.com

2020 Unemployment Rate Elkhart County 2.8% Indiana 3.2% United States 3.5% Source: DWD January 2020

Major Manufacturers Thor Industries Inc. Forest River Inc. Lippert Components Inc. Patrick Industries Supreme Corp.

Newmar Corp.

Utilimaster KIK Custom Products MasterBrand Cabinets Inc. Bennington Marine LLC With an employee count above 500

Major Employers Thor Industries Inc. Forest River Inc. Lippert Components Inc. Patrick Industries Beacon Health System Elkhart Community Schools Goshen Community Schools Elkhart County Government Martin’s Super Markets PAGE 14

Post-Secondary Education in Elkhart County Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Goshen College Indiana University South BendElkhart Campus Ivy Tech Community College Indiana Tech Harrison College Bethel College Indiana Fundamental Bible College 35 Universities and Colleges within an hour of Elkhart County

K-12 Education 2018-2019 7 Public School Districts: Grade Baugo Community Schools: B Concord Community Schools: B Elkhart Community Schools: C Fairfield Community Schools: B Goshen Community Schools: B Middlebury Community Schools: B For Private Schools Career Wa-Nee Community Schools: A & Technical Education Grade Point Rating Grades Contact information on www.

K-12 by Indiana Department of Education elkhartcountybiz.com BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

Information from the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County

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Elkhart County in pictures A group of go-karts takes the white flag in a heat race during the Thor Industries Elkhart Riverwalk Grand Prix.

TOP: Two-year-old Ella of Goshen combs the tail of the family’s dairy cow at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, one of the largest county fairs in the nation.

ABOVE: The Freedom Fest at Goshen Municipal Airport, an air show featuring top military and historical aircraft along with fireworks, draws thousand of visitors each year.

ABOVE LEFT: Robin Peete stops to take a closer look at a statue depicting two men playing chess outside The Lerner Theatre in Ekhart. Thirty-two whimsical Seward Johnson statues are being installed in locations across the county to help celebrate the annual Quilt Gardens display this year.

LEFT: Craig Gildner and The Blue Sky 5 perform at the Jazz Festival, an annual event in downtown Elkhart.

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PAGE 17

BOOM TOWN From page 4

and help increase efficiency of deliveries for customers.

Both facilities are set to launch in 2023 and are expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.

Stager said the Amazon project, announced in September 2021, was exactly what the community needed, in part because it will help diversify the local economy but also because of the company’s focus on automation, e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence.

Not to be outdone, the manufacturing sector has been investing in technology, too.

MJB Wood Group recently completed a 500,000-squarefoot facility on a 37-acre lot in Bristol. The new facility replaces a nearby 228,000-square-foot facility the company outgrew and will have about 100 employees, twice the number in the older plant.

Wilmington, Delaware-based Brinco is operating a steel casting

Elkhart Truth photo

Work continues on the massive Amazon fulfillment center in Elkhart.

plant, also north of the Indiana Toll Road, where an automotive parts maker once employed close to 600 people. The new company will recycle scrap metal to make steel castings needed for the production of rail parts. Brinco planned to hire about 250 people and make an initial investment of $34.5 million.

Stager said both projects use new technologies that will help secure the region’s place as a center for advanced manufacturing.

With the investments come challenges, however.

Like the rest of the nation com-

ing out of the pandemic, labor in northern Indiana has been short supply. Thanks in part to a surge in demand for RVs and boats, as well as what has been called the “Great Resignation,” unemployment in the Elkhart County area fell to the lowest in the nation, less than 1 percent in the first quarter of 2022, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And a fresh demand for housing in October landed the Elkhart area on top of the Wall Street Journal’s national index for emerging housing markets,

indicating a trend toward high demand and low supply.

State, regional and local community leaders are taking action on both fronts, focusing on quality-of-place projects, such as a multiyear investment in downtown Elkhart’s river district bolstered by private investment in projects such as the historic Hotel Elkhart and high-rise apartments.

Still, public officials, as well as business leaders, see workforce development as key to maintaining economic growth.

One critical part of that effort has been the opening by Ivy Tech Community College of the $3.8 million Larry and Judy Garatoni Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, a 10,000-square-foot robotics lab, on its Elkhart campus.

At a grand opening in June, Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson touted the project in this manufacturing-rich corner of the Midwest, saying “it is important for us to be able to tool up, stay relevant, ensure that we are basically creating what manufacturing is going to look like.”

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BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

The Elkhart Truth

The past year has been challenging for many. It has caused people to rethink their views in a number of areas. To name just a few…

Family - Job - Community Involvement How You Are Informed?

The need for local news has never been greater, while community newspapers all across the country have been challenged with a number of concerns.

Regularly, local newspapers are the primary source of the news coverage that impacts area communities. The regional and state news organizations (newspaper, radio, and TV) tend to only show up for the more significant stories. The Elkhart Truth covers the things that genuinely make a difference in our lives and community.

As we work towards providing essential and locally focused content for our community, we need your help. Please consider starting a new subscription.

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USPS Delivery - Unlimited Online Access Email Updates Your newspaper will be delivered each day via the USPS. You will also have unlimited access to our website and E-edition, a digital replica of the printed version of the newspaper. Not to mention, you can also receive email updates that highlight that day’s top stories and obituaries.

Set-up your subscription today by giving us a call at 574-296-5988 or go to https://bit.ly/3yTEO4D or go to www.elkharttruth.com (Subscribe tab upper right corner)

More informed Residents make for Healthier Families and a Stronger Community!

421 South Second St. The Elkhart Truth

Elkhart, Indiana 46516

574-296-5988

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY 2022

www.elkharttruth.com PAGE 19

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