Media Encouraged to Celebrate National Manufacturing Day in Northeast Indiana

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – As the strongest manufacturing state in the country, Indiana’s economy relies greatly on manufacturing. According to the Indiana Manufacturers Association, Indiana manufacturers account for 29 percent of the total output of the state, which equates to $99 billion. Northeast Indiana’s manufacturing economy encompasses businesses in diverse areas, including musical instrument manufacturing, RV manufacturing, medical device manufacturing and more.

In honor of National Manufacturing Day on Friday, Oct. 6, area manufacturers are available to members of the media for interviews to highlight the importance manufacturing has on the economy, employment and quality of life in the region.

Five quick facts about manufacturing in Northeast Indiana:

1. According to Emsi, Indiana has the highest location quotient of all states for manufacturing employment. At 2.02, manufacturing employment is more than twice as concentrated in Indiana as it is in the country as a whole.
2. In 2016, Indiana led the nation in share of gross regional product attributable to manufacturing at 26.1 percent.*
3. Employment in medical equipment and supplies manufacturing is almost 11 times more concentrated in Northeast Indiana than in the rest of the country.*
4. In Northeast Indiana, seven of the region’s 11 counties are in the top 5 percent of counties nationwide for manufacturing employment concentration.*
5. Northeast Indiana is expected to need to fill 29,000 jobs in manufacturing and the skilled trades in the next decade and a $1.3-million Skill UP Indiana! grant has helped the region purchase new training equipment and expand training programs.

*Source: Indiana University-Purdue University’s Community Research Institute (CRI).

Members of the media are encouraged to contact any of the following Northeast Indiana businesses:

• 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics 
  • Plant Manager Rick Singer
    • Email: rsinger@2020cmp.com
    • Phone: 260-565-2020
• Alexin, LLC
  • Technical Services Manager Matt Kramer
    • Email: mkramer@alexinllc.com
    • Phone: 260-273-6342
• Fort Wayne Metals
  • Corporate Communications Manager Helge Hinniger
    • Email: helge_hinniger@fwmetals.com
    • Phone: 260-399-2109
• Fox Products
  • President and CEO Tony Starkey
    • Phone: 260-723-4888
• Micropulse
  • President and CEO Brian Emerick
    • Email: brian.emerick@micropulseinc.com
    • Phone: 260-625-3304
• Miller Poultry
  • Vice President of Plant Operations Kevin Diehl
    • Email: kevind@millerpoultry.com
    • Phone: 260-829-6550 ext. 555
• Northeast Indiana Works
  • Director of Communications Rick Farrant
    • Email: rfarrant@neiworks.org
    • Phone: 260-469-4306
• Pretzels, Inc.
  • Chairman and Co-Owner Steven Huggins
    • Email: shuggins@pretzels-inc.com
    • Phone: 260-824-4838
• Riverside RV
  • General Manager Mervin Lehman
    • Email: mlriversidervtt@gmail.com
    • Phone: 260-499-4578

To learn more, visit the website at www.neindiana.com.

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the public-private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by focusing on business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.
 

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.414.2431
kate@NEIndiana.com