20 years of SIA: Subaru of Indiana Automotive.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT: NORTH-CENTRAL

When Tippecanoe County residents learned 20 years ago that a $500 million car plant would soon rise from an 800-acre corn field, few could have predicted how dramatically the news would change their community for the better.

Today, with completion of the latest expansion--a $230 million investment--the plant now called Subaru of Indiana Inc. covers nearly 3 million square feet. Its facility investment tops $1.2 billion. And its newest vehicle production is the Toyota Camry, launched this March. Today, employment is about 2,400, and hiring continues to accommodate the Toyota production. Employment could top 3,200 within a couple of years.

"SIA's impact has been an economic-development dream," says Joseph Seaman, president and CEO of Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corp.

"From the strong manufacturing base in north-central Indiana we have developed a highly skilled workforce with a strong work ethic," says SIA senior vice president Tom Easterday "And with Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College located here, technical assistance expertise and educational opportunities for our associates are readily available."

Over the years, SIA has produced...