North-central Indiana update: the region's top business stories.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: Regional Report North Central - Purdue Research Park

Industry, high-tech surge. A flexible manufacturing system that will allow Subaru of Indiana Automotive to build four different body styles at one time is bringing $83 million in new equipment this year to the Lafayette plant employing 2,600. In all, the auto manufacturer is spending $300 million in the next three years on equipment additions, reports senior vice president Tom Easterday. The company also announced it will be making a new crossover "XUV" vehicle for Saab Automobile AB beginning in 2006.

Three other Lafayette industries have been hiring: Caterpillar Inc., which makes diesel and natural gas engines, recalled 100 workers this year, bringing employment to 1,400; Fairfield Manufacturing now employs 840 who make gears, shafts and drives; and Wabash National Corp., which has hired 450 so far this year to bring its workforce to 3,100.

In the high-tech sector, a $2.4 million, 50-acre expansion of the Purdue Research Park was completed last fall. Current building includes a 60,000-square-foot addition to the Purdue Technology Center and an office facility/ health club opening this fall.

"The future looks bright for us on both fronts, at the Purdue Research Park with technology-based companies as well as our manufacturing growth in Lafayette," reports Mike Brooks, president of Lafayette-West Lafayette Economic Development Corp.

Japanese-owned NTK Precision Axle Corp. chose the Frankfort Industrial Park for its newest manufacturing plant. Construction began in March on a 217,000-square-foot facility, reports Gina Sheets, director of economic development at the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce. When it opens in September, NTK will employ 107 and make heat-treated vehicle axles and constant-velocity joints.

Welcoming startups. Kokomo is set to nurture high-tech entrepreneurs with the opening of the 98,000-square-foot Kokomo Technology Center that's also housing economic, small business development and educational centers.

Donated by Delphi Delco Electronics Systems last November, the technology incubator is "quite a success story," says Greg Aaron, president of Kokomo/ Howard County Development Corp. "We're gaining a lot of interest from entrepreneurs. Things are moving along very well for us."

Delphi, which designs and...