CITY SPOTLIGHT: Goshen.

• Author: WIENEKE, HEIDI PRESCOTT
• Position: Indiana - Brief Article

Rumor has it that Wal-Mart stores made a mistake in Goshen. "We were probably the first city in the country to have Wal-Marts on both ends of town," says Mayor Allan Kauffman.

When Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton visited Goshen to celebrate the second store opening in the early 1990s, even he reportedly asked, "Why in the world did we put two Wal-Marts in a town this size?"

Wal-Mart made a good move. A new supercenter took one store's place and the other remains traditional-size.

The discount retailer ranks ninth among the largest employers in the area with a combined 560 workers but there is no mistaking this northern Indiana town of 24,900 residents for anything but a major manufacturing region, influenced by its Amish workers and growing Hispanic community.

A drive down Main Street shows why. "You'll see recreational vehicles, sports cars and horse-and buggies in the same lane," explains Sam Willits, president of the Goshen Chamber of Commerce.

Located about 30 miles southeast of South Bend, Goshen's top five industries employ 3,500-plus workers. Homecrest Corp., manufacturer of kitchen cabinets, is the county's largest private employer with a workforce of 750. Goshen Rubber Co.'s 700 employees make O-rings, gaskets and other sealing products that are predominantly used in the transportation-equipment industry. Dutchmen Manufacturing, also at 700 employees, produces travel trailers and fifth wheels. Forest River Industries (690 employees) makes recreational vehicles, and Supreme Corp. (650 employees) produces truck and bus bodies.

The Goshen area has long been reliant on manufacturing in the recreational-vehicle industries for jobs. In addition to Dutchmen Manufacturing, Keystone RV Co. is a relatively new, privately held Goshen-based company that has become one of the nation's leaders in manufacturing travel trailers and fifth wheels. Keystone, which has eight Goshen plants and 600 employees, recently announced a tentative agreement with Damon Corp., Elkhart, to purchase the assets of three Damon divisions.

Others in Goshen's recreational-vehicle business are van-conversion specialist Starcraft Automotive with 550 employees, TriStar Distributing with 35 employees, and Elkhart-based Coachmen Industries with 170 employees.

Two Goshen companies made this year's Indiana Private 100, a listing of the largest privately held companies: Rieth-Riley Construction Co. ranked 59th with annual revenues of $180 million, and Troyer Foods tied for 68th...