Kokomo: the "City of Firsts" is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

• Author: Held, Shari
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT NORTH CENTRAL

KOKOMO, THE "CITY OF Firsts," is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Its contributions to the world are substantial--the invention of stainless steel, the first commercially built automobile and the first push-button car radio are just a few inventions that demonstrate Kokomo's innovation.

But Kokomo is not a city to rest on its laurels. In 2004 Expansion Management magazine listed Kokomo as the top U.S. city for European manufacturing investment and in 2002 Industry Week ranked Kokomo first in the U.S. and eighth worldwide in top Manufacturing Metropolitan Areas.

Rick Hamilton, president Kokomo/Howard County Chamber of Commerce, cites Kokomo-based Delphi Electronics & Safety and Haynes International as two examples of companies that continue to carry on the tradition of innovation.

Kokomo's economy has always been driven by the automotive industry--by 1923 more than 61 Kokomo-based companies supported the automotive industry.

"DaimlerChrysler has been a member of the Howard County/Kokomo community since 1937 when we opened our first plant on Home Avenue," says Jim Mullins, human resources manager Indiana Transmission Plant II. "Since that time, we built Kokomo Transmission Plant in 1956, Kokomo Casting in 1965 and more recently added ITP in 1996 and ITP II in 2001."

Today DaimlerChrysler and Delphi are the top two employers in the city. According to Kokomo Development Director Jason Hester, they employ approximately 7,000 and 5,500 employees, respectively, and infuse the local economy with over $1 billion in annual salaries.

Investment and expansion fuel Kokomo's economy. The big stories are DaimlerChrysler, which has invested nearly $3 billion over the last decade, and Delphi, which has invested more than $125 million in machinery and equipment over the last three years.

"Our willingness to continue to grow in Kokomo/ Howard County has been based on the fine relationship we have developed with city and county government and the progressive nature of the local unions here," says Mullins. "Not to be overlooked is the outstanding workforce that has made us so competitive in this global market."

"Automotive remains the primary economic driver," says Mayor Matt McKillip, "but we have two other interesting things taking place. Kokomo is becoming a regional health-care center and a regional retail center for people who live not only in Kokomo, but in the surrounding communities."

Kokomo's two primary health-care providers, Howard...