Northeast Indiana update: the region's top business stories.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT NORTHEAST

NEWCOMERS IN PAPERBOARD, steel grating and coatings, along with expansions at plants making handbags, window frames, boats, truck parts and more, signal "strong evidence indeed that our producers can compete globally," says Lincoln Schrock, director of the nine-county-focused Indiana Northeast Development.

General Motors Truck Group in Fort Wayne, now employing 2,600, is investing another $175 million in the assembly plant and adding 200 jobs, Schrock reports. "Our industrial sector is on fire. We've not witnessed this kind of growth since 1999."

The robust activity is fueling other developments, too. In Fort Wayne, Dupont Hospital is building a $28 million, 72,000-square-foot addition and a $65 million fiber optic cable installation is under way involving Verizon Communications.

In October, the city unveiled the next steps in BlueprintPlus, a downtown revitalization plan calling for a new hotel, mixed-use retail/residential development, youth sports complex, parking garage and better traffic flow. Plans are to create a new public-private-civic redevelopment organization to implement it all. In the study stage: a mixed-use/ baseball stadium complex.

New to the region.

Among the region's newcomers are Corrugated Supplies Co., which moved from Illinois to New Haven, investing $25.5 million in a 475,000-square-foot building and hiring 60. It makes corrugated paperboard sheets.

Michigan-headquartered Parts Finishing Group is opening 10 Indiana coating plants, Schrock reports. The first is in Kendallville, where it's leased a 42,000-square-foot facility, invested $3 million and will hire 133. Albion is next.

Texas-headquartered IKG Industries chose a 43-acre site in Garrett to relocate its Tennessee plant. The $12 million, 95,000-square-foot plant opened in October. "IKG makes steel grating walkways for industrial uses and will employ about 100 people after two years of operation," reports Kelly Knox, Auburn Chamber of Commerce director. Plans are to increase employment to 150.

Robert Brown, president of the Huntington County Chamber of Commerce, is welcoming two startups: Transmetco in Huntington, now employing 25 who recycle used aluminum wheels into ingots, and Novae Trailer in Markle, employing 50 making utility trailers.

Adding square feet. Indiana-based Vera Bradley Designs in Fort Wayne, known for its colorful quilted-fabric handbags, luggage and accessories, is spending $26.3 million on a new 316,500-square-foot complex. The campus will...