Northern Indiana's top employers.

• Author: Kurowski, Jeff

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame; Emp.: 3,350. Known for its Golden Dome, academics and championship football teams, the University of Notre Dame also is Northern Indiana's largest employer. From humble beginnings 152 years ago in a log cabin next to a frozen lake, Notre Dame has grown into an internationally known coeducational university with 5,800 undergraduate students from 70 countries. The Catholic university occupies a beautiful 1,250-acre campus north of South Bend and employs more than 600 administrators, professional specialists, librarians and research fellows.

Miles Inc., Elkhart; Emp.: 2,700. The Miles Inc. "Elkhart site" is the largest and most diverse operation of the Pittsburgh-based chemical and health-care products company. Miles' main complex on Elkhart's northwest side is the site of production of the company's popular consumer health-care products including Alka-Seltzer and Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine; One-A-Day, Flintstones and Bugs Bunny vitamins; and Bactine antiseptic spray. Other operations include the Diagnostics Division, with sites in Elkhart and Mishawaka, and the Dental Products Business Unit in South Bend. The company was founded in Elkhart in 1884 by Dr. Franklin Miles.

Allied Signal Inc., South Bend; Emp.: 2,150. South Bend is the headquarters for three business units of the Morristown, N.J.-based Allied Signal Inc.: Braking Systems, Aircraft Landing Systems and Controls & Accessories. All were originally a part of the Bendix Corp., which was founded in 1923 in South Bend by the late Vincent Bendix. Braking Systems is a part of Allied Signal's automotive business while Aircraft Landing Systems and Controls & Accessories are both part of its aerospace business. Other Allied Signal operations in Northern Indiana include its Automotive Proving Grounds located west of South Bend, its Guidance & Controls Systems manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Corporate Transportation & Logistics and the Transportation unit of its Engineered Materials division, both located in South Bend.

Holiday Rambler Corp., Wakarusa; Emp.: 2,100. Now a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson Inc., Holiday Rambler was started in Richard Klingler's garage on the south side of Elkhart in 1953. Klingler sold his company to motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson in 1986 for $155 million. Holiday Rambler builds recreational vehicles including motor homes and travel trailers. A subsidiary, the Utilimaster Corp., builds parcel-delivery trucks. Both...