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

AuthorMayer, Kathy
PositionREGIONAL REPORT NORTH

THE LIFE SCIENCE, FOOD and manufacturing sectors are all enjoying growth in Indiana's northern counties--Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph.

Life science center. Long a leader in life science businesses, Kosciusko County is continuing the tradition with yet another new company. OrthoPediatrics LLC is an innovative startup that is specializing in creating products to treat orthopedic conditions in children and people of small stature. It began operations in Warsaw and with a staff of 10, reports Joy McCarthy-Sessing, president of the Warsaw/ Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce. "Its products will focus on trauma and include flexible nails and plates designed specifically for a child's bone structure. We've been able to attract entrepreneurs to our area due to the high-tech, high-quality life sciences companies we have based here." The company was founded by Nick Deeter, a former Zimmer employee who returned to his hometown to launch the new business.

Meanwhile, Zimmer Inc., operating since 1927, continues to grow. A $66 million expansion was announced in May that will boost its Kosciusko County employment of 2,000 by another 140, McCarthy-Sessing says. The orthopedic device manufacturer is adding another 120,000 square feet of manufacturing space and adding 100,000 square feet to its 250,000-square-foot distribution center. Zimmer currently ships more than 40,000 products every day from Indiana.

Plymouth, too, gained a life science company, a loss to neighboring St. Joseph County but a save for the state since CSpine Inc. was considering out-of-state sites, says Doug Anspach, executive director of the Plymouth Industrial Development Corp. The orthopedic company begins construction soon on a $3 million, 4,000-square-foot facility that will house its research, development, engineering and manufacturing operations. Currently operated by the company's two founders, employment is expected to increase to about 50 by 2012. CSpine specializes in spinal orthopedic and dental devices.

It will be the first tenant in a new technology park, named [T.sup.2]. The park's 54 acres were donated by a private developer and a $1.1 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant funded the infrastructure, Anspach says.

New and expanded food operations. Also new to Plymouth is Zentis North American Food Solutions LLC, a German fruit processing company that made a $40 million investment in its first North American operation. "It's up and running,"...

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