Northwest Indiana update.

• Author: Maslowski, Mike

In the past year, the spotlight has shown on Northwest Indiana. The top local story has been the arrival of casino-boat gaming, launched last June at three Lake County sites (see related story, page 56). But the business news goes well beyond the lakefront.

LAKE COUNTY

Lever Bros., a soap manufacturer in Hammond, recently developed "Lever Relief," a project to donate trees to each of Hammond's 24 schools and fund a $16,000 grant to start environmental responsibility classes in middle schools. The company, along with 17 other business partners, also created Environmental Partnership, which has raised $100,000 for environmental improvements in Hammond and received national recognition for its partnership program last year. As a result, Hammond was chosen as a "Keep America Beautiful" city.

Businesses such as Hammond Machine Works are also finding the business climate in the county to be on the rise. "Our company has experienced tremendous growth," says Peter Nau, the company's president. Hammond Machine Works, which has been in Hammond for 88 years, invested $1.5 million in welding and fabricating machines this past year.

LAPORTE COUNTY

According to Todd Dickard of the Greater LaPorte Chamber of Commerce, LaPorte County is "pro-growth" when it comes to business.

Three companies - Alpha Baking Co., Aero Metals and New York Blower - each are expanding their operations and bringing a total of 700 to 800 new jobs to the area.

Meijer Inc. began construction of a $10 million superstore in Michigan City. Project completion is expected in May 1997. The expansion, according to Dickard, will benefit Michigan City immensely. "From a small-city aspect, it has been a positive," he says.

NEWTON COUNTY

Worldwide Hardware Inc. purchased 12 acres in Lake Village for its 30,000-square-foot building. The company chose Newton County for its expansion in large part because of the tax abatement the county offered.

The arrival of new companies is something economic development director Dick Horn welcomes. "The county is trying to work on development-hopefully long-term," says Horn. "But we are still selective as to who we want to come."

The "Foresight 20-20" program was established to target 10 areas for improvement in the county, including commerce, environment, industry and infrastructure. "We want calculated growth," says Horn, "but we are not here to put farmers out of business."

According to Horn, improvements being made are enticing companies from other areas...