South-Central Indiana update.

• Author: Werth, Brian

Last year, South Central Indiana experienced the beginnings of an economic rebound from the sluggish days of the early 1990s. And this year, with business and industry having already trimmed down, the region appears to be on a roll.

From every perspective--new business formation, industrial relocation, existing business expansion and job growth--the area is on the rise and is poised for more gains during the next few years.

Unemployment rates are among the lowest in the state. Joblessness in small, picturesque, tourism-based Brown County hit just 2.5 percent in July, and the rates in Jennings, Bartholomew, Monroe and Jackson counties all have stayed below the state average, which in turn is significantly below the national average.

Manufacturing employment has been up throughout the region so far in 1994, with large and small manufacturers adding jobs and working extra shifts. In Columbus, Cummins Engine, with its 7,000 employees in Southern Indiana, helped spark Bartholomew County growth. The GE side-by-side refrigerator plant in Bloomington added new jobs and is the city's largest manufacturer with 2,600 workers. Also, smaller suppliers in the region have been seeing more work than in the past.

"The companies in our area--South-Central Indiana--have positioned themselves for growth," says James Plump, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Corp. in Seymour. "The economy is good and industries across the board are expanding. But everything is cyclical, so we are continuing our marketing efforts for new industry. We currently are looking at the 50-employee-and-under operations because they're now a good fit. We are working very hard on expansions. The state's Training 2000 grants and infrastructure grants have been very helpful."

Among other things, expansion by Seymour Housewares, the manufacturer of ironing boards, is a boon for the area. The company acquired a 120,000-square-foot building in downtown Seymour and has hired about 75 workers. At the same time, the company sold its existing building to Excel Tool, a tool-and-die machine shop with 100 employees, and that firm expects to have 50 new jobs over the next 18 months, Plump says.

Also in Jackson County, Aisin Co., manufacturer of auto body parts, has opened the third phase of its plant and now has 700 workers.

Plump says the new Tanger Outlet Mall outside of Seymour at Interstate 65 and U.S. 50 eventually will have 100 stores and employ up to 500.

"That will...