Spotlight: Greater Lafayette.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: Business and industry in Indiana town

Call it corny, call it a familiar old tune, call it All-American. When Greater Lafayette residents talk about what it's like to live and work in their community, a several-line stanza is often repeated.

It goes like this: Greater Lafayette's diverse manufacturing base keeps employment steady, the community offers the best of small-town and big-city living with its cultural and sports opportunities, and "It's a great place to grow a company and a family."

That last sentiment is the headline that Greater Lafayette Progress Inc. uses on its business and industry recruiting brochure.

"Greater Lafayette is a good place to live and work," says Mike Brooks, president of Greater Lafayette Progress Inc. (GPLI). And although every statistic on manufacturing, employment and the economy are at his fingertips, what he points to first to demonstrate his point are the people.

"The people of Lafayette make this a great place," he says. "This is almost a rare community in how people maintain their property and take pride in their community. I believe that exemplifies what you see in the level of commitment in our work force."

At the heart of the economic success story is a manufacturing base of about 120 firms producing for a variety of industries. About half of the county's 25 largest employers are manufacturers, and nearly a quarter of the county's employment is in manufacturing.

Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, a newcomer in 1989, and Wabash National, a truck and rail trailer maker that started just a few years earlier, lead employment with about 3,000 each.

Eli Lilly/Tippecanoe Laboratories, a long-time employer, has about 1,200 on the job at its pharmaceutical operations. And Caterpillar Co., Fairfield Manufacturing, ALCOA/Extrusion Tube Division/Lafayette and Lafayette Venetian Blind each employ several hundred. These last four roll out diesel engines, gears, extruded aluminum and window blinds and draperies.

Other industries with at least a few hundred workers include: A.E. Staley, which makes corn starch and syrup at its two plants; Oneida Rostone Corp., a precision plastic molder; TRW Commercial Steering Division, which makes steering systems; and Rea Magnet Wire and Essex Group, both wire producers. Great Lakes Chemical Corp., a major specialty chemical business, also employs a few hundred at its West Lafayette world headquarters.

Industry Week noted the community's success as a manufacturing spot in April when it ranked Lafayette 17th in world-class U.S...