Terre Haute's comeback.

• Author: McGauley, John
• Position: Regional Report: West-Central Indiana

Like the legendary scene from The Graduate, the future for West-Central Indiana can be summed up in one word: plastics.

West-Central Indiana, consisting of Clay, Greene, Parke, Putnan, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties, has clawed its way back from an economic nadir three years ago, when it was closing in one the title of Depressed Rust Belt Region of the Year. The area suffered from an image as an outdated industrial middleweight with combative unions and hayseed cultural opportunities. Layoffs by major employers assaulted the area's residents every few months. One huge employer, JI Case Co., called it quits in Terre Haute and jumped ship to Wisconsin. The region's economic development officials fought like junkyard dogs in turf battles; very little was being done to attract new industries. Even the area's population was dropping. Terre Haute lost almost 5,000 people in five years.

The area has rebounded during the past year, mostly because of expansions in the plastics industries among a handful of heavy Terre Haute operations. At the same time, other existing industries have stabilised or grown slightly. A few medium-sized manufacturing and service industries have sprung up. Evergreen Express, the new international air carrier based at Terre Haute's Hulman Regional Airport, has led the way to brighter economic days. Political and economic development leaders have eliminated the infighting and have done yeoman work in cooperating with prospective industries. There's even the very real possibility that BASF Corp., one of the world's largest chemical companies, may locate a $150 million plant in Terre Haute. The company plans to make a lateautumn announcement of its new plant site. Other competitors for the plant include Evansville and Portsmouth, Ohio.

There is a renaissance in Terre Haute itself as new construction downtown has erased the blight that enveloped that area for years. And tiny Greencastle, located on the eastern edge of the region, has pulled off a remarkable industrial recovery following the devastating International Business Machines Corp. pullout there two years ago.

Greencastle, the sleepy little town on the eastern edge of West-Central Indiana, is the state's Cinderella city this year. It has been through a dramatic recovery since IBM closed its huge Putnam County plant almost two years ago.

Greencastle has become a media darling for its story that shows how a small Midwestern town in the Rust Belt can refuse to die. Greencastle's success story has been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York times, Chicago Tribune and a host of other publications. Prospective...