Top business news: Northwest Indiana update.

• Author: Richards, Rick A.
• Position: Regional Report: Northwest

The best way to grow a business in Northwest Indiana in 1993 was to think small.

While steel remains the region's 800-pound gorilla (to be joined soon by riverboat casinos in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary and Michigan City), small business openings and expansions powered much of the region's economy in 1993.

LAKE COUNTY

In Lake County, some of the biggest news was what didn't happen. Steelmakers dodged a strike bullet by signing long-term contracts with the United Steelworkers.

A contract with Inland Steel in East Chicago set the industry pattern. Workers accepted modest raises in exchange for job security. Northwest Indiana is home to almost 80,000 steel-union members and five of the nation's six largest steelmakers.

LTV Steel in East Chicago emerged from seven years of Chapter 11 protection and in doing so, signed a new contract with the steelworkers.

Negotiations at USX Corp.'s Gary Works continue. Its contract doesn't expire until spring, and both sides say they expect an agreement to be reached.

While steel was the focus in the northern part of the county, farther south it was retailing.

Kohl's Department Store opened in Hobart. The 80-store Midwestern chain built a $3.2 million store near the region's retail hub at Southlake Mall. The 83,000-square-foot store created 300 new jobs.

Also opening in Hobart was Target Greatland, a 125,000-square-foot store that is part of a $40 million shopping center still under construction.

PORTER COUNTY

Porter County is celebrating the announcement of the world's largest Kmart, a $100 million expansion at Beta Steel, and the opening of Feralloy Processing.

The 190,000-square-foot Kmart in Portage is expected to become Porter County's retail hub. The 24-hour store will employ 700 people.

Beta Steel's expansion could create 200 new jobs and will convert the finishing mill into a self-contained steel manufacturer. Beta occupies state-owned property at the Port of Indiana.

Feralloy is a $7.2 million joint venture with U.S. Steel and processes steel coils used by the automotive and appliance markets.

"I think 1993 was a great year for us," says Harold Miles, president of the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. "Portage is on the move. I think one figure indicates how much. Normally, we get 100 vessels a season at the Port of Indiana. We had considerably more this year, and we passed the Port of Chicago by 30 percent." Indeed, the port is the nation's largest inland port, in terms of tonnage and space.

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