Top business stories: Northern Indiana update.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: Regional Report North - Brief Article

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

Allegheny Energy Supply plans to build a $400 million generating facility that will provide enough power to serve more than half a million homes in Indiana and neighboring states, Construction near Carlisle gets under way this spring.

Other new projects in South Bend:

* Tire Rack spent $11.9 million for a 500,000-square-foot tire-distribution warehouse, where about 200 are on the job.

* Gibbs Wire & Steel invested $6.8 million in a 160,000-square-foot plant. The firm distributes stainless-steel wire and strip metal, employing about 45.

* Global Motor Sports is building a 200,000-square-foot building, costing $6.8 million, Global distributes aftermarket motorcycle parts and accessories.

* GTA spent $1.5 million on a 60,000-square-foot facility. The company makes transportable water and fuel containers for military use.

St. Joseph County's top industrial employers include Honeywell in South Bend, which makes fuel controls and employs about 1,500. AM General Corp., with headquarters in South Bend, produces military and commercial 4x4 trucks in Mishawaka--including the Hummer and Hummer H2, dubbed 'the next generation SUV"--and employs 1,430. Koontz-Wagner Electric Co. in South Bend, with 600 on the payroll, repairs electric motors and makes custom controls and electrical and construction equipment.

ELKHART COUNTY

In the recreational-vehicle market--hit hard by declining sales in the last year but now rebounding--Elkhart's Keystone RV Co. was acquired by Thor Industries of Ohio for $145 million. Keystone continues to operate locally, and the two together now own 25 percent of the travel trailer/fifth-wheel market.

Elkhart's United Musical Instruments built a $1.8 million addition to its plant on Industrial Parkway. UMI and The Selmer Co. are both owned by Steinway Musical Instruments. Together, Selmer and UMI have a workforce of more than 900 in Elkhart, making musical instruments.

The three largest industrial employers in the county, all in Elkhart, are Fairmont Homes Inc., employing 2,500 and producing manufactured homes; Holiday Rambler LLC, which makes recreational vehicles and employs 2,300; and Monaco Coach Corp., which also makes RVs and employs 2,000.

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY

A biomedical industry that is "going gangbusters" is fueling an optimistic outlook in Kosciusko County, reports Joy McCarthy-Sessing, president of Kosciusko Development Inc.

Leading the news is the 2001 spin-off of Zimmer Inc. by Bristol-Myers Squibb, a...