Top business stories: Western Indiana update.

• Author: Hayhurst, Susan
• Position: Regional Report: West

VIGO COUNTY

Aisin Brake & Chassis Inc.'s new 150,000-square-foot plant in the Vigo County Industrial Park plans full production in January 2003. Archie Kappel, plant director, says an initial hiring of 35 will grow to about 90 by the end of 2003 and "ramp up to 200 by 2004. We're pleased to be a month ahead of schedule. Our first product will be rear brake shoes and braking plate assemblies for the Princeton Toyota plant. As we grow we'll manufacture other brake-related components."

Sony Disc Manufacturing, a world leader in digital disc manufacturing, recently announced plans to double the Terre Haute plant's DVD production from 450,000 discs per day to about one million per day. The production increase will involve adding 32 production lines and about 75 new jobs to the existing 1,000 workers.

With its grassroots and national retail markets growing, Doughmakers Inc. has added a second shift and is implementing a "Working Moms" employment program this fall. The program is geared to women who wish to go to work after their children leave for school and return home before the end of the school day. Doughmakers employs 35 full and part-time workers.

Both Terre Haute hospitals have broken ground for a combined $120 million in renovation and expansion. Terre Haute Regional Hospital's $40 million expansion will create approximately 100 new jobs following completion of the two-year project. Regional currently employs 839.

The Union Hospital Health Group, with 2,800 employees, recently began construction on a three-phase, $80 million project of new patient-care facilities, an expansion that will occur over 10 to 15 years.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Montgomery County's economic-development base continues to expand and be a net importer of labor, says John Doyel, director of Montgomery County Economic Development. "We have more people travel in to work here than travel out. While we have a small number of people underemployed, the industry expansions help those working two part-time jobs to now get one full-time job with benefits."

Random House's acquisition of Golden Books' Crawfordsville operation boosted the company's workforce from 123 to 252. The company has a distribution and returns facility in Crawfordsville, and prints some of its titles at nearby R.R. Donnelley, which employs 2,000.

Crawford Industries, a manufacturer cf high-density polyethelene and polypropylene, purchased its largest competitor, Polyblend, increasing its workforce to nearly 135...