Business and government officials in Howard County want to consolidate seven economic development groups in the area under one organizational structure. However, the Kokomo Tribune reports, some county commissioners are worried doing so will only create another bureaucratic layer. The seven groups include Inventrek, Kokomo-Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Kokomo-Howard County Development Corp., Urban Enterprise […]
More interest in new hybrid vehicles is being shown by Indianapolis residents than in any other Midwestern city other than Minneapolis, according to the Internet site cars.com. About 2.8 percent of vehicle searches at the site involved hybrids, ranking Indianapolis 15th in the nation, compared to No. 9 Minneapolis, at 3.2 percent. West Coast markets, […]
Nissan Motor Co. plans to break into the U.S. market for light commercial vehicles, and the move means more work for Cummins Inc. The Columbus company will make diesel engines for the three new offerings, Nissan said. Nissan wouldn’t discuss specifics, but officials said the vehicles will range from pickup trucks to buses and that […]
Northwest Indiana casinos are not holding up in weak economic times like they have in the past, according to The Post-Tribune of Merrillville. Typically resistant to economic cycles, the casinos since December have struggled to maintain revenue levels. Revenue at Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, for example, is down $5 million to $8 million […]
Soaring gas prices, a tough job market and job cuts – plus high medical costs – are driving more middle-class people to food banks in Johnson County, reports The Daily Journal of Franklin. At least one food pantry has seen a doubling of those seeking the services for the first time, with 53 families – […]
Environmentalists are accusing the Indiana Department of Environmental Management of putting economic development above its core mission of protecting human health and the environment, reports the Post-Tribune of Merrillville. In particular, environmentalists say, the agency is playing soft with petroleum giant BP and steelmaker U.S. Steel. “They make it clear they see it as their […]
Indianapolis-based Herff Jones Inc. has acquired Framing Success Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va., for an undisclosed price. Framing Success supplies custom-made diploma frames, mainly for college and professional certifications. It’s the second acquisition announced by Herff Jones in as many months. In early March, the maker of high school rings, yearbooks and other educational materials […]
Lippert Components Inc., an arm of publicly traded Drew Industries Inc., has agreed in principle to buy Goshen-based Seating Technology Inc., also known as Seattech. Drew, headquartered in the New York City suburb of White Plains, did not disclose terms, but said Seattech generated $40 million in sales last year, up from $11 million in […]
The lowest bid for building the first leg of the Interstate 69 extension from Indianapolis to Evansville came in at $25.2 million – well below the $41.9 million anticipated by the Indiana Department of Transportation. The bid by Clarksville-based Gohmann Asphalt & Construction Inc. could be a harbinger that the cost of the extension will […]
Indianapolis-based CountryMark Cooperative Inc. plans to boost fuel production 12 percent when a $20 million expansion of its Mount Vernon refinery is completed in May. The additional 3,000 barrels a day will amount to 45 million gallons a year. The southern Indiana refinery is supplied by oil from the Illinois Basin, an underground field that […]
One of two finalists vying for the president’s post at Indiana State University has dropped out of the running for health reasons. That leaves only one candidate, because a third finalist withdrew earlier, so the university now will reopen the search, according to The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute. Trustees hope a new president can be […]
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering consolidating assembly of its Tundra full-size pickup truck from its Princeton plant in southwestern Indiana to its new Tundra assembly plant near San Antonio, Texas, according to The Wall Street Journal. So little of the capacity at Princeton is being used that the company’s honorary chairman, Shoichiro Toyoda, visited the […]
Lake Cities Broadcasting Corp. in the northeastern Indiana city of Angola is selling its five radio stations, according to The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. Buying the stations for $3.8 million is Swick Broadcasting Corp. Lake Cities President Tom Andrews is retiring, but plans to offer engineering help on a part-time basis. The stations include […]
National City Corp., one of the largest banks in Indianapolis, has hired the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs to seek strategic alternatives, the Cleveland-based institution said yesterday. The announcement stopped short of confirming rumors circulating for weeks that the bank would seek a buyer. The bank said the review process would not hamper day-to-day […]
Toyota Motor Corp. intends to boost its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. from 8.7 percent to about 17 percent, according to Bloomberg. Fuji makes Subaru cars. The Fuji assembly plant in Lafayette, Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., in April 2007 also began assembling Toyota Camry sedans. The additional line in Lafayette resulted in approximately […]
Centerplate Inc. has alerted the state that it plans to lay off 219 workers in Indianapolis as a result of having lost a food and beverage contact at the Indiana Convention Center. Based in Stamford, Conn., Centerplate said the employees might be absorbed by Crystal Catering Inc., the Indianapolis company that won the bidding. However, […]
A Chicago-based manufacturer of railroad tank cars plans to shutter its plant in East Chicago and send production to newer, non-union plants in the South, according to The Times of Munster. Union Tank Car Co. said it is consolidating production to cope with a downturn in the market, but International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 524, […]
Greg Yust, formerly president and CEO of Sagamore Health Network Inc., has joined St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers as vice president of managed care contracting. Yust left Carmel-based Sagamore in January after a short stint. Sagamore was the state’s third-largest managed care organization when it was acquired in August 2007 by Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp. […]
JPMorgan Chase has cut 100 workers from its downtown operations in Chase Tower, according to spokeswoman Nancy Norris. All of the workers are in Chase’s home-equity lending processing area, Norris said. Chase eliminated another 350 workers in other cities, primarily in Rochester, N.Y. The cuts are “due to the slowdown in home-equity lending,” Norris said. […]
Rising material costs have caused Thompson Thrift Construction Inc. to alter plans for a children’s museum and hotel it is building in Terre Haute, reports The Tribune-Star. Costs for the children’s museum, which is next to a Candlewood Suites that Thompson Thrift also is building, have gone over estimates by 12 percent. The Terre Haute-based […]
