Late summer visits to manufacturing facilities across Indiana gave us a quick look at just how diverse Indiana’s advanced manufacturing and logistics sector can be.
On the western edge of the state, in Vermillion County, we dropped by the 800-acre Elanco site. While the complex technically is located in Clinton, it can function almost like a town in its own right, with an emergency response team, health clinic, cafeteria, array of utility and transportation infrastructure, and more. Formerly a part of Eli Lilly and Company, Elanco manufactures pharmaceutical products for livestock and companion animals. The Clinton operation, which recently broke ground on its new headquarters planned in downtown Indianapolis, puts a high value on its connections to its team of employees – its entryway features displays of families who have worked there for generations.
Down the road in Terre Haute, we stopped by the Lenex Steel plant that fabricates steel beams and columns for construction projects, including recognizable office towers, public buildings, healthcare facilities and more throughout the Midwest. As the firm approaches its 20th anniversary, it’s looking to accelerate its technology adoption, a process that includes exploring opportunities to implement cobots. With 150 workers spread across its Terre Haute, Vincennes and Indianapolis locations, Lenex Steel continues to increase its workers’ skillsets and fill jobs being vacated by retired workers.
In Lebanon, IBC Materials & Technologies produces wear- and corrosion-resistant coatings used to improve operations and reduce wear and tear on U.S. Air Force aircraft weapons systems as well as other military and commercial products. Its patented Diamond-Like Coating has proven so successful that it is now required on some U.S. Air Force parts. The firm also provides a proprietary process for stripping paint from military equipment in an environmentally friendly way. With an emphasis on a family atmosphere and practice of cross-training employees, the firm has maintained a high retention rate.
We visited MITO Material Solutions on the day its team cut the ribbon on a new headquarters on Indianapolis’ northeast side. MITO Material Solutions’ hybrid polymer additives are used to create components for a range of industries that value increased strength and reduced weight, including transportation, recreation, cars, sports and more.
MITO Material Solutions moved to Indy from Oklahoma in 2019 because its founders were impressed by the entrepreneurial environment they found here when they participated in The Heritage Group Accelerator Powered by Techstars. Both of those founders – CEO Haley Keith and CTO Kevin Keith – have since been included in the Conexus Rising 30 and were named on the Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list in Manufacturing and Industry category in 2020.
This post is a part of a series called 100 IN 100 – a look at Conexus Indiana’s staff visits to advanced manufacturing and logistics employers across the state. Conexus is visiting 100 companies in 100 days during the spring and summer of 2022.