BEDFORD, Ind. (Oct. 19, 2022) — Radius Indiana traveled to Atlanta earlier this month to meet with site selectors and share information about the business climate in the Radius region. This was Radius’s first site selector trip to Atlanta since 2015.

Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle met with six site selectors during the visit. Workforce availability dominated the topics addressed by business advisors, who cite labor shortages as a key question they face from clients in locations across the country.

“The Radius message was that there are numerous regional programs available to try to help with workforce needs of both existing as well as new businesses, and there are many tools that can help companies find the right talent in southern Indiana,” said Quyle. “The site selectors were also interested in learning about the growth of the Crane-related tech companies that are continuing to locate in the region.”

Radius has instituted several workforce attraction and retention initiatives over the last few years, and the southern Indiana region as a whole is dedicated to helping grow the workforce. Programs such as Catapult aim to enhance the skills of members of the population seeking to enter the manufacturing workforce, while Choose Southern Indiana looks to recruit new residents with a $5,000 incentive for those who relocate to southern Indiana.

Additionally, outside programs, including Regional Opportunities Initiative’s UpSkill Work and Learn, offers high school students a chance to discover career interests and pathways they cannot learn in the classroom. Students are paired with a local employer and have the opportunity to work a paid job, gain career credentials and earn college credit while still in high school.

Radius Indiana will continue its outreach program efforts with additional site selector trips through the end 2022 and into 2023, including collaborative marketing activities with other regional groups in the Southern half of the state. The next outing will take place in Louisville, Kentucky later this month.

“We continue to see a positive impact on our region through site selector trips such as this,” said Quyle. “Being able to highlight different industry sectors that are important to our counties is a top priority for Radius as well as continuing to educate the country about what our region has to offer.”

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Oct. 6, 2022) — Radius Indiana joins the U.S. Small Business Administration and the National Association of Manufacturers in recognizing Manufacturing Day, an annual event on the first Friday of October, which celebrates modern manufacturing and is meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. 

Manufacturing is the fifth-largest employer in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over 19,400 workers are employed in the manufacturing industry in the Radius Region which represents an increase of 350 new jobs created in the sector over the past ten years, despite the disruption of the COVID pandemic. 

The regional Location Quotient for manufacturing in the Radius Region is 2.64, revealing that the sector is more than two-and-a-half times more concentrated regionally than it is nationally. Manufacturing represents 21.4 percent of total regional employment compared to the national total of 8.1 percent of employment in the sector. 

Production jobs dominate manufacturing occupations in Radius’s eight counties; over 60 percent of all manufacturing jobs are classified as production, while 10 percent are transportation and material moving, slightly over seven percent are office and administration, and the remainder are scattered over a variety of functions. 

“Manufacturing remains one of the most important pillars of our regional economy,” said Radius President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “From high-demand furniture manufacturing to the factories supplying important parts for the automotive industry, the strength in manufacturing appears to be providing the financial fuel to allow other parts of the economy to grow.” 

Wages among production workers vary greatly according to the occupational skills needed. Entry level meat cutters in the agribusiness sector average annual wages in the low-$30,000 range, while skilled assemblers and machine operators average wages in the mid-$40,000s. Average wages for all workers of $52,614 are below the national average, but are among some of the highest paying wages in the region. 

The region’s number of manufacturing firms is on the rebound in recent years. From a high of 363 manufacturing establishments in 2011, the numbers decreased to around 340 in the following decade, but have climbed every year from 2019 to 2021 back to 360 establishments. 

Counties throughout the region are participating in Manufacturing Day in their own unique ways. In Orange County, 8th grade students from Orleans, Paoli and Springs Valley will visit local manufacturing/distributing partners such as Jasper Seating, Inc, Best Home Furnishings, Pluto Inc., and Boston International. 

Additionally, the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council is continuing its trend from 2021 to celebrate a 5-day Manufacturing Week that includes activities with students from The

Collaboration of Shoals, Orleans, and Mitchell Schools (COSMOS) and the North Lawrence Career Center to introduce the industry through informational sessions and tours with local manufacturers. Those companies include WF Meyers, Stone City Products, CAP, IN-FAB, and PRD. 

“We applaud our manufacturers, their employees and the contributions they make to our economy in the Radius Region. We will continue to monitor this important sector and work with our regional employers to help them thrive as well as make the region a choice location for new investment,” said Quyle. 

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.