Collaboration, diversified industry and talent key to regional growth, leaders say
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Industrial diversification, placemaking investments, regional collaboration, a mindset shift, talent retention and attraction strategies are some of the factors local elected and business leaders credited for the momentum the South Bend-Elkhart region is experiencing at IBJ Media’s Engage Indiana series event highlighting Elkhart, Marshall and St. Joseph counties.
For an area still largely regarded for its manufacturing prowess, the northern Indiana region is experiencing what its leaders refer to as a renaissance. KemKrest CEO Amish Shah, who moderated the panel session Tuesday, took attendees back to 14th century Italy, explaining how those living in the moment were not even aware of the generational impact their actions would have.
“Indiana hasn’t seen this kind of economic prosperity in over 40 years, so I want to alert you all, just so we can name it properly,” Shah said. “We are all living in a renaissance in this region. I want you to know that because I want you to walk around with a swagger.”
The region scored the largest investment in Indiana history with Amazon Web Services’ $11 billion data center project. A partnership between GM and Samsung SDI will also see the region accommodate a $3 billion electric vehicle battery plant. Verbio’s $230 million investment to convert its South Bend ethanol plant into the second integrated biorefinery plant in North America, is also one of the biggest capital projects announced for the region just this year.
All are examples of the region’s success in attracting a diverse mix of industry partners, potentially breaking its over-reliance on the manufacturing industry, leaders said.
“The things that foundationally made the Renaissance great, the first time Studebaker chose to come here, it was, ‘I can ship products, I’ve got great talent, I’ve got access to capital and great educational systems that can supply people to do it,’” Aunalytics CEO Rich Carlton said. “They saw they could do great things from here. We still can and we’re seeing it again.”
Along with the economic development strides, talent retention and attraction are top of mind for the region. While 35,000 to 40,000 students graduate from the nine higher education institutions in the region, a high percentage of students leave the region and the state post-graduation.
“IU South Bend keeps over 65% of the graduates in this region, Ivy Tech also does an exceptional job. So does Bethel, so does Marion University and they each have their own unique perspectives and unique experiences,” South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership CEO Bethany Hartley said. “Students just need to be more exposed. We have programs like EnFocus that helps with talent retention as well. We just need more people accessing them and more awareness to be spread.”
Hartley speaks on the importance of internships in the region as a tool for talent retention post-graduation.
The Regional Partnership has implemented programming to address this including subsidizing internship opportunities, helping companies communicate the benefits of living in the region, among others.
“We’re running a student immersion experience where we are exposing up to 50 college students to not only the opportunities available by going to companies but also the cultural amenities. We’ve developed a regional toolkit that we give to companies to share with new hires along with your incentive package and benefits,” Hartley added. “As a region, we’ve gotten much better at internship and work-based learning activities. We’ve gotten better but we’ve got to keep going because we’re still behind in this sphere.”
Third-generation business leader Jason Lippert, CEO of Elkhart-based Lippert Components, shared his views on how company culture can also be essential for attracting to and retaining talent in the region.
“Culture can be a competitive advantage if we do it right, if team members can come every day and feel like they work at a place that’s consistent, leadership aligns with their values, they tend to want to stay longer,” Lippert said. “We also partner with Ivy Tech; we upskilled over 400 people in the last year and a half. That’s one of the things we talk about when we bring people in for an interview.”
Current immigration laws for employment of foreign workers was also discussed as Carlton recounted losing a talented employee to a Canadian company after three failed attempts at the H-1B visa lottery. South Bend Mayor James Mueller shared a program the city offers to encourage retention of qualified international talent.
“We’ve done a program where we go in 50/50 with companies to de-risk their trying to sponsor someone and get through the visa process,” Mueller said. “We have this talent that’s here in our country and want to stay here. Many of them want to build a business, help build our economy and we’re saying, you got to get in this crazy lottery system. It’s crazy to us.”
Carlton speaks on the impact quality of place improvements have had on talent attraction for his company.
Navarre Hospitality Group is one of the private investors championing the restaurant and bar scene in the South Bend-Elkhart region with outfits including Artisan in Elkhart, Doc. Pierce’s Restaurant in Mishawaka and the recently opened Cascade Prime Steak & Seafood Restaurant in South Bend.
Kurt Janowsky, founder of NHG, said one of his company’s strategies has been an early focus on retention and positioning a career in hospitality as one to be attained.
“Rather than just how to be successful at the Cascade or Jackson Rooftop, we’re trying to teach how to be successful in hospitality. They may or may not stay with us; we hope they do. Our retention is much higher than industry averages,” Janowsky said. “As an industry, my colleagues and I have to do a better job of selling hospitality as a career, not just a fill-in job. So we looked at our benefits package and caught that up with other industries.”
Putting a major emphasis on Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative, or READI, grants, the region has continued to make major investments into quality of life and quality of place projects that directly impact how people live, work and play.
Hartley said about 60% of the $50 million READI 1.0 dollars went towards projects that addressed housing directly or included a housing component. One of such and the largest READI 1.0 allocation at $11.7 million, the Madison Lifestyle District in South Bend is expected to bring on hundreds of housing units, she added.
Funding requests from the READI 2.0 request for proposals totals over $184 million dollars from 48 submissions, with more than half including housing, Hartley disclosed. Though, the Regional Partnership only has $45 million to disburse.
“There’s never going to be a silver bullet. We have to lean on ourselves, grow from within and seek out the resources to make it happen,” Hartley continued. “We have developers that are willing to take a risk on this region, willing to invest in this region and that is very optimistic.”
In the next decade, Hartley said studies are showing the region would need between 30,000 to 50,000 new housing units. With current investments, housing is expected to increase by at most 12,000, signaling a looming, more pressing housing shortage.
“We must get more innovative when it comes to housing, especially as the region that makes things, we can be more creative when it comes to housing,” she said. “Looking at what Elkhart County is doing with manufactured homes, there’s a speed there, there’s efficiency, there’s a cost perspective there and there are places to be putting these homes.”
A hidden benefit of a diversified economy, Lippert added, is the willingness for developers to invest in the region because it’s no longer relying solely on the cyclical RV industry. He also noted that Lippert Components is moving about a million square feet of its operations outside of Indiana into the region, affirming Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg’s comments that an overwhelming percentage of new investment in the state comes from companies that already do business here.
Everyone agreed that regionalism, participating in the inaugural Regional Cities program, continued success with READI funding and collaboration across the three counties have increased prosperity and opportunity for the entire region.
“I had the opportunity to speak at a conference yesterday for universities from across the country and I think it was President Stoltzfus from Goshen College who said we collaborate because we know it’s competitive,” Hartley said. “We can be more competitive when we collaborate. That is something quite unique to our region and we have to not lose sight of that. Collaboration isn’t done in one grant cycle or one opportunity. It is a continuous effort that we’re all part of.”