Leaders see ‘immense’ growth potential for Greater Lafayette region
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From growth at Purdue University to an influx of investment in the semiconductor industry, officials in the Greater Lafayette region are bullish about the future of the region.
IBJ Media and Inside INdiana Business brought its Engage Indiana series to West Lafayette this week for a conversation on growth, like plans by South Korea-based SK Hynix Inc. to build a nearly $4 billion semiconductor packaging facility at the Purdue Research Park.
Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg told IIB Host Gerry Dick that the potential for growth in the region is immense.
“You have Purdue University, one of the most innovative universities in the entire world, really leading that charge, developing those partnerships with global companies,” said Rosenberg. “When you look at Subaru or GE Aviation, MediaTek, Imec…in addition to SK Hynix, that international presence of Purdue University, the students they bring in, it’s absolutely critical.”
Roberto Gallardo, vice president for engagement at Purdue, said the university is regionally focused, and the SK Hynix project is a major component of that focus.
“SK Hynix is once in a lifetime opportunity…to bring in an industry that was not here,” he said. “So that presents its challenges, but it also presents tremendous opportunity. Purdue Computes, the Daniel School of Business, all these pieces are all interconnected to really position Purdue to continue to be innovative, highly competitive, and to benefit the region and the state.”
Gallardo noted that the talent pipeline coming out of Purdue can contribute to the region as well, with about 50% of graduates staying in the Midwest.
West Lafayette-based agriculture startup NutraMaize, which makes high-carotenoid orange corn products and has received millions of dollars in funding, was born out of Purdue. CEO Evan Rocheford said a tremendous amount of progress has been made to enhance the startup climate in the region.
Rocheford said Purdue has been the key to that success.
“If you look at a lot of the places that have become startup hubs, like Silicon Valley, you have Stanford [University]. You had early companies like HP, and that kind of snowballs. In Boston, you’ve got MIT and Harvard that have anchored that biotech scene,” he said. “I think that if you look at Purdue, it’s the only university in the world that has a top 10 college of agriculture and a top 10 college of engineering. So I think we have a unique opportunity to excel, particularly in the area of agricultural innovation.”
Rocheford said Indiana has the potential to be a leader in public-private partnerships focusing on ag innovation, particularly when it comes to crops.
Scott Walker, CEO of Greater Lafayette Commerce, added that the region is primed for new business and population growth.
“It’s going to be so much more development, so much more people coming here, living here, working here, in this entire corridor,” Walker said. “Our goal is to be the most successful suburb of Indianapolis, and you can see that corridor, it’s going to fill in with the new development in Lebanon, with what’s happening here, and that that entire corridor of I-65 and U.S. 52 is just going to continue to fill in.”
We’ll have more from the Engage Indiana series in West Lafayette on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.