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Suppliers Weigh
in With Expansions

Automotive suppliers are also expanding their presence in Indiana. Consider these recent deals. Among the larger investments is TOA Industries' $50 million suspension-parts facility in Mooresville. Arvin Sango, a maker of exhaust systems, is investing $12 million in a plant expansion in Madison, and Eaton Corp. is investing $2.7 million in its South Bend heavy truck plant. General Motors is modernizing and expanding its Bedford Powertrain facility for $27 million; Golden Casting, an engine block maker, is investing $5 million in its Columbus facility; and Keihin Corp. of Tokyo and Indiana Precision Technology are setting up a $5.9 million manufacturing facility in Muncie in a joint venture.

It is possible that as suppliers and auto makers get more comfortable collaborating with one another, especially as Web-based collaborative engineering and development platforms emerge, the site selection criteria will change again. Proximity may be de-emphasized, and other factors may well come into play. Yet joint engineering efforts in the automotive industry are still in an early stage of development. While manufacturing facilities are located based on costs and labor factors, research and development facilities still need to cluster together.

---Laurie Joan Aron is a freelance writer based in New York City.