A small-town mom-and-pop shop in northeastern Indiana offers a valuable lesson on manufacturing movement in the Upper Midwest.
The sweet spot for an industrial plant isn’t always where you think it is.
For Tracy and Shawn Mantel, getting site selection right isn’t just about ensuring success for their company; it’s about safeguarding the livelihood of many families.
The couple are co-founders and co-owners of Powersafe Automation. Their journey to establishing a new plant in Kendallville, Indiana, is a classic tale of Midwestern ingenuity, grit and determination.
Founded in 2016 on Main Street in Wolcottville, Indiana, Powersafe Automation is a turnkey machine-guarding solutions provider for factories. It employs 25 workers. In late June 2026, the company announced it was moving to a new facility it acquired 10 miles away in Kendallville, a city of 10,222 people in Noble County in Northeast Indiana.
Dan Gabbard, commercial real estate broker with The Zacher Company in Fort Wayne, represented the Mantels in the purchase of a 36,100-sq.-ft. industrial building at 6886 North 400 East in Kendallville. Gabbard says site criteria were straightforward: The company needed to double its footprint, acquire a clear span warehouse with loading docks, locate close to an interstate, have functionality and flexibility, and choose a spot central to employees.
Gabbard says the Mantels found everything they needed in Kendallville. “We started with a small radius around Wolcottville, but a lack of supply caused us to expand our search,” he says. “After a couple rounds of site tours, the facility in Kendallville felt the most ready.”
The Mantels concur. “We took into consideration where our employees live,” says Shawn Mantel, CEO and safety-focused applications engineer for PSA. “We did not want to cross state lines. We needed to stay close to our workforce. The longest commute extension because of this move is 10 to 15 minutes.”
Noble Approach to a Warm Welcome
Shawn’s wife Tracy, chief information officer and project manager for PSA, says another factor precipitated the move. “We originally wanted to expand where we were, but the town said no,” she says. “That chased us out of the town. The land we wanted to build on was behind our building in Wolcottville, but it was zoned incorrectly. It backed up to a residential area. We offered to put up fencing and a barrier, but the town prohibited the rezoning. That is why we moved.”
“We originally wanted to expand where we were, but the town said no.”
— Tracy Mantel, CIO, Powersafe Automation
Their new neighbors in Kendallville in Noble County took a different approach. “We talked to other business owners in the same industrial park there,” says Tracy. “They are much more welcoming to small business and manufacturing.”
In the end, the Mantels say, the sweet spot for their business turned out to be another small town 27 miles north of Fort Wayne. At 147 miles to Chicago, 150 to Indianapolis, 164 to Detroit, 105 to Toledo, 122 to Grand Rapids and 139 to Ann Arbor, Kendallville sits smack dab in the middle of PSA’s customer base.
“The ease of getting from Indiana to our customers is a big plus,” says Tracy. “In five hours, we can be in Pittsburgh or Kentucky. Land is cheap here. It’s a good deal.”
Husband Shawn says the benefits of Northeast Indiana are real and add directly to PSA’s bottom line.
“First of all, we experience lower costs of doing business. That means a lower cost of living for our employees,” he says. “We also benefit by being closer to the interstates. We’re 20 minutes from the Indiana toll road. Our go-to airport is Detroit. We can be there in two hours. Our proximity to these amenities is important. Our typical customer has 20 or so plants. Direct flights are very important. We can’t afford to miss a connection.”
“Construction prices are high, so there’s a shift toward retrofitting space.”
— Dan Gabbard, Commercial Real Estate Broker, The Zacher Company
Gabbard says small firms like PSA drive industrial site selection in the Upper Midwest.
“Companies are using their own space. A lot of businesses are buying existing buildings,” he says. “Construction prices are high, so there’s a shift toward retrofitting space.”
Perfect Storm for Small-Town Growth
A recent Cushman & Wakefield report paints a positive picture of Midwest industrial real estate.
In a June 2026 industrial market report headlined “Manufacturing Momentum Accelerates,” C&W notes that since the start of 2025, the biggest gainers in industrial real estate leasing are in California, Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest.
“Parts, equipment and supply distribution are emerging as a major driver of manufacturing-related leasing, with the strongest activity in the Midwest, Texas and the Southeast as production networks expand and suppliers move closer to end markets,” states the report authored by Jason Price, Americas head of Logistics & Industrial Research, and Jason Tolliver, president of Americas Logistics & Industrial Services for C&W.
Since January 2025, the Midwest shows the strongest manufacturing leasing of any region of the country in four sectors: automotive/EVs (7.7 million sq. ft. or MSF); industrial equipment (6.2 MSF); life sciences and medical devices (4.5 MSF); and corrugated packaging goods (4.5 MSF).
Workers assemble safety equipment for customers at Powersafe Automation.
In consumer goods manufacturing leasing since January 2025, the Midwest with 8.9 MSF trails only the Southeast’s 10.7 MSF.
“As supply shocks persist amid evolving trade policies and geopolitical uncertainty, manufacturers have focused on reducing risk and controlling costs,” C&W states. “That shift has driven a surge in leasing activity nationwide as companies rework location strategies and expand distribution networks.”
For small towns in the Upper Midwest, that is the perfect storm for growth.
