Defense

Northeast Indiana's defense industry is intelligent and capable. Local defense contractors bring in millions of dollars every year, employ thousands of specialized personnel and develop products that change our Nation. Including such giants as General Dynamics, ITT and USSI, the defense industry in Northeast Indiana is vitally important to the region.

The wide range of products and services offered by northeast Indiana defense industry contractors requires a skilled and specialized workforce. Indiana's defense industry employs thousands of talented engineers, designers and technically trained software engineers. The ability to find existing talent and attract new talent in Northeast Indiana is one of the factors in defense contractors' successes in northeast Indiana.

Defense Profile

Northeast Indiana Major Employers

ITT Communications Systems	1,203
B.A.E. Systems Platform Solutions	1,150
Raytheon Systems Co.	950
C & A Tool Engineering Inc.	463
Ultra Electronics - USSI	374
Riverside Manufacturing	300
Reelcraft Industries	170
Stuart Manufacturing	138
General Dynamics C4 Systems	75
Rhinehart Finishing LLC	61

Whitley County companies are bolded

Whitley County Wages

Occupation	Average Wage
Software Developers, Applications	$54,891
Software Developers, Systems Software	$81,640
Electrical Engineers	$73,840
Mechanical Engineers	$63,336
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians	$44,824
First-line Supervisor/Managers of Production and Operating Workers	$51,106
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	$28,038
Team Assemblers	$23,192
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers & Weighers	$28,101

Future Growth in Defense for northeast Indiana

Lilly Endowment Inc. provided $20 million to accelerate the development of northeast Indiana's workforce and talent resources. The program, entitled Talent Initiative, supports the development of education, training and talent initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Initiative-- an unprecedented collaboration in northeast Indiana -- will better prepare the region's workforce to capture the high- quality job opportunities available in the near term and those of the future.

Components of Talent Initiative include support for the following critical initiatives:

Retrain more than 3,300 adult workers in northeast Indiana
Enhance the Advanced Manufacturing program at Ivy Tech – Northeast
Expand the systems engineering and wireless technology programs at Indiana University-Purdue University- Fort Wayne (IPFW)
Create 6 New Tech High Schools within school corporations in northeast Indiana, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses
Support professional development in PBL to 1,300 regional educators beyond New Tech High Schools

The Talent Initiative includes significant and targeted educational and workforce programs for the aerospace and defense industries. The programs also will be relevant to the workforce development needs of other advanced manufacturing sectors in northeast Indiana. Northeast Indiana is home to over 160 defense/aerospace prime contractors and suppliers. During 2005 and 2006 the six largest firms in this sector received a total of $2 billion in prime contracts from the Department of Defense.

Defense Opportunities

Procurement Technical Assistance Center

In August 2009 Partners In Contracting Corporation established the Procurement Technical Assistance Center for the Northeast Indiana Region. The center is a resource providing assistance with all aspects of marketing to federal, state, and local governments. It is a not-for-profit organization and there is no fee most services. PICC-PTAC is partnered with the Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association with a goal of forward indentifying and strengthing the defense cluster supply chain.

For more information on PICC-PTAC visit www.PICCorp.org or contact Gil Perry at the PTAC office in Fort Wayne at 260-481-0491.

Sources: Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, EMSI 2013.2 Class of Worker, Gil Perry PTAC Counselor-Trainer

Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Assocation

The Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association's mission is to address issues and opportunities facing the Northeast Indiana defense industry community. Specifically, NIDIA will focus on the following:

1 - Take action to work with community educators to develop and improve the local defense community's ability to develop, attract, and retain the required talent to effectively execute business opportunities

2 - Foster the increased and improved interaction between the defense industry and suppliers in the region for accomplishment of better services to defense and homeland security customers

3 - Perform as an advocacy group for the defense industry in the Northeast Indiana region

4 - Provide liaison with local, state, and federal governmental agencies, elected officials, legislatures, and special groups and committees, to advance defense industry opportunities' in the Northeast Indiana region to support economic development.

For more information or to become a member of NIDIA visit www.nidiaonline.org