Just look at Southern Indiana.

Ohio-based AK Steel Holding Corp. recently announced that it will build a $1.1 billion steel processing plant near the southern Indiana town of Rockport, east of Evansville.

AK Steel produces a wide variety of flat-rolled products for the automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets. The company currently operates two other plants:
one in Ashland, Ky., and the other in Middletown, Ohio.

Indiana, at nearly 23 million tons, is the No. 1 producer of steel in the nation, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Indiana is also pioneering the latest trend in steel production -- mini-mills -- with three of the clean-burning plants either in operation or under construction.

Steel production is also a major contributor to the state's explosive export growth. Exports reached $11.6 billion in 1995, an increase of more than 25 percent over the previous year.

The state of Indiana is providing AK Steel with $12.7 million in job training, infrastructure improvements and tax credits. Local officials will provide up to $59 million in local tax abatements.

AK Steel is not the only huge expansion project near Evansville.

A year ago, Toyota announced that it would build a $700 million truck plant in Princeton,
just north of Evansville. The 1,000 acre facility, will assemble T-100 pickup trucks.

This plant, which will be located on nearly 1,000 acres and employ 1,300 people to start, is now under construction and production is expected to begin in the fall of 1998.

The northern part of the state is also attracting new industry.

"I can't say enough about the location for both inbound and outbound freight," said Joel Zimmerman, director of manufacturing logistics for AM General.

AM General, located in South Bend, manufactures the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle -- also known as the "Hummer" -- for the military and civilian marketplace. Since Hummer production is limited to one plant nationwide, location and highway access are extremely important when it comes to receiving parts and distributing the final product.

"We are right in the middle of vendors who produce vehicle parts," said Zimmerman. "And with 53 distributors scattered across the U.S., we are also strategically located to get the final product to our dealer network, which helps us control costs."

That same transportation infrastructure is what brought Elumatec USA Inc. to South Bend.

Elumatec USA, a manufacturer of machinery for processing aluminum and vinyl profiles, is building a 25,000 square foot distribution facility in South Bend.

"We chose South Bend because of its proximity to many of our customers and because of the support facilities, such as trucking companies and customs brokers," said Steve Van Tongeren, national sales manager for Elumatec USA. "We are also pleased with the existing infrastructure in the Toll Road Industrial Park.

Construction began last October and will be completed this spring. In addition to serving the aluminum and vinyl (PVC) profile fabricating industries, the company also provides a line of assembly equipment for the factory floor and provides technical support for its office.