Industry in Indiana - Manufacturing in The Hoosier State

Indiana has a long and complex manufacturing history, with industry giants born and bred in the Hoosier State. Manufacturing lost its allure in Indiana in the second half of the 20th century, but recent investments and the impact of reshoring has seen the state’s manufacturing industry rise up once again.

From the mid 19th century, Indiana has been a hub of innovation and manufacturing prowess. With huge natural resources and a central location well connected by rail and the Mississippi, the state has long been an ideal place for manufacturers to build their headquarters.

Indiana Steel

Indiana’s natural advantages convinced Elbert H. Gary, president of the United States Steel Company, to chose Indiana as the building ground for a new steel mill, Gary Works. Even today, the Gary Works mill remains the largest integrated steel mill in North America. U.S. Steel founded the city of Gary around the mill, to house their workers. As the mill grew, so did the city, until both were thriving and prosperous, but the reciprocal relationship couldn’t last forever.

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In the 1970s, technological advancements and foreign competition damaged the steel industry and jobs dried up. The city of Gary declined, and as people left the city the mill struggled to retain its workers, and both city and mill suffered as a result.

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In recent years, there has been a significant push to revitalise steel manufacturing in Gary. Nippon Steel, the parent company of U.S. Steel, is planning to renovate Gary Works with an investment of 3.1 billion over the next few years. While this will help secure jobs, there are concerns over the environmental impact of such a move, as the plant is powered by coal, and the steel mills in Gary have contributed to high levels of industrial pollution and low air quality.

Automotives

Indiana has a long history of automotive manufacturing, and one of the most significant companies was Studebaker. Founded in 1852, Studebaker successfully transitioned from making horse drawn vehicles, and started producing cars in 1901, continuing to great success until 1963. In the late 1960s, Indiana’s manufacturing began to decline as foreign competition, the recession of 1969-1970, and the 1973 oil crisis delivered a series of shocks that the industry struggled to recover from.

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However, in 1987, Subaru-Isuzu Automotive (SIA) was incorporated in Indiana, and a new automotive manufacturing plant was opened two years later, in 1989. The only manufacturing plant that Subaru owns in the U.S., the Indiana plant is a significant employer in the state, and last year had a production volume of 367,673. The SIA also has a foundation, whose mission is to provide funding to organisations, entities or institutions based in Indiana who work to improve the quality of life for residents of Indiana.  With their reputation for safety and environmentally friendly policies, Subaru is a popular and positive figure in Indiana’s automotive manufacturing sector.

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Indiana’s automotive sector benefits from the strong competition in the state, with giants like Toyota investing heavily in Indiana in the more recent past. In 1996 Toyota opened their Indiana facility and has since built over 6 million vehicles, with investments of over $8 billion invested in the facility. With over 7,600 workers, Toyota is a large figure in Indiana, and has given over $54 million in community donations.

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One company that has thrived in Indiana since its founding is Cummins. A familiar figure in the state, Cummins has been a significant influence on Indiana’s manufacturing scene for over a century. Founded in 1919, in Columbus, Indiana, by Clessie Lyle Cummins, with financial help from William G. Irwin, Cummins focused initially on manufacturing diesel engines. The company grew rapidly, and J. Irwin Miller, William Irwin’s great nephew, went on to lead the company into the second half of the 20th century. Expanding over the years to include not just engines but components, generators, power systems, and zero emissions solutions Accelera, Cummins is a global manufacturing force still based in Indiana.

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The third largest employer in the state in 2024, Cummins not only provides thousands of manufacturing jobs, but has contributed directly to the city of Columbus. From funding architects to design public buildings, to sponsoring the Indianapolis 500, the impact of Cummins on the state's industry and life is immense.

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With such a variety of companies and key figures investing in automotive manufacturing, Indiana currently contains some of the most advanced manufacturing techniques in the world, and will only continue to grow in the coming years.

Pharmaceuticals

In addition to steel and automotives, the pharmaceutical sector is a key part of Indiana’s manufacturing industry. Ask any Hoosier, and they’ll point you to the company that started it all, Eli Lilly.

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Founded by Colonel Eli Lilly in 1876, Eli Lilly has been researching, developing, and manufacturing pharmaceuticals in Indiana for 149 years. Taken over first by the colonel’s son, and then grandson, the company has become known for its scientific rigour and  philanthropic acts. They pioneered large scale drug manufacturing, and were the first commercial manufacturer of insulin in the U.S. Their headquarters have always remained in Indiana, and the company’s own success created a thriving hub of industry around it. Eli Lilly has provided thousands of manufacturing, research, and scientific jobs in the state over the last century and a half, and has gone from strength to strength to become the global force it is today.

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In the last five years alone, Eli Lilly has invested $1.2 billion in Indianapolis to update existing manufacturing facilities, and is in the process of investing an additional $4.5 billion into a manufacturing site in Lebanon, Indiana. This new site will provide full time manufacturing jobs, as well as more than 2,000 construction jobs during development, ensuring that Indiana’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector remains strong and healthy.

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The Future

With three of Indiana’s five fortune 500 companies being manufacturers (Eli Lilly, Cummins, and U.S. Steel), the state's economy and history is intertwined with manufacturing. While some areas like steel suffered during the second half of the 20th century, recent developments and announcements suggest that Indiana’s manufacturing industry is on its way back to the top. With over 500,000 manufacturing jobs in 2025, and future investments focusing on Indiana, the Hoosier State’s manufacturing industry looks set to be back on top.

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