Forum report showcases NWI advantage

The Northwest Indiana Forum has assembled a package of cost information to showcase the advantages of Northwest Indiana.

The analysis was funded by an Indiana Economic Development Corp. Regional Economic Development Partnership Program grant.

"Through the grant partnership on this project and coordination on the Illinois outreach campaign, the Forum and IEDC can better market advantages of Northwest Indiana supported by more impactful and true to life costs for business operations. We are extremely pleased that the IEDC found merit in this regional, industry sector–specific analysis," said Mark Maassel, president and CEO of the Forum, a privately funded economic development group.

The Forum directed grant funding toward a cost modeling and competitive analysis to showcase NWI's advantages for business attraction, according to a news release. The project focused on three key industry areas: advanced manufacturing; transportation, distribution and logistics; and office operations, including data centers and call centers.

"Northwest Indiana has a wealth of assets that make this region a hotspot for new investment, including a tremendous interstate infrastructure, a major port system, dark fiber connectivity and reliable utilities," said Dan Hasler, Secretary of Commerce and CEO of the IEDC, the state's department of commerce. "We're confident that the cooperative efforts of the Forum will showcase these unique attributes and help transform this region to reach new heights economically."

The study compares Northwest Indiana to other competitive regions/cities in the Midwest, which will be used in various marketing efforts in the coming months, the Forum said. The full reports will be released in the coming weeks.