Valparaiso Magazine - Spring 2023

A FINAL WORD
>> A FINAL
WORD
The Importance of the
Manufacturing Industry
to Our Economy
s you have seen, this issue of
Valparaiso Magazine has featured
some of our specialty manufacturing
firms. We did this because
historically the manufacturing
sector tends to sell their products to
customers outside of Valparaiso and even
outside of our country. The fact that most
of our manufacturers sell outside of our
area means they are bringing fresh new
dollars to be circulated within the marketplace,
and not just circulating existing
dollars from a captive audience locally.
The importance of bringing in new dollars
in the form of sales to our area from
outside means that these manufacturers
are building our economy through import
sales. These new dollars coming into
our area help build and strengthen our
economic engine.
The manufacturing sector in Indiana,
as a state, accounts for 26.56 % of total
output in the state. Manufacturing firms
employ 17.51 % of all employment in the
Indiana work force. There are 546,000
manufacturing employees in Indiana. The
manufacturers paid an average wage
of $86,052 annually to their employees
based on statewide averages. These
figures show why manufacturing is so
important to the state economy as well as
our own local economy. The total output
in values of manufactured goods at the
end of 2021 was $105B.
The local impact of what the manufacturing
sector does for our region and local
economies by their very nature is to bring
dollars to the community from outside
the state and use those dollars to support
local charities, nonprofits, and most
importantly high wages and benefits for
their employees.
In addition to the firms mentioned in
this issue, I will add Cleveland Cliffs,
Pratt Industries, Task Force Tips, Sensit
Technologies, and Urschel Laboratories.
Many of these firms have been here for 35
to 100 years.
Another important aspect of the manufacturing
sector is the higher amount
of property taxes manufacturers pay
compared to homes. The investment that
a manufacturer has in their real estate
By Rex G. Richards, CCE
President, Valpo Chamber
is significantly larger than a residential
home. Say a home with a market value
at $250,000 with a mortgage exemption
would pay something like $2,000 in
property taxes. A manufacturing plant
valued at $30M would pay a significantly
larger amount of taxes than a home. It
would easily be several hundred thousand
dollars in just property taxes. In
addition, a manufacturer would also pay
personal property taxes on equipment
and computers or robotics and machinery
they have inside the building. These
taxes that manufacturers pay support
our schools, libraries, as well as city and
county government. Manufacturing firms
have an obligation to pay taxes, yes, but
remember the size of their tax bills must
be paid by sales and profits to underwrite
the overhead.
Having a strong contingent of manufacturing
firms in any community provides
numerous benefits that help build a
strong diversified economy. We are so
fortunate to have a strong contingent of
specialty manufacturers in Valparaiso,
Porter County, and NW Indiana.
38 SPRING 2023 |