Indiana’s automotive manufacturing sector is a $15.8 billion industry, employing more than 100,000 Hoosiers.
It represents the state’s second largest manufacturing sector (behind chemical products) and automotive jobs have grown 40 percent since 2009, according to a 2016 report from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Indiana Automotive Council.
Indiana is the only U.S. location to have auto assembly plants from Honda, Subaru and Toyota inside a single state, according to the IEDC.
Vigo County is part of the state’s automotive mix with companies like Thyssenkrupp Presta North America.
The company opened a steering column assembly plant in 2003 in the Vigo County Industrial Park.
It has since twice expanded its original 50,000-square-foot plant - in 2010, with a $17.5 million expansion and again in 2012, with a $22.5 million expansion - and is now four times it original size at 220,000 square feet.
The Thyssenkrupp facility employs more than 400 workers.
The company produces steering columns, intermediate shafts and steering gears for passenger vehicles and light trucks. It makes parts for the Big 3 - Ford, General Motors and Chrysler - as well as international brands, such as Mercedes, and others, such as Tesla.
The plant started with a manual telescoping steering column production line, but has since added power steering telescoping columns and subcomponent lines, said Bob Bridgwaters, part of the plant’s human resources department and a former production manager.
“We have added probably more power column lines, which use an electric motor, in the last three to four years than we have manual, however, our most recent addition was a manual line,” Bridgewaters said.
“Quality is a huge focus when it comes to the steering business, because it is a connection of the driver to road,” he added.
The plant has four manual steering column lines, with the largest line producing 4,500 steering columns daily. That line has 11 operators through three work shifts. The plant also has four power steering column lines, with the largest line producing about 1,800 steering columns daily, with 15 operators over three work shifts.
It’s subcomponent process, which makes parts for the steering columns, is mainly automated.
The Terre Haute facility, Bridgewaters said, “is a key component because of its location to the customer. There is of course, Detroit, and a lot of (Thyssenkrupp) customers throughout the Midwest and also on the East Coast where a lot of steering columns that come from this plant go to where cars are being built.”
Mike Shadoan, human resources manager at the Terre Haute facility, said Thyssenkrupp’s components has three sites that work together.
“Our site in Troy (Michigan) gets the sales, then basically hands that off to Indianapolis where they engineer and make a prototype and it ends up in Terre Haute for assembly. There is a lot of interface and collaboration,” between Troy, Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Shadoan said.
Danika Kmetz, Thyssenkrupp spokeswoman, said the Terre Haute facility is part of the company’s component technology division in North America.
“Nine out of 10 premium light vehicles are driven by our components. Not just steering, but camshafts, crankshafts and dampers,” said Kmetz said.
Thyssenkrupp in its 2015/2016 fiscal year, which ended in September, 2016, had sales of components technology in North America of just over $2 billion, Kmetz said. Globally, the company had about $11 billion in sales with its automotive customers, Kmetz said.
Thyssenkrupp Group is diversified in components technology, elevator technology, industrial solutions, material solutions, steel in Europe and steel in the Americas. The group’s 2015/2016 sales in North America were $9.9 billion, accounting for 23 percent of the company’s total sales, which were $43.3 billion globally, Kmetz said.
Globally, the company has more than 156,000 employees in nearly 80 countries.