50 Great Indiana Businesses: companies making a significant impact on their communities and state through innovation, growth and civic involvement.

Hurco Companies

Indianapolis

AS A MANUFACTURING state, it should be no surprise that Indiana is home to one of the world's top machining-tool companies. Founded in 1968, Hurco's machine tools, controls and software have redefined the industry by supplying customers with the most intelligent, efficient and user-friendly computer numerically controlled (CNC) metalworking machinery available.

Edward Humston and Gerald Roch started the company in Indianapolis with an idea that became Autobend, the first numerically controlled press brake gauging system--and an industry leader was born.

By the 1970s, Hurco was already expanding overseas with the founding of Hurco Europe Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Its advanced "conversational programming" was introduced to the shop floor in 1976 and helped the company further its worldwide leadership.

In the 1980s, Hurco continued to grow, utilizing new ideas to address a quickly changing business environment. The company embraced changes in technology, from the development of an interactive graphical computer control systems that automates shop floor processes with the interactive, twin-screen, UltiMax CNC control, to acquiring a patent for its Interactive Machining System methodology. During this period the company expanded its market presence in Europe by establishing operations in Germany and France. In 1989, Hurco successfully completed a common stock offering.

The 1990s were a challenging time for Hurco and the global industry at large. In 1995, Hurco rose to the occasion, showing the benefits of its three-year restructuring plan by lowering costs, improving efficiency and expanding its product line. Sales for 2006 increased more than 18 percent to $148.5 million. Today, with its improved financial profile, Hurco continues to invest in bringing innovative products to the marketplace that allow advanced manufacturing companies to become more efficient by reducing their setup time and allowing multi-tasking on the shop floor.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance

Indianapolis

FARM BUREAU MUTUAL Insurance Co. was chartered in 1934 to provide Hoosier farmers with farm-tailored insurance protection at a reasonable cost. The company ended its first year with 5,500 policyholders and a surplus of $148.01. A related life insurance company was started in 1937, and, over the years, the family of companies doing business as Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance expanded its insurance services to include products for auto, life, home and business and added banking and other financial services and products.

Today Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, which moved into its current Indianapolis headquarters in 1992, is the largest writer of farm insurance and the second-largest writer of auto and homeowners' insurance in the state. The company has an extensive network of more than 450 agents located in 130 local offices in all 92 Indiana counties. More than 1,200 employees work in these local offices and in the Indianapolis home office.

"Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is based here and our employees live here," says Don Villwock, president. "Agents and employees sit with clients at basketball and baseball games. We're more to the community than just an insurance company."

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, in conjunction with its parent company Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., is a strong corporate citizen, supporting the arts, education and various charitable events. Through its sponsorship of 4-H, FFA, IHSAA and the eXceL Awards, the company is one of the top supporters of youth activities in Indiana.

Through the years, the company retained its original values, and stewardship of member-clients still defines its culture. "I'm pleased that Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance has such a good presence in Indiana," says CEO Jerry Canada. "We're a domestic company, so our entire focus is on providing the best service we can to the people of Indiana. Insurance is a business of service; the people of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance will never let that change."

Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

Indianapolis

THIS INDIANAPOLIS institution, built in 1909, was initially planned to be a year-round testing facility for Indiana's fast-growing automobile industry. Its four local owners (Carl Fisher, James Allison, Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby) anticipated that the races would pique the interest of the automobile-buying public and boost sales.

In 1927 World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, who had driven in several early 500s, purchased "The Brickyard," as it was nicknamed because of the 3.2 million bricks used to pave the track's surface. Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. purchased IMS in 1945, and led the renovations that make the track the attraction it is today. IMS remains in the ownership of the Hulman-George family.

IMS is home to the Hall of Fame Museum, Brickyard Crossing Golf Course and the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort and Inn. Four holes of the golf course are located inside the infield of the historic IMS oval track, and the course has been listed in Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses." Other properties owned by IMS include IMS Productions, the video production arm of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League; IMS Radio Network (1952), which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500 and other major races to stations around the world; and Brickyard Authentics, which operates the official IMS retail store.

Since 2000 the IMS has enjoyed the prestige of being the only racing facility in the world to host the three major auto racing series--the IndyCar Series (Indianapolis 500), Formula One (United States Grand Prix) and NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (Allstate 400 at the Brickyard). The Indianapolis 500 is the world's largest single-day spectator sporting event and IMS is the world's largest spectator sporting facility, with more than 250,000 permanent seats.

"The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a place where great events happen, creating legends that live forever," says Tony George, Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO. "Our company is dedicated to the spirit of sport and competition, and will continue to reflect the greatness of those who compete here."

The Hulman-George family have long been supporters of charitable arts and research efforts in Indiana, including the Indiana Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Zoo, spinal cord research chairs at Purdue University and Indiana University and the Humane Society.

Industrial Contractors

Evansville

IN 1964, WITH JUST A handful of employees, Charles Braun founded Industrial Contractors Inc. (ICI), a general and mechanical contracting company headquartered in Evansville. Since then the company has opened an eastern office in West Virginia, and has three affiliated Evansville-based companies: Professional Consultants Inc., TriState Refractories Corp. and Industrial Equipment Inc.

Today, Industrial Contractors, which is still family-owned, employs more than 2,000 skilled and dedicated workers during peak construction periods. The core of the company's work is in the power sector (58 percent), followed by the industrial sector (24 percent) and the commercial sector (18 percent). ICI's revenue increased from $70.8 million in 1991 to $350 million in 2006. From 2002 to 2006, company man-hours nearly doubled. Recently ICI was ranked 141st (by revenue) in Engineering News-Record's annual top 400 general contractors survey. As of May 2007, ICI has worked nearly 12 million man-hours without a lost-time accident.

"When my father, Charles Braun, started Industrial Contractors in 1964, he set out to build a construction company committed to the highest levels of quality, integrity, safety and customer value," says CEO and owner Alan W Braun. "He understood that the key to building this sort of company was attracting the best people in all crafts and at all levels of the organization. Today, all of us at Industrial Contractors are committed to continuing that tradition of excellence. We are a company of construction professionals who are proud of the work we do."

The high-profile projects Industrial Contractors has been involved with--The Centre, Deaconess Women's Hospital, Evansville Regional Airport, Casino Aztar, Toyota, AK Steel's Rockport facility and the Vectren and Old National Bancorp buildings on Evansville's riverfront--have helped to define the character and landscape of the region.

The company believes in building strong communities and contributes time and financial resources to a variety of charities and non-profit organizations, including Boy Scouts, Deaconess Foundation, Evansville Public Library, Habitat for Humanity, Ivy Tech Foundation and United Way.

Interactive Intelligence

Indianapolis

INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, an Indianapolis-based developer of business communications software, was founded in 1994 by Dr. Donald E. Brown. A visionary, Brown wanted to be at the forefront of what he felt was a "revolution" in business communications. This revolution called for no less than the replacement of standard legacy communication systems with software solutions.

Despite the advantages of the new technology--lower cost, superior customization and simplified administration--the early years were tough, but the fledgling Indianapolis-based company held its own. "Since our founding in 1994 we've not only survived but thrived, against even the largest global telecom vendors, by delivering the most innovative solutions in the market," says Brown, the company's president and CEO.

The company is taking advantage of its "first-to-market" accomplishments in unified communications software for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). "This is a direct result of an incredibly skilled and dedicated workforce, which is fostered by a corporate culture based on independence, creativity and passion," says Brown. "This culture is the cornerstone of our success, and I'm confident that it will continue to propel us toward our goal of securing the remaining Fortune 500 companies as customers, and establishing ourselves as the de facto leader in the IP-based business communications market."

Today Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 525 people and has more than 2,500 customers worldwide. Last year was a banner year for the company. It generated $83.2 million in revenue, a 32 percent increase over 2005 revenues; was the top-performing Indiana stock; and the second-best-performing stock in the NASDAQ. This year it was rated one of the "Best Places to Work in Indiana" by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

The company has demonstrated its corporate citizenship through a variety of community service initiatives, including on-site blood drives, food drives and holiday toy drives. In 2006 it also participated in six charity run/walk events.

Jasper Desk

Jasper

IN 1876, THE COMPANY known today as Jasper Desk Co. opened its doors as Alles Brothers Furniture Co. Many of the company's original employees were skilled woodcraftsmen from Germany's Black Forest area. They were attracted to southern Indiana, because the area was famous for producing fine-textured white oak timber. Although the company name changed over the years, the manufacturer of medium-to-high-end wood office furniture still operates in Jasper on the site of the original company. It is the oldest wood office furniture manufacturer in the U.S.

In 1890, the U.S. patent office issued a patent for the design of a dust-free roll curtain used on roll-top desks to company inventors Frank Joseph and John Heim. Hundreds of roll-top desks were manufactured at Jasper Desk. In 1903, John Gramelspacher, who served as company secretary, was issued the company's second patent, for a combined desk/ typewriter cabinet.

The company survived World War I, the Great Depression, World War II and, more recently, tough competition from domestic and overseas companies. During the '60s and '70s, Jasper Desk filled orders consisting of full railcar loads of furniture to one location. Today, much of its business focuses on custom-made furniture, and an order may consist of a few special pieces for an executive office or company boardroom.

Jasper Desk, a closely held company, has 120 employees and has served as a training ground for exchange students wanting to learn about the specialized industry. The company supports the community through its continued involvement and donations to area schools, churches and organizations.

"We are proud of the fact that we work for a tradition-rich company," says general manager Philip Gramelspacher. "We believe in community and supporting local manufacturing jobs, which are important to Jasper and the state of Indiana. If one cares about buying 'American-Made' products, then look to Jasper Desk."

Jayco

Middlebury

JAYCO IS THE LARGEST privately held manufacturer of recreational vehicles in the U.S., and the third-largest manufacturer overall. That's a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1968 on the farm owned by Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager. Bontrager had two driving passions: to build a better RV and to build a company that reflected his ideals and values--family, hard work and the Golden Rule. By the end of the first year, the company employed 15 people and had sold 132 folding camping trailers.

Since then the company has grown in size, market share and stature. It has approximately 1,500 employees at its Middlebury headquarters, 200 at its Twin Fails, Idaho, manufacturing facility and 600 at its Australian affiliate. Over the last four years, Jayco, which is still family-owned, has more than doubled its market share in towable RVs, producing more than 35,000 of them in 2006 alone. The Jayco Caravan captured approximately 40 percent of the RV market share in Australia.

CEO and chairman Wilbur Bontrager attributes the company's success to several factors. "It really comes down to the quality of our employees and the dealer network we have and providing them with high-quality and high-value products," he says. "Our future looks great as long as we keep providing the marketplace with consistent quality products and services."

The Jayco "family" has always sponsored and/ or participated in community philanthropic activities, donating time, talents and contributions to charitable organizations, churches and community groups.

The company is also a leader in environmental recycling of materials used in manufacturing, such as paper, wood and metal. In 1989 it implemented a formal recycling program for which it has garnered numerous awards and gained statewide recognition.

Kimball International 

Jasper

THE JASPER CORP., founded in 1950 by Arnold F. Habig in Jasper, was the forerunner of what is known today as Kimball International. It began as a contract manufacturer of residential furniture and television cabinets, with first-year sales of $748,000. In 1952 the company made its first acquisition, a kitchen cabinet manufacturer, and followed it with the purchase of Illinois-based W.W. Kimball Co., a well-known piano manufacturer. Once Kimball's operations were relocated to West Baden, it began to thrive, becoming the world's largest manufacturer of pianos and organs. During its peak years of production (the 1960s and 1970s) the company manufactured approximately 100,000 pianos and organs per year.

In the 1970s, the Jasper Corp. effectively capitalized on the quality reputation of the Kimball brand for its furniture and electronics lines. In 1974, the Jasper Corp. changed its name to Kimball International, and, two years later, became a publicly held company traded on the NASDAQ.

Recently, Kimball International opened a 132,000-square-foot electronics production facility in Nanjing, China, and acquired Tampa based Reptron Electronics this February.

"Our business is changing," says president and CEO James C. Thyen. "We embrace change and seek out opportunities for growth. Our employee team is excellent, and I believe our internal talent is among the best in the world. With our acquisitions over the last year, the electronics side of our business is growing and is now the larger of our two segments. We are diversifying our book of business in electronics, particularly into the medical field."

Today Kimball International is a $1.2 billion global corporation, operating in 12 U.S. states, seven countries and three continents and employing approximately 8,000 people worldwide. More than 4,000 employees are based in Indiana, making the company one of Indiana's largest state-based employers. Kimball was recognized as one of the "Most Admired Companies" by Fortune magazine and as one of the "Best Big Companies in America" by Forbes magazine.

The company has contributed more than $11 million to charities and community causes since 1952, and the Kimball International Scholarship Program has given out 349 scholarships to employees' children since 1963.

Koch Enterprises

Evansville

IN 1873 GEORGE KOCH founded George Koch Tin Shop in Evansville, the forerunner of George Koch Sons Inc. Louis Koch led the company into the sheet metal industry and helped to keep it afloat during World War I by manufacturing toy tin horns. Created for his children initially, orders began "pouring in," and the toys became the company's first mass-produced manufactured product. In the 1930s, the company became the first franchised distributor for the Carrier air conditioner company. Toward the end of the 1930s, the company had become the largest manufacturer of floral metalcraft in the world.

Following World War II, the Metalcraft Division began producing a wrought-iron furniture line and the flourishing Industrial Division produced the DeBurgh conveyor, still considered the most efficient conveyer in the wood-finishing industry In 1952, the Atomic Energy Commission awarded Koch a $50 million sheet metal contract, the largest awarded to a single firm in American history. Over the years the company acquired several businesses, including Gibbs Die Casting, Uniseal Inc., Brake Supply, Carrier Midwest and Audubon Metals LLC. In 1999 it organized as Koch Enterprises Inc., a diversified holding company with subsidiaries operating worldwide.

Today the company's primary business is automobile parts manufacturing at 42 percent, with 27 percent of the business devoted to wholesale distribution, 24 percent to metals recycling and 7 percent to equipment design and construction. Last year, sales totaled $819 million, and the company grew to approximately 3,000 employees. Recently Koch built a plant in Dalian, China, to expand into the domestic Chinese automotive market. It also recently acquired South Western Communications. This acquisition marked Koch's initial entry into an industry which integrates technology for detention centers, hospitals and large office buildings.

"Our team members make the difference," says Robert L. Koch II, president, CEO and fourth-generation family member. "They Strive for flawless execution of their work and their involvement in the community makes a positive difference in the lives of those who need help."

The company makes significant contributions to the community through the Koch Foundation, which has granted approximately $1.2 million to non-profits, mainly educational and religious institutions. The Koch Foundation was the lead donor to the Louis J. Koch Family Children's Museum of Evansville, which opened in 2006.

Eli Lilly & Co

Indianapolis

WITH HIS STAFF OF three--a bottler, a compounder and his 14-year-old grandson Josiah K. Lilly Jr., Civil War veteran and pharmaceutical chemist Col. Eli Lilly opened a downtown Indianapolis office in 1876. Dissatisfied with the often ineffective medicines of the day, he resolved that his company would manufacture pharmaceutical products of the highest quality, develop only medicines that would be dispensed at the suggestion of physicians rather than sideshow hucksters, and would be based on the best science of the day.

Lilly's "milestones in medical research" include the first commercially available insulin product in the 1920s, a method to mass produce penicillin in the 1940s, the launch of the antibiotic erythromycin in the 1950s and the introduction of oral and injectable antibiotics in the 1960s. Lilly's Ceclor, launched in the 1970s, became the world's top-selling oral antibiotic, and Humulin, the diabetes drug introduced in 1982, was the world's first human health-care product created using recombinant DNA technology. The blockbuster Prozac, launched in 1988, was a new class of drugs for depression and became the world's treatment of choice.

Today, Lilly has more than 41,000 employees worldwide, more than 15,000 in Indiana. It has manufacturing plants in 13 countries and markets products in 143. Sales in 2006 were $15.7 billion, with five drugs topping $1 billion each in net sales; the biggest by far was Zyprexa, for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar mania, bringing in $4.4 billion. The others were Gemzar for cancer, Cymbalta for depression, Humalog for diabetes, and Evista for osteoporosis.

"For 131 years, Lilly has sought to earn the public's trust by upholding the highest standards in the way we make medicines, conduct business, and fulfill our duty as a corporate citizen," says Sidney Taurel, chairman and CEO.

Old National Bancorp

Evansville

THE STORY OF OLD National goes back almost to Indiana's beginnings as a state, but a significant plot twist much more recently has kept the story heading into the future.

The Evansville bank was founded in 1834, and enjoyed several generations of growth as a community bank, serving the needs of businesses and residents of the southwest corner of Indiana. In that regard it was like many Indiana banks, growing steadily but slowly-and--entirely locally. That strategy changed in 1985, when Old National made its first acquisition.

That directional change happened at just the right time, allowing Old National to grow more quickly and ensure its continued independence. Size was becoming increasingly important in the 1980s and 1990s, as old-line Indiana banks were being rapidly absorbed by larger banking companies from other states, where bank acquisition laws had been eased much earlier than they were in Indiana. Many familiar Indiana banking names disappeared, but Old National has remained and grown to become the largest Indiana-based banking company.

That growth has come through more than 40 acquisitions, as well as through the opening of branches in new markets and diversification into insurance sales. Old National now operates 120 banking centers in southern Illinois, western Kentucky and across much of Indiana--not just southwest Indiana but the entire midsection from Terre Haute to Indianapolis to Richmond, plus Lafayette, Muncie, Fort Wayne, Mishawaka, Elkhart and numerous smaller communities in-between. The Louisville area is on its radar as well.

Today, Old National boasts $8.3 billion in assets, customers in a quarter million households and nearly 33,000 business relationships. "As the largest financial institution headquartered in Indiana, we offer diverse bank products and service expertise with the passion and local focus of a smaller community bank," says president and CEO Robert G. Jones. "Old National is clearly positioned for long-term growth, which will enable us to realize our goal of becoming a high-performance organization while enhancing shareholder return."

OneAmerica Financial Partners

Indianapolis

AMERICAN CENTRAL LIFE Insurance Co., founded in Indianapolis in 1899, merged with United Mutual Life Insurance in 1936 to become American United Life Insurance Co. with a combined $46 million in assets. Two years later AUL issued its first retirement product. AUL topped $1.5 billion in life insurance in force in 1960, moving it into the top 3 percent of the nation's 1,440 life insurance companies.

The company moved into its new 38-story tower in 1982, the tallest building in Indianapolis at the time, dramatically changing the city's skyline. The stately building it vacated became Ivy Tech State College's administrative offices. The same year it established its Pension Division, now AUL's Retirement Services Division.

In 1994 and again in 1998, AUL formed strategic alliances with The State Life Insurance Co., Indianapolis, and Pioneer Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Fargo, N.D., respectively. In 2000, it converted to a mutual insurance holding company, American United Insurance Holding Co. At the same time, OneAmerica Financial Partners was formed as a stock subsidiary of the holding company, of which AUL, State Life and Pioneer are now subsidiaries.

Last year, OneAmerica had more than $18 billion in assets with 1,700 employees. "OneAmerica is built on a promise, and the relationships that keep that promise," says Dayton H. Molendorp, president and CEO. "And we take them both very seriously. Our promise is that we'll be there when our customers need us most. And whether the companies of OneAmerica are providing retirement services, employee benefits or life insurance products, our promise is built on a century-old foundation of excellence, value and strength."

OneAmerica supports a wide variety of organizations and events, including the United Way, the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon--for which it is the named sponsor, the Center for Leadership Development and WFYI public television.

Red Gold

Orestes

THE STORY OF RED GOLD begins with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The retired Grover Hutcherson, who had previously owned and operated 13 canneries, heard the news and soon purchased and restored a burned-out Indiana cannery to help feed the troops. In 1942, Orestes Canning Co. was launched in the tiny Madison County community for which it was named, canning tomato puree and whole peeled tomatoes.

Together with daughter Frances, Hutcherson invited local farmers to plant tomatoes and join in the effort. The war ended, but the company now known as Red Gold Inc. continued on, with Frances and her husband, Ernie Reichart, at the helm. In 1992, they turned the company over to their children--Brian, Gary and Tina. Brian had taken the reins about a decade earlier and continues as president and CEO today.

Red Gold maintains year-round manufacturing facilities in Orestes, Elwood and Geneva, plus a million-square-foot distribution center in Alexandria that ships out more than 100 semi-loads of tomato products daily More than 1,100 people work full-time for Red Gold--the number swells to more than 1,600 during the harvest.

The company today is Indiana's largest food processor, producing more than 50 million cases of tomato products annually and consuming as much as 95 percent of the state's tomato crop. It's the country's largest privately held ketchup producer and the top producer of private-label tomato and vegetable juice. In all, Red Gold produces tomato products in about 200 combinations of product type, size and flavor, and though the company doesn't release revenue figures, industry analysts have placed Red Gold in the quarter-billion-dollar range.

Brian Reichart says the company's success has everything to do with top-notch tomatoes and people. "I want to make sure we stay on top, and how I do that is to make sure we bring the right kind of people in here," he says. "That's what got us here."

Remy International

Anderson

BROTHERS FRANK AND Perry Remy were headed West to find their fortune, but they ended up finding it during a stopover in Anderson, where the "Gas Boom" was driving population and business growth. In 1896, they launched a home wiring business, then branched into automotive as the "horseless carriage" gained popularity, They created the Remy Magneto to spark engines, and by 1910 were selling 50,000 units a year.

The next few years saw ownership changes and consolidation. The Remys sold their company to Fletcher Savings and Trust Co. in 1911, and five years later United Motors Corp. acquired both Remy Electric Co. and the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., better known by its acronym, DELCO. Two years after that United Motors became part of General Motors, and the two companies combined into GM's Delco Remy division, manufacturing automatic starters, electric windshield wipers, generators and distributors. The business grew to include such components as alternators, transmissions, fuel systems and remanufactured engines.

In 1994, GM sold parts of the operation to private investors led by former Chrysler president Harold K. Sperlich and a Delco Remy executive named Thomas J. Snyder (who left the company a year and a half ago and recently was appointed president of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana). Today, the company is known as Remy International, and its revenues have grown to approximately $1.1 billion.

Though Remy's financial results have been overshadowed lately by what president and CEO John Weber has referred to as financial "burdens of the past," the company has been moving ahead toward promising ventures of the future. "We will focus our investments and resources on opportunities where we believe we can win."

Among other things, the company has been onboard early in the game developing high-tech products for increasingly popular hybrid vehicles. For example, its electric motors are part of the Allison hybrid transit bus transmission, now shuttling passengers in such places as Seattle. And Remy won the electric motor contract supplying a major producer of vehicles in China.

Rieth-Riley Construction Co.

Goshen

INDIANA LIKES TO CALL itself the "Crossroads of America," and Rieth-Riley Construction Co. likes to point out that it built a lot of those roads.

The company was founded in Goshen in 1916 by Albert A. Rieth, who was joined two years later by George Riley, a partner until his retirement in 1940. Rieth-Riley built the first federally funded highway in Indiana, the first section of the Indiana Toll Road, and has paved many other roads across Indiana in concrete and asphalt.

Beyond the construction of highways, Rieth-Riley does underground and utility work, builds bridges, constructs curbs and sidewalks, operates aggregate mines and processing plants throughout Indiana and Michigan, and is involved in site preparation, excavation and grading. During the peak construction season, the company employs about 1,800 people.

What's behind its years of growth? A major factor, says its leader, is that the company for more than two decades has been 100 percent employee-owned, a rarity in the business. "We have been successful for so long because of the quality and hard work of our employee-owners," explains CEO Ron Pope. "Taking ownership of a construction project is not merely a buzzword--our customers deal direct with the company owners every day on the jobsite. Our employee-owners display a level of enthusiasm, pride and productivity which differentiates our company and has been the primary reason of our success."

Rieth-Riley also prides itself on community involvement. It gives thousands of dollars annually to support many charitable organizations in which its employee-owners participate. The company, says its leaders, also strives to ensure a safe worksite for its employees and public, requiring all supervisors to receive formal safety training.

The company also takes environmental responsibilities seriously Recycling is the rule whenever possible--Rieth-Riley operates modern recycling plants for asphalt and concrete, as well as pavement rotomilling machines. The pavement the company removes is recycled and added to new paving mixes or used as aggregate base, saving customers money And most plant sites have earned industry environmental recognitions.

Schurz Communications 

South Bend 

A DOWNRIGHT THRILLING story eventually led to the founding of the South Bend Tribune in 1872. The father of cofounder Alfred Bryant Miller was a well-connected publisher whose abolitionist newspaper, The Philanthropist, set up shop in Cincinnati in the 1830s and enraged slave owners across the Ohio River. The elder Miller, named Benjamin Franklin Miller, remained in the anti-slavery movement even after a violent crowd of Kentucky slave owners tossed his presses into the river. But he eventually joined family in South Bend, where he worked in the newspaper and printing businesses and raised several children including the eventual Tribune cofounder.

For years, the newspaper was the only holding of the company now known as Schurz Communications, and though it came along too late to join in the abolitionist movement that included Alfred Bryant Miller's father, the newspaper was the first major Indiana publication to take on the Ku Klux Klan as it gained power and influence in the 1920s. Nearly daily front-page stories and no-holds-barred editorials turned away some subscribers but inspired others, including a large group of Notre Dame students who disrupted a giant 1924 Klan picnic that had been planned to welcome eventual Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson to South Bend. The Klan learned instead that it was not welcome.

The newspaper was controlled by Miller descendents until the 1950s, when editor and publisher Franklin Schurz Sr. took the reins. Members of the Schurz family have been involved in the publishing company ever since. Though it benefited from family and management stability throughout its history, the Tribune in more recent decades also became known for its early embrace of new technologies, including computerized photo typesetting in the 1960s.

Schurz Communications also was a broadcast pioneer in 1922 with the launch of WGAZ radio (now WSBT) in South Bend. In 1952, WSBT-TV television went on the air. And Schurz also branched well beyond northern Indiana through the years. Today the company publishes a dozen daily newspapers, with other holdings besides the South Bend flagship including The Herald Times in Bloomington, The Times Mail in Bedford, The Reporter Times in Martinsville and the Noblesville Daily Times along with publications in six other states. Its broadcast holdings include WSBT television and radio in South Bend and a group of Lafayette radio stations, plus TV and radio stations in five other states. The company employs 2,900.

Shoe Carnival 

Evansville

ENTREPRENEUR DAVID Russell transformed the shoe-buying experience in 1978 when he created Shoe Carnival. It was just what the name implied, a shoe store with a bit of a carnival atmosphere, complete with a carnival barker hawking the deal of the moment over a loudspeaker.

The winning concept moved a lot of shoes out the door and Shoe Carnival grew into a small chain of fun-loving shoe shops. After a decade of growth Russell sold the chain to prominent shoe manufacturer Nine West Group and earned himself an "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from Ernst & Young. Nine West soon moved out of the retailing business and sold Shoe Carnival to its president and CEO, J. Wayne Weaver, who today is chairman and CEO of the Jacksonville Jaguars but also remains chairman and largest shareholder of Shoe Carnival.

Shoe Carnival had 39 stores in 1993 when it went public, and had grown to 93 by the time Mark Lemond was named CEO three years later. Lemond, who had joined the company shortly after Nine West acquired it, brought new focus and an increased energy for expansion.

A chain that some analysts had seen as underperforming went on a growth spree, opening dozens of locations and adding more consistency to the carnival-like store experience.

Today, Shoe Carnival is a major force in shoe sales, with 278 stores, and it's not standing still, according to Lemond. "This year we have initiated what we anticipate to be a multi-year period of accelerated store growth," he says. "We expect to open up to 25 stores this year, including the seven stores we opened during the first quarter." Next year, he says, new store growth could accelerate further to a rate of 12 to 15 percent, a growth rate the chain hopes to maintain for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, 2006 sales hit a record of $681.7 million, and net income grew to $23.8 million. The company continued the push launched a couple of years earlier toward stronger sales in women's dress and casual shoes. "In just two years, our women's non-athletic product has risen to 27 percent of our total sales from 23 percent in fiscal 2004," Lemond says.

Shoe Carnival last year demonstrated its ongoing commitment to its hometown of Evansville, building a new, 60,000-square-foot corporate headquarters along with a 410,000-square-foot distribution center.

Simon Property Group 

Indianapolis

WHEN IT COMES TO shopping, a few names have really made a mark, such as Sears, Macy, Montgomery War--and Simon. Though the Simon brothers didn't go into business to sell suits, bedding or appliances, billions of shoppers have walked through the doors of their establishments.

Melvin Simon & Associates of Indianapolis was formed in 1960 by Mel and Herb Simon, developing Southgate Plaza in Bloomington. Four years later, the company was building enclosed malls---Mounds Mall in Anderson was its first in Indiana--and before long it was adding retail space at a rate of a million square feet a year.

In 1975, the company opened its first million-square-foot mall. Simon hit Vegas in 1992 with The Forum Shops, still one of the country's most successful retail projects. Simon's behemoth Mall of America opened the same year, and the following year the company went public and became known as Simon Property Group.

A mid-1990s merger with rival DeBartolo Realty made Simon the biggest retail REIT, and additional big acquisitions have followed. The company has ventured into overseas development, including in China, and though acquisition has moved into the outlet mall business. And Simon's branded Visa gift card became the world's largest prepaid debit card program in its debut year, 2003.

The Simon brothers have explored other ventures, too, most notably purchasing the NBA's Indiana Pacers in the 1980s. Mel also dabbled briefly in film production, landing his name on such prominent features as "Porky's" and "My Bodyguard."

Today, Simon Property Group is the country's largest owner, developer and manager of retail real estate, with ownership or an interest in 323 U.S. properties plus about five dozen overseas. Its annual U.S. shopper visits total about 2.4 billion.

With a market capitalization of approximately $56 billion, expect more success this year, says CEO David Simon, Mel's son. "Our portfolio of high-quality, highly productive retail real estate assets and strong balance. sheet position us well for a profitable 2007, and we will continue to pursue a multifaceted growth strategy."

Steel Dynamics

Fort Wayne

TALK ABOUT HIGH barriers to entry--there's a reason new steel companies don't come along very often. Back in 1993, three entrepreneurs with steel experience wanted to build their own mini mill, hoping to produce flat-rolled steel more cost-effectively than other steelmakers. But the description "mini mill" is a bit misleading--Keith Busse, Mark Millett and Dick Teets needed about $360 million to bring their dream into reality.

What helped was a solid business plan and team's experience developing the first such mini mill, the Nucor operation in Crawfordsville. Within a year they had gathered the funds they needed to build the first Steel Dynamics Inc. mini mill in the northeast Indiana community of Butler. It was built in a record 14 months, and began shipping steel in January 1996. Less than a year later, the already successful company went public.

In 1998, Steel Dynamics (SDI) doubled its capacity in Butler and announced plans for a Columbia City mill to make structural steel and rails. That mill opened in 2002, and will double its capacity by the end of next year. SDI purchased the idle Qualitech Steel mill in Pittsboro in 2002, refurbishing it to make special-bar-quality round steel bars, and last year it acquired facilities in Virginia and West Virginia. And SDI's New Millennium Building Systems subsidiary, established in 2000, makes a variety of steel construction materials and operates plants in Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.

Its industry has faced some rocky times, but Steel Dynamics is a phenomenal success story. Though it only shipped its first steel at the beginning of 1996, by 2006 SDI reached $3.2 billion in annual revenues, shipping 4.7 million tons of steel last year. Net income was $397 million in 2006, and for the past five years the company has consistently ranked first or second in the industry in profits per ton shipped.

Today, SDI is headquartered in Fort Wayne and continues to be managed by its founders. More than 1,700 of SDI's 3,500 employees work in Indiana.

F.C. Tucker Co.

Indianapolis

FREDERICK C. TUCKER started selling central Indiana real estate in 1918 and the company bearing his name has seen tremendous growth since that time. As the founder of the company, Tucker helped many families settle in the first neighborhoods of Indianapolis. In 1958, the company passed to his son, Frederick C. "Bud" Tucker II, and in 1986, Fred C. Tucker III bought the company with Jim Litten and David Goodrich.

Today Tucker is a $3 billion operation with 49 offices throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Florida. In addition to real estate sales, the company also operates Tucker Mortgage, a full-service mortgage bank with loan officers in every metropolitan Indianapolis sales office, Title Services, one of Central Indiana's largest title agencies, and Tucker Insurance, offering homeowners a full line of insurance products.

The company has also started the Tucker School of Real Estate, Tucker Referrals, the Tucker/Schrader Auction Co. and Tucker's Home-Link, a personal concierge service. However, the company is best know for its "Talk to Tucker" slogan and "block T" yard sign that were adopted in 1962 and have become one of the largest regional brands.

Through the years, the company has been involved in many significant real estate deals in Indianapolis, including the sale of the Marott Hotel for $3.9 million in 1957 and a partnership in 1974 with the city, Indiana National Bank and local investors to develop Market Square Arena and the surrounding area.

In 1997, Tucker acquired its largest competitor, the AHM Graves Co., and by 2006, the company had 15 offices throughout the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Franchise growth began with an office in Bloomington and grew to include more than 30 offices in most of the major markets in the state and one in Kentucky. In 2007, the company expanded into Florida, capitalizing on Tucker's reputation with Hoosiers relocating there.

Urschel Laboratories

Valparaiso

WILLIAM URSCHEL OF Valparaiso was always looking for ways to improve the business of food processing. In 1908, he received the first of many patents for inventing the Gooseberry Snipper, which removed the stems and blossoms from gooseberries and was said to do the work of 100 humans. Two years later, the company that would become Urschel Laboratories was in business.

Back in 1910, the business was confined to a room located off the Urschel family kitchen, and the target market was canners in Michigan. Through the years, the company boosted its technology and expanded its gaze significantly, and today it offers products in virtually every food-processing sector and sells in more than a hundred countries.

Urschel Laboratories today occupies manufacturing space of about a quarter million square feet along with three offsite foundries. It is now regarded as the world leader in the design, manufacture and sales of precision food-cutting equipment, including slicers, dicers, shredders and mills. Its machines are versatile, allowing companies to process a wide range of foods including every kind of fruit, vegetable, meat, nut and grain imaginable--even rutabagas and saltwort. And though most customers are food-processing companies, Urschel's products also have some application in chemical and pharmaceutical industries, where they are used for such things as processing steroids for acne skin cream, milling the ingredients used in gelatin capsules and emulsifying the creams in ointments and cosmetics.

At its Valparaiso headquarters and manufacturing facility, the company employs close to 300 people. Urschel operates nine subsidiary offices throughout Europe and four Asian offices, and employs 25 indirect sales representatives throughout the rest of the world.

"Most people who come to work here hire in for life," says Rick Urschel, vice president of operations and corporate secretary. "And never in the company's history have we ever laid anybody off. There are a lot of people who have worked here 20, 30, 40 years."

Wabash National Corp.

Lafayette

IN 1985, DONALD "JERRY" Erlich, welder-turned-president of another Indiana truck-trailer manufacturer, and two of his employees hit the road. Their destination: Lafayette, where they founded Wabash National Corp. They built their first trailer on a set of sawhorses, became a $100 million company within the first three years, and took the company public in 1991. The next year, Erlich, now retired, was named Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year.

Besides new products and expansions, milestones over the years include gaining a leading industry position in 1994, introducing the DuraPlate dry van in 1996 and producing a record 70,000 units in 1999. Last year, the company acquired Anna, Ill.-based Transcraft, which makes flat-bed and drop-deck trailers, adding to the breadth of its product line.

Today's president and CEO, Dick Giromini, leads a company named in 2006 as one of Industry Week's 50 Best Manufacturers. He oversees 3,900 employees, 2,900 of them at two Lafayette locations covering 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing space. Wabash National also has operations in Arkansas and Kentucky, and its retail distributor of new and used trailers and parts operates throughout the U.S. and Canada. Last year, Wabash National produced 59,000 units with sales topping $1.3 billion.

"Wabash National has a strong history of product innovation," Giromini says. "As an industry leader in new technology, manufacturing efficiency and product quality, our associates continue to be committed to finding ways to be smarter, faster and more productive than our competition, while developing cost-effective solutions for our customers."

A contributor to numerous non-profits, Wabash National's recent involvement includes Lafayette's Imagination Station, Wabash Center, Tippecanoe Arts Federation, Colt Words Series, Tippecanoe County Latino Festival, Food Finders Food Bank, Girl Scouts and others.

Weaver Popcorn Co.

Indianapolis

IN 1928, IRA WEAVER HAD an idea for a business that would really pop. He grew, shucked, bagged and sold stove-top popcorn, driving his horse-drawn wagon around Van Buren seeking customers. Today, Weaver Popcorn Co. has grown to become the world's largest popcorn manufacturer.

The family-owned, privately held business now headed by the founder's grandson, Michael Weaver, employs 358, all but 15 in Indiana. Those associates are the secret to its success, he says. "Associates who are engaged and committed is what drives Weaver. We work together as a team." Monthly meetings keep everyone informed about safety, quality, sales, financials, the wellness program and the profit-sharing pool. "If we expect people to think and act in the best of interest of the company, then it's absolutely mandatory that we share information," he says.

Today, Weaver grows tens of thousands of acres of specially developed hybrid seed, sold under the Pop Weaver and Trail's End brands as well as private labels. The company supplies a third of the world's popcorn, selling in 90 countries, including Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia and Taiwan. Its concession sales represent about a third of its business. Popcorn remains its single product, now also available for microwave popping.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Weaver's plant locations include Van Buren and Gas City, with 200,000 square feet under roof in the state. It also has operations in Illinois and Argentina. In all, the company inspects 750 billion kernels of popcorn annually in its production process.

Weaver's community contributions include sponsoring the Popcorn Festival, an event held annually since 1974 in Van Buren, a town nicknamed "the popcorn capital of the world." The company also is a major participant in the annual Indiana State Fair, and it assists the Boy Scouts of America with popcorn fundraising programs.

WellPoint

Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS-headquartered WellPoint Inc. claimed the title as the nation's largest health-benefits company at its founding, when Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks merged.

The company reports that one out of every 10 Americans is a member of a WellPoint health plan. Besides integrated healthcare plans and related services, including Medicare and Medicaid plans, it offers specialty products, such as life and disability insurance benefits; pharmacy benefit management; dental, vision and behavioral health benefit services; long-term-care insurance; and flexible spending accounts.

WellPoint employs 42,000 associates, 3,600 of them in Indiana. Last year, it announced a $12 million expansion of its specialty pharmacy business in Indianapolis, which will add another 1,200 to its workforce.

"Most Hoosiers know us as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Through those plans, we serve nearly 35 million members in 14 states," says Angela Braly, who assumed the post of president and CEO on June 1, 2007. WellPoint's operating revenues for the year are expected to be $61.1 billion.

"Health-care security is so important, and yet we know that for many Americans the system is not working the way it should," Braly says. "WellPoint is committed to transforming health care, and we are doing that by focusing on the needs of our members, particularly the need for access to affordable, quality care. Ultimately, our goal is to improve the lives of our members and the health of our communities, starting right here in Indiana."

Its community support extends to every location it serves. In Indiana, that topped $2 million to 475 non-profits in 2006, including United Way of Central Indiana, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, March of Dimes, a flu shot program and Project Health, which increases access to health care for those with low income or without insurance.

WaterFurnace International

Fort Wayne

IT ALL BEGAN WITH THREE men (Jim Shields, Dan Ellis and Dave Hatherton) who had a vision of using the earth's energy, a free and renewable resource, to heat and cool homes. They founded the company in 1980, working out of a garage in Fort Wayne. Today, their vision has expanded to the commercial realm, and more than 200,000 WaterFurnace systems are installed worldwide, from London's Buckingham Palace to a future installation in Belling, China, for the 2008 Olympics. The company, which went public in 1990, is now headquartered in a state-of-the-art, 115,000-square-foot facility in Fort Wayne. Operating at less than half of the utility costs of typical buildings its size conditioned by conventional equipment, it is used to showcase the company's geothermal heating and cooling installations.

Since 1990, WaterFurnace introduced three generations of groundbreaking products that shattered all existing efficiency levels in its industry. The company's growth can be attributed to innovation and new product development. In 2006, WaterFurnace released the Envision, the most efficient heating and cooling system ever rated by the Air-Conditioning Refrigeration Institute (ARI). The Envision achieves 500 percent efficiency as a heating system and an Energy Efficiency Ratio of 30; both landmark achievements. In 2006, WaterFurnace geothermal heating and cooling products earned the designation as one of the "Top Ten Green Building Products" by the editors of Sustainable Industries Journal.

In 2006, the company increased its sales by 27 percent, achieving revenues totaling more $90 million. Bruce Ritchey, WaterFurnace's president and CEO says, "With nationwide 'green' initiatives in place and energy prices skyrocketing, WaterFurnace may be at the tipping point, moving from a niche market to the mainstream."

F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co.

Indianapolis

FRANCIS WILHELM, A brick mason with an entrepreneurial spirit, launched his home-based business in 1923, building porches for his Indianapolis neighbors. General contracting followed, and by the 1950s and 1960s the company was building throughout the state--at Eli Lilly and at Purdue, Indiana, Ball State and Indiana State universities. Then came historic renovations and parking structures, and since the 1990s, hotels, casinos, hospitals, research labs, museums and more.

With its own workforce--averaging 1,200 full-time field employees who rack up 2.5 million hours a year, the company self-performs earthwork, concrete, masonry, carpentry, plumbing, sheet metal fabrication, heating and air conditioning, process piping and fabrication, and more. This means the company doesn't have to rely on multiple subcontractors, giving it control of the schedule, costs and quality--single-point accountability. The company also provides construction service as a contractor for many of the trades.

"Wilhelm enjoys a reputation of providing complex, high-quality buildings for our clients under very aggressive schedules," says president Philip Kenney. "Our ability to do this is based on the can-do attitude that runs through our entire organization. Our field force, Indiana's largest, is able to provide exceptional quality and schedule performance. We have incorporated technology and labor-saving tools whenever possible to increase this efficiency--which is a big competitive advantage."

Some of its projects include the $74 million expansion and renovation of Indianapolis Museum of Art, the $56 million Indiana State Museum, the $125 million Clarian Arnett Hospital in Lafayette, the $35 million Rawls Hall at Purdue University, and the $39 million State of Indiana Forensic Health and Sciences Laboratories in Indianapolis.

Community activities include building two Habitat for Humanity houses year and contributing to United Way, Boy Scouts, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Junior Achievement, Youth Links Indiana and many others.

Zimmer Holdings

Warsaw

WHAT BEGAN IN 1927 with production of an innovative aluminum splint in Justin Zimmer's basement in Warsaw has grown to a company that today makes more than 100,000 products at operations in 24 countries, employing 7,000 worldwide. Its 2006 net sales were $3.5 billion; the company expects $3.8 billion in 2007 sales.

Zimmer Holdings Inc. is the top pure-play orthopedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants and trauma and related orthopedic surgical products.

Its Warsaw operations, now covering 1.5 million square feet and employing 2,300, are soon to expand as the company invests $66 million to add 220,000 square feet and another 140 employees.

About 43 percent of its sales are knee products, with 34 percent in hip products.

Its recent milestones include the 1995 introduction of its NexGen complete knee solution, its 2001 debut of the Minimally Invasive Solutions 2-Incision hip replacement procedure, the 2003 opening of The Zimmer Institute surgeon training facility, and the 2004 launch of its total knee replacement procedure.

"The markets we serve are growing, and we have great opportunities in all of our product categories to execute our 'Enable, Innovate and Grow' strategies," says David Dvorak, named president and CEO on May 1.

"Even with leading market share in the global knee and hip categories, there's still room to grow. We believe our Gender Solutions Knee is an example of how you can grow profitably by developing products that are attractive to patients and surgeons," he says. "We're just getting started in bringing to market products that focus on gender, ethnic and other differences. Our gender-specific hip will be next." The company is also targeting spine, dental and trauma as growing market segments.

In its home community, the company prides itself on being the largest contributor to the United Way in Kosciosko County.