LP County Export Growth Among Nation's Highest
   Economic Hot Spot

By Timothy O'Connor
1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13860
toconnor@heraldargus.com

La Porte, Indiana (September 19, 2008) – According to The Wall Street Journal, La Porte County has experienced some of the highest export growth in the country.

The declining value of the dollar has helped.

"It's all due to the dollar," said Tim Gropp, executive director of the Greater La Porte Economic Development Corporation. "It makes our companies more competitive now.

With the American dollar now worth two-thirds of a Euro, buying goods from American manufacturers has become a bargain for European nations.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, exports in the La Porte-Michigan City area rose nearly 280 percent from 2005 to 2006, when they totaled $267 million. Exports where even better in the first half of 2007, the last period data are available, and were on target to reach more than $300 million by year's end.

Gropp said many La Porte companies are expanding or holding steady, despite general economic downturn in part because of the success of exports.

"It's kept our economy strong," he said. "As we've been doing our retention and expansion visits, we've been very impressed with the exports coming out of La Porte."

The weak dollar has played a role for many businesses' success with exports, and others are finding additional reasons for their expansion.

Patrick Wilkins, president of Boss Industries Inc., said his company, which makes compressors, developed a product Pacific Rim nations needed, leading to a 10 percent jump in their exports.

"They've basically sought us out," Wilkins said.

Still, the Pacific Rim makes up only about 3 percent of their total business, but Wilkins expects that will grow.

Others are taking advantage of competitors problems. Al Cole, a traffic manager at Aero Metal, which manufactures cast components, said foreign customers are switching their business to Aero Metal because they are unhappy with European companies. Now they're shipping a large number of parts to France.

"We have increased a lot," he said.

Courtesy of The Herald Argus