Industry Sectors

From Life Sciences to Advanced Manufacturing, to Educational and Health Services, to Agriculture and Customer Service Centers, these sectors along with many others contribute to the region's expanding economy.  With a competitive environment, low operating costs, and sound transportation and strong utility infrastructure, Terre Haute/Vigo County is home to many successful and diverse companies.  Known as one of the population centers for the state, companies located in the region have the advantage of a large skilled workforce.

Life Sciences
The Vigo County area has a strong Life Science asset base that has established a business presence or expanded over the last few years.  One of the important factors in creating a high-performance Life Science sector is education.  Terre Haute/Vigo County is a vanguard of higher education leadership with Indiana State University; Ivy Tech Community College-Wabash Valley; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Saint Mary-of-the Woods College; and Indiana Business College.  Our public education system from Pre-K to K through 12 is a testament that area residents value education.  The private school sector adds to the building blocks that education is a priority. 

In 2007, Union Hospital Health Group broke ground to its new four-story 575,000-square-foot hospital. The $178 million facility is planned to open in the summer of 2009.  In addition, Union Hospital just completed construction to the new Hux Cancer Center, an 88,000-square-foot building that provides state-of-the-art cancer treatment therapy as well as office space for medical oncologist's, PET CT diagnostic imaging and a variety of services to support cancer patients and their families in the Wabash Valley.  The Terre Haute Regional Hospital, a member of the HCA family, completed a $40 million new construction and renovation project in 2004.  The project included a two-story tower for the ER and the ICU.  Other additions included expansion of the imaging department into a comprehensive Outpatient Services Center.  There have also been multiple cosmetic improvements throughout the facility including renovation of the main lobby.

On the horizon are two new entrepreneurial company's that have a growing business base through the Terre Haute Innovation Alliance.  DesAcc Inc., whose efforts focus on manufacturing of medical software applications, moved its engineering operations from Chicago to Terre Haute in 2006.  They work closely with Rose-Hulman Ventures (a program of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).  InfraWare is a company that is developing a software platform for preparing medical transcripts and reports more efficiently. 

Two additional entrepreneurial companies call Terre Haute home.  ObTech Corporation has created a handheld medical computer technology that provides mobil medical software for medical professionals in the women's healthcare field.  In 2004, ObTech started a partnership with Rose-Hulman Ventures which provides extensive technical expertise to assist in furthering the company's technology.  More recently, VEXTEC Corporation headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, broke ground to its new advanced technology engineering test laboratories in Terre Haute.  Positioned adjacent to the Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field, VEXTEC Labs performs failure analysis of mechanical and electronic equipment through a developed process which cracks the "genetic code" of materials. 

The Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health takes an innovative approach to prepare and train medical residents for successful rural practice.  The Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health partners with Indiana State University College of Nursing, Health and Human Services, the Indiana University School of Medicine; and Union Hospital Healthcare Group. 

Dedicated in September 2003, the Landsbaum Center for Health Education provides educational facilities to second-year medical students from the Terre Haute Center for Medical Education, Indiana State University College of Nursing, Health and Human Services students and resident-physicians in Union Hospital's Family Medicine Residency Program.  Owned by Indiana University, Indiana State University and Union Hospital Healthcare Group, it is located on the Union Hospital Campus.  The facility houses the Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health, the West Central Indiana Area Health Education Center, and portions of the Indiana University School of Medicine-Terre Haute, and Indiana State University's College of Nursing, Health and Human Services. 

Advanced Manufacturing
The Wabash Valley Advanced Manufacturing Cluster is an established but transforming industry cluster.  A leader in the regional manufacturing sector, WVAMC includes six-counties in Indiana and two-counties in Illinois.  WVAMC promotes economic development in the Wabash Valley by helping companies compete, prosper and grow. It provides valuable technological, workplace, business solutions and training to manufacturers utilizing the expertise of faculty, students and staff and educational facilities at a cost savings to the manufacture that expands their operational effectiveness. 

At the core of the Wabash Valley Advanced Manufacturing Cluster is their belief that local people poses the talent, passion and ability to achieve a bright future.  It is from this ideal that the WVAMC created and implemented a Skills-One certification program which improves workforce literacy skills.  This is just one example of how WVAMC partners with educational leaders, state workforce agencies and economic development entities. 

Educational and Health Services
The areas educational system reflects the community's diversity and commitment to education offering programs at all levels that meet the needs of both the student and the employer.  The Vigo County School Corporation works to equip students for lifelong learning skills and prepare them to become productive and responsible citizens. In 2007, through the refinance of school bonds, the VCSC had a surplus from which they allocated $1,025,000 to three Career and Technical Education Programs. These programs include Computer Integrated Manufacturing Flexible Manufacturing, an ADA Compliance Manufacturing (Wood) Labs; Project Lead the Way which encompasses Electronics/Industrial Trainers Machine( Metals) Labs; and Welding Labs. 

Indiana State University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.  ISU offers more than 125 majors notably, business, education, nursing, music, criminology, athletic training and human resource development.  ISU is consistently ranked by the Princeton Review as one of the "Best of the Midwest."  The College of Educations' Graduate Program was recently named as a "Top 100" by US News &World Report.  Ivy Tech Community College-Wabash Valley is experiencing growth ranking it among the top fastest growing community college campuses.  This statewide college provides residents with professional, technical, transfer, workforce and lifelong education and training.  Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a valuable pipeline to talent and innovative entrepreneurship. RHIT is a four-year private, non-sectarian college of engineering, science, and mathematics with 1,900 enrolled students.  The school's primary focus is undergraduate education, though there is a small graduate program for master's degree students.  For the ninth straight year, RHIT has placed first in its category (engineering colleges whose highest degree offered is a Bachelor's or Master's) by the annual US News & World Report.  This ranking is done through a survey of deans and senior faculty who evaluate colleges or universities that offer the bachelor’s or master’s degree as the highest degree in engineering.  Saint Mary-of-the Woods College is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission.  SMWC curriculum is based on a traditional liberal arts education.  SMWC offers more than 30 majors, leadership opportunities, and field experience.  Undergraduate programs are offered in campus-based and distance learning formats and the SMWC offers four graduate programs. Lastly, Indiana Business College has twelve campuses in the State of Indiana.  Indiana Business College offers Bachelor and Associate Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates.  Nationally accredited, the College concentrates on career-focused educational training within the program areas of business, medical and criminal justice. 

Agricultural

Approximately 61% of the 265,500 acres in Vigo County are farmland with nearly 476 working farms.  Local agribusiness includes Soybeans, Corn, Forestry, Wheat, and Hay. 

Service Sector

Another staple to the area's economic base is the Service Sector Indsutry.  From customer service centers to retail businesses, to finance, insurance, and hospitality centers, Terre Haute is positioned with a strong workforce to meet this growing industry sector. 

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