The Indiana Chamber's first Best Places to Work in Manufacturing program recognized 14 companies, including two in the Michiana area.
Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions in Granger and Lippert in Elkhart each earned a spot on the list of 14 companies. Wag'n Tails also made it to the quarter finals of the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana competition.
“Manufacturing workplaces must adhere to various safety and other regulations,” said Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar in a press release. “Every company on the list not only is committed to those standards but goes above and beyond for its workers and is a leader in its community.”
He also said that the Best Places to Work in Indiana list is so successful that the chamber wanted to give manufacturers the opportunity to shine, too.
Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions, which landed the eighth spot on the list, manufactures specialty vehicles for mobile pet care. The family first opened a location in 1971 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It converted two vans for pet grooming in 1976, and opened an 8,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in 2001. Today it sells five different types of mobile pet grooming and veterinarian vehicles. In 2019, it added a 12,000-square-foot facility to keep up with demand.
Lippert has 14,000 employees in 90 facilities in North America and Europe. It supplies products for recreational transportation industries. It got its start in 1956 as B&L Industries and became Lippert in 1969. In 2022 alone, Lippert acquired Way Interglobal Network, Snuggles Inc. and Girard, which all produce products for the RV industry.
The winning companies each offer some innovative benefits, such as cooking classes, a gift card for birthdays, turkey or ham giveaways at Thanksgiving and awards for perfect attendance. All focus on the health and welfare of their employees and give them plenty of opportunities to share ideas and offer feedback.
“We are honored to be named one of Indiana's Best Places to Work in Manufacturing by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce,” Wag’n Tails posted on its Facebook page.
Here is the complete rankings, which were unveiled at an awards luncheon Dec. 14.
- Kalenborn Abresist Corp. — Urbana
- Nucor Steel Indiana in Crawfordsville
- IBC Materials & Technologies LLC — Lebanon
- Nix Companies — Poseyville
- Nexxt Spine LLC — Noblesville
- CrossPoint Polymer Technologies LLC — Evansville
- Oliver Winery — Bloomington
- Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions — Granger
- Major Tool and Machine — Indianapolis
- MCP USA Inc. — Portage
- SMC Corporation of America — Noblesville
- Lippert — Elkhart
- Functional Devices Inc. — Sharpsville
- Kelco Industries — Fremont
The Workforce Research Group identified the winners based on reports from employers and surveys of employees. The companies range from 39 to 7,600 employees.
Learn more about Indiana’s Best Places to Work in Manufacturing in the current issue of “BizVoice” magazine.
