The communications and defense contracting industry assists with endeavors at home and abroad. From telecommunications and print publications here in Fort Wayne to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a limitless number of projects your company can tackle in this area.
Indiana invests heavily in information technology (IT) infrastructure. The state's fiber optic network is among the best in the nation. Verizon Communications has recently invested $100 million in a FTTP (Fiber to the Premise) program in Fort Wayne.
In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort handed down a decision to retain the 122nd Fighter Wing presence in Fort Wayne and also made the addition of 300 defense jobs.
Commercial Defense Opportunities Assets (pdf)
| Major Employers |
| ITT Communications Systems |
1,837
|
| Raytheon Systems Co |
1,200
|
| Verizon |
1,200
|
| Navistar International Corp. |
1,150
|
| B.A.E. Systems Platform Solutions |
1,000
|
| IN Air National Guard, 122nd Fighter Wing |
588
|
| Centennial Wireless |
373
|
| Stuart Integrated Systems |
230
|
| Comcast |
174
|
| Riverside Manufacturing |
150
|
| For a more extensive listing of communications & defense employers with additional detail, please visit our Top Employers page. |
For a PDF version of this map, click the image above or visit our Map Room.
| Annual Average Wages By Occupation, 2008 |
| |
Allen
|
U.S.
|
Allen/U.S.
|
|
Electrical Engineers
|
$79,325
|
$85,350
|
92.9%
|
|
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
|
$81,063
|
$88,670
|
91.4%
|
|
Industrial Engineers
|
$64,794
|
$75,740
|
85.5%
|
|
Mechanical Engineers
|
$66,422
|
$78,200
|
84.9%
|
|
Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technicians
|
$53,360
|
$53,990
|
98.8%
|
|
Industrial Engineering Technicians
|
$50,756
|
$50,070
|
101.4%
|
|
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Production & Operating Workers
|
$53,805
|
$53,500
|
100.6%
|
|
Electrical & Electronic Equipment Assemblers
|
$29,722
|
$29,410
|
101.1%
|
|
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
|
$36,656
|
$30,520
|
120.1%
|
|
Team Assemblers
|
$27,330
|
$27,630
|
98.9%
|
| Machinists |
$33,975
|
$37,490
|
90.6%
|
| Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers & Weighers |
$31,435
|
$33,890
|
92.8%
|
| Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES and Indiana DWD |
Future Growth in Defense for Allen County
Lilly Endowment Inc. will provide $20 million to an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne to accelerate the development of northeast Indiana's workforce and talent resources. The program, entitled Talent Opportunity Success (TOpS) 2015, will develop education, training and talent initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. TOpS 2015 -- an unprecedented collaboration in northeast Indiana -- will better prepare the region's workforce to capture the high- quality job opportunities available in the near term and those of the future.
Components of TOpS 2015 include support for the following critical initiatives:
• Retraining at least 1,200 adult workers in northeast Indiana over the next three years
• Enhancement of the Advanced Manufacturing program at Ivy Tech - Northeast
• Expansion of the systems engineering and wireless technology programs at Indiana University-Purdue University- Fort Wayne (IPFW)
• Creation of New Tech High Schools within school corporations in northeast Indiana, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses
TOpS 2015 includes significant and targeted educational and workforce programs for the aerospace and defense industries. One immediate goal of TOpS 2015 is to prepare workers to assume more than 4,000 projected new and replacement jobs in these industries. The programs also will be relevant to the workforce development needs of other advanced manufacturing sectors in northeast Indiana. Northeast Indiana is home to over 160 defense/aerospace prime contractors and suppliers. During 2005 and 2006 the six largest firms in this sector received a total of $2 billion in prime contracts from the Department of Defense.
|
Press Release
|
PDF
|
|
TOpS 2015 Fact Sheet
|
PDF
|
|
TOpS 2015 Goal Tree
|
PDF
|
For information on how your company can be successful in Allen County, Contact Us.