Peru & Miami County

GROWTH AT GRISSOM Aeroplex, a fall opening of Ivy Tech Community College and dramatic trail and streetscape enhancements are the latest developments for Miami County, known for its rich history, recreation and established industries.

About 40 businesses employing a combined 1,300 now operate

Businesses include One Source Automation & Technologies, where 15 make robotic systems; Alliance Group Technologies, employing 30 who design and make printed circuit boards, and UAP Richter, an agriculture distributor. The complex seven miles south of Peru also houses a state correctional facility, nursing home, medical facilities, hotel, restaurants and retailers.

"We have about 450 acres left to develop at Grissom," reports Jim Tidd, executive director of the Miami County Economic Development Authority, 850 acres have been sold, leased or developed.

Ivy Tech's pending opening in the former Holman School is a welcome and well-supported milestone, he says. "About $800,000 in public and private pledges helped with phase-one renovation."

Peru had a ribbon cutting for the 3.4-mile Nickel Plate Trails, a walking/biking path along a former rail corridor. And downtown a 1.5mile West Main Street renovation includes a wider street, new sidewalks, historic lampposts and more trees. "A second phase will cover another mile along West Main," reports Christy Householder, deputy director and director of business development at the economicdevelopment group. Those amenities will be enjoyed by the county's 36,200 residentsabout one-third of them living in Peru-and visitors who come for its history and outdoor activities.

Beginning in 1892, Miami County was the winter quarters for a number of circus troupes, earning Peru the name, "Circus Capital of the World." Today, visitors enjoy the International Circus Hall of Fame, summer-long shows at Big Top Circus, and Peru's Circus City Center with its own museum, each July featuring performances by the Peru Amateur Youth Circus.

Tourists also flock to the 17,500-acre Mississinewa reservoir and lake complex and the county's four golf courses, including the decade-old Rock Hollow, especially challenging because it was built in a former stone quarry. Each June the community hosts the Cole Porter Festival that honors the native musician and songwriter.

Miami County's diverse industrial base-10 companies employing between 90 and 545 each-offer steady jobs. The three largest are Square D Co., employing 545 who make electric panel boxes; ConAgra Foods, a processing plant with 540 on the payroll; and American Stationery, which produces stationery and catalogs and employs 350.

It's also home to Trelleborg Inc., which makes automotive suspension systems and employs 240; Timberlodge RV a recreational trailer manufacturer with 190 workers; and Bryan Boilers, employing 150 who make gas-fired boilers.

Locomotive part maker Western Reman Industrial and Snavely Machine, which machines parts, each employ 100, and Woodcrest Manufacturing has a workforce of 90 making wood furniture.