Northeast Indiana has become the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the Great Lakes region.
In 2022, Japanese-owned Teijin Automotive Technologies invested over $100 million in its facility in Huntington.
Over the past decade, the state has attracted more than $1 billion in investments from several Japanese companies, including Asahi Tech America, Yamaguchi Manufacturing USA, and Yukiya USA Gasket, because of its robust infrastructure, strong workforce, energy-efficient climate and capacity-building programs.
Encouraged by the upward trend, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (NEI) wants to deepen its relationship with Japanese businesses by widening its focus to include other rapidly growing industries.
“We are astute to the growing Japanese interest in the life sciences, medical technologies and clean energy. Making these sectors more investable is a key objective for us,” said NEI President and CEO Stephane Frijia.
This year, NEI partnered with the Kinki Bio-Industry Development Organization, a Japanese biotechnology and medical technology association based in the Kansai region on the main island of Honshu, and has begun talks with Kyoto University for research cooperation in life sciences. It hopes to form more partnerships in musculoskeletal technologies, regenerative medicine, robotics and other supplemental technologies.
“Global life sciences and medical technology brands, like Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Sythes and Plug and Play trust our ecosystem. Our next step is to align our resources and strengths with Japanese companies and innovators,” Frijia said.
NEI also sees many opportunities for collaboration with the Japanese in developing clean energy solutions within the automotive sector.
“Infrastructure and technology are key enablers of investment in the clean energy sector. Our region is not only well equipped with these, but we are also building green hydrogen and green steel manufacturing capabilities actively to sustain future investment. We are committed to being the launch pad for global solutions,” Frijia said.
