Hanjung America Breaks Ground in Huntington County, $28/Hr Is the New Northeast Indiana Offer Floor

Hanjung America, the US subsidiary of South Korea-based Hanjung NCS, broke ground April 14th on a 435,000-square-foot facility at Riverfork West Industrial Park in Huntington. The plant will manufacture cooling systems and fire suppression technologies for large-scale energy storage containers, with Stellantis and Samsung SDI's Star Plus Energy EV battery operation in Kokomo as primary customers. The company plans to hire 300 at startup, scaling to 440-plus at full capacity. Average hourly wage: above $28. Hiring opens late 2026.

For Indiana manufacturers within commuting distance of Huntington, that $28-per-hour figure is a retention exposure that starts now. By the time Hanjung's postings hit the market, that number is the reference point workers will compare against your current offer letter. If your wage bands haven't been reviewed in the last 12 months and your best people are inside that commute radius, building the retention response before the posting appears is the only move that costs you less than reacting after an exit interview.