Manufacturing News
July 17, 2026
July 17, 2026 · Boone County · LaGrange County · Story 4 of 4
Labor Competition Tightens in LaGrange and Boone Counties
Eli Lilly's Lebanon site in Boone County added $4.5 billion in new investment, now $21 billion total since 2020, backed by a $1.7 billion IEDC package, and its construction phase peaks with several thousand trades workers on site at once. Stack Postle's LaGrange County buildout on top, and skilled-trades competition tightens across northern and central Indiana. Federally, Workforce Pell is live at Ivy Tech today, and the START Act, co-sponsored by Indiana Senator Jim Banks, is advancing.
Why it matters: if you hire from the same labor pool, benchmark your skilled-trades wage offer before those buildouts post their first job reqs, and map your open roles against DOL registered apprenticeship eligibility now rather than competing for workers the open market is not producing.
For your morning huddle
- Q
Should we worry about skilled-trades labor competition from the Lilly and Postle buildouts?
If you hire in Boone or LaGrange County, yes, Lilly's Lebanon construction peaks with several thousand trades workers on site and Postle is staffing a new facility, both pulling from the same pool. Benchmark your wage offer and map open roles against registered apprenticeship eligibility before postings go live.
From the brief, July 17, 2026
- Postle Aluminum Adds Hard-Alloy Capacity in Howe
- Indiana Launches a Nuclear Siting Program With a Design Gap
- PJM's $6.3B Data Center Cost Raises Indiana Manufacturing Electricity Costs
- Labor Competition Tightens in LaGrange and Boone Counties
This story
TEG Daily, before your morning huddle
A short Indiana energy and manufacturing scan, delivered before the workday starts.
Related
- IURC Grants Eminent Domain for Boone County LEAP Transmission Lines to Blackstone-Backed Developer
- NIPSCO IURC Investigation Goes Official, Indiana Industrial Property Assessments Jump 25.8%, and Honda's Ohio Plant Opens a Supplier Window
- AES Indiana Rate Case Returns September 17, Aluminum Tariff Jobs at Risk and THOR Industries Restructures: TEG Daily September 11, 2026
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Indiana manufacturers
Manufacturers from qualifying Indiana counties receive a free monthly 35-point audit of their electric bills for cost recovery and savings. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.
EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →