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General Motors Corp.
General Motors Corp. Corporate headquarters: Detroit, Mich. Employs 16,400 in central Indiana. Indiana's largest employer.
General Motors Corp. operates three divisions in the central Indiana area. Allison Gas Turbine; Allison Transmission division; and the Truck and Bus Group Manufacturing Plan, all in Indianapolis. The Allison Gas Turbine division makes gas turbine engines and components for aircraft, industrial and marine uses. With 7,423 employees at the plant, it is the largest GM division in central Indiana.
Allison Gas Turbine is one of the largest gear manufacturers in North America.
Allison Transmission division, a spin-off from Detroit Diesel Allison, is the second-largest GM division in the region with 5,300 employees.
The Truck and Bus Group, which produces light-duty trucks, has recently experienced a substantial upgrade with the introduction of new large presses that cut die changing times in half.
Altogether, the three divisions provide $1.5 billion to the Indianapolis economy, which includes $676 million in employee payrolls and $372 million in payment to Indiana suppliers.
Eli Lilly & Co.
Eli Lilly & Co. Corporate headquarters: Indianapolis. Employs 7,700 in central Indiana.
Eli Lilly & Co. was founded in 1876 by Col. Eli Lilly, a Civil War veteran, to produce "ethical medications," or medications that would actually do what they were supposed to do, unlike the medicine show elixirs of the time. Since the company's participation in the development of insulin, its first major product venture, Lilly has been involved in the research and development of a variety of drugs, from antibiotics to cancer treatment agents and antidepressants.
In the past decade, Lilly has been researching recombinant DNA, which has led to the development of human insulin and human growth hormones. The company is currently looking at diseases of the nervous system involving neurotransmitters, common but hard-to-treat tumors, and products for pulmonary asthmatic patients, among other things.
Kroger Co.
Kroger Co. Corporate...