Indiana is perhaps best known for its Hoosier hospitality and endless fields of corn. Few know the state is also home to a thriving aerospace industry. Thats right rockets.

In 2016, Indiana was ranked sixth in the nation as one of the most attractive states for aerospace manufacturing, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Just one year before, it was ranked 18th.

It is an under-recognized, maybe underappreciated, sector of Indianas economy, said Ryan Metzing, executive director of the Indiana Aerospace & Defense Council.

Aerospace, as defined by Metzing, is a broad industry comprised of companies that design, manufacture or service various types of aircraft. Aerospace technologies range from military to commercial use, developing drones, aircraft and satellites.

Statewide, were seeing growth, he said. I think the commercial aerospace aviation sector is doing really well. That sector is projecting huge growth over the next 10 years or so.

With aircraft orders lined up for the next decade, Metzing believes Indianas aerospace industry is poised for success.

I think a lot of it has to do with some of the investment that had been going on here, he added. All of the deals over the past three or four years brought in more than $1 billion of investment in Indiana.

Rolls-Royce and Alcoa, two of the states largest aerospace companies, made significant investments in 2015. Rolls-Royce dedicated $600 million for redevelopment at its Indianapolis location, while Alcoa doubled its capacity after starting construction on a new jet engine parts facility in La Porte.

Collectively, the companies employ almost 9,000 Hoosiers. Many of those, Metzing noted, are experienced manufacturers.

Indiana has the strongest manufacturing workforce per capita in the nation more than 17 percent, he said. When you take how strong we are in manufacturing in general, and then marry that with some of these major aerospace investments that helped to boost our ranking.

New frontiers

Anderson inventor Pete Bitar isnt surprised Indiana is ranked so high on the list. Bitar created AirBuoyant, an aerospace company that specializes in personal flight. In his 11 years of experience, hes watched Indianas aerospace industry transform.

Were starting to see things like Amazon delivering packages with drones, electric vehicles that you fly in an urban environment, Bitar said. Youre seeing these new frontiers develop based on the new technologies and capabilities from the market today that werent there five to seven years ago.

But Bitar isnt completely satisfied with Indianas recent success.

We dont have a lot of headquartered aerospace companies in Indiana, he pointed out. Thats the challenge looking forward. And Im hoping in some small way I can contribute to that.

Though his local business is small, Bitar hopes he can be an example to prove its possible to come up with innovative ideas and keep them close to home.

Were developing an electric jet pack for personal flight that you can wear and fly around in, with no fuel, he said. If we can develop what Im developing and manufacturing here in Madison County, that can then be applied to other companies and other ideas coming through in the aerospace field.

Metzing agreed having a diverse aerospace industry across the state will be beneficial in the long run, no matter the company's size.

It provides a nice opportunity to grow some of those smaller communities, Metzing said, if we can get the aerospace companies to continue their growth.

Contact Katie Stancombe at 765-648-4258 or katie.stancombe@indianamediagroup.com.

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Indiana aerospace takes off - The Herald Bulletin