NAPPANEE -- Lee Loper was talking about changes to the passenger bus industry but his words echoed the lesson Elkhart County has learned in hard economic times.

"You can't rely on what you've done in the past to prepare you for the future because our world changes every year, as we can see," he said.

Loper is vice president and general manager of the Nappanee Bus Refurbishment Center. As a joint venture between ABC Companies and Greyhound Lines Inc., the center, located on South Oakland Avenue, is a new business created to fill an emerging need in an established industry.

Buses have been moving through the refurbishing line for weeks but Wednesday morning, the plant took time to celebrate its grand opening.

Coincidentally, several miles to the north in Elkhart, Blessing music company officially opened its new factory Wednesday evening and unveiled a bold strategy to grow its brand by becoming the only U.S. manufacturer making saxophones.

Both ABC Companies and Blessing, one new company and one established company, represent Elkhart County taking a few small steps from its reputation as the recreational vehicle capital and diversifying into different markets.

"It allows us to have and maintain the tradition and heritage of what we're good at and to continue to grow and expand it," said Dorinda Heiden-Guss, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County.

OLD TO NEW

At the Nappanee Bus Refurbishment Center, Greyhound motorcoaches limp into the facility with upwards of a million miles on them and, after a swing through 25 work stations, roll out of the factory sporting a blue paint scheme and amenities like Wi-Fi, power plug-ins next to the seats and extra leg room.

"It's not true production," Loper said. "It's more a combination and a mesh of production and repair."

Cost is the prime motivation behind the project. Loper was reluctant to give exact figures but he noted a new motorcoach can cost $450,000 and one can be refurbished for about a third of that price.

Consequently, keeping costs low along with meeting production goals are the keys to making the endeavor viable, Loper said. ABC is partnering with Greyhound to revitalize 250 buses over about a five-year period. It is also exploring some other work that could be done in Nappanee.

The plant has a payroll of 100 employees and another 20 are expected to be hired in another month.

Nappanee Mayor Larry Thompson said the small companies like the refurbishing center are helping the county recover but the bigger projects, like the electric vehicle makers Navistar and Think, will provide the real boost to the local economy.

"If we can put this all together, then we're going to be back," Thompson said. "But we're a ways off. Some of those larger companies...they need to do what they've told us they'll do and that's hire people and put them to work at a good wage."

A RETURN

With 50 percent of the worldwide demand for saxophones coming from the United States, Steven Wasser, owner of Blessing, sees a business opportunity. A prototype is scheduled to be ready by January and production is targeted to start in the spring.

The woodwind instrument will be built alongside the brass horns in Blessing's new plant. It is Wasser's plan to fill the large Elkhart facility with a full line of production.

"This is a musical instrument factory," he explained. "It is not a brass instrument factory.... We do not feel restricted to the traditional trumpet, trombone, marching brass. Part of our vision for the future is to make excellent wind instruments here."

Mayor Dick Moore thanked the company for keeping its business in the band instrument capital of the world and applauded the company's expansion.

"What is good for Blessing," he said, "is good for Elkhart.

Wasser, president of Powell Flutes in Massachusetts, bought Blessing in 2009. Since then the new management has partnered with renowned musicians, invested in tools and technology, and worked to introduce professional models into its offering of student instruments.

An unfinished room off the plant floor will be the home to the manufacturer's custom shop where horns will be built and tweaked to the unique demands of certain customers.

All of this is the nourishment that will help a fundamentally strong company flourish, Wasser said. Blessing has been entering into new markets and attracting more customers in part because it is committed to making instruments domestically.

Although the company is moving forward, Wasser pointed out, the community will have to be patient.

"The results aren't going to be overnight," he told the crowd at the Wednesday festivities. "It's a terrible economy out there and it's going to take time to see the results but I can see them."

         

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