By Zach Spicer
It’s headquarters trusting the company with products.
It’s leadership having a vision of growth.
It’s full community involvement, from the town council to the school system to the local industrial development organization, that allows growth to occur.
Joe Neuman, president of AISIN Drivetrain Inc., gave those responses when asked what got the company to its 30th anniversary.
“If the school system is not producing and having students that are ready to go into the workforce, they can’t sustain,” he said. “If the town council isn’t willing to invest into this company and continue to add opportunities, then it stifles and it fails. If your leadership within the organization doesn’t have bigger vision on growth and how you want it to work, you lose people, and then you stagnate, and then customers see it and I can’t bring more product in here because you don’t have anyone or the morale is no good.”
It takes all stakeholders, he said.
“It’s not just one singular entity, honestly. It is many people working together to try to build and grow,” Neuman said. “Thirty years is big. That’s a big celebration moment for us. Thirty years is a long time. It’s still going to be here. There’s sustainability for this company, and I’m excited.”
On Oct. 21, ADI celebrated its 30th anniversary by treating employees to a catered lunch, company swag and raffle prizes and welcoming town, school and industrial development officials for lunch, a presentation and a tour.
At the end of the presentation, Neuman announced a total of $30,000 in donations to commemorate ADI’s 30 years: $15,000 to the Crothersville Town Council and $15,000 to Crothersville Community School Corp.
Clerk-Treasurer Danieta Foster and Councilman Chad Wilson represented the town council, while Superintendent Chrystal Street, elementary Principal Kyle Wilp, Athletic Director Curtis White and Wilson, also a school employee, represented the school.
During his presentation, Neuman said ADI started in May 1995 in an office at AISIN USA Mfg. Inc. in Seymour and moved into its own building in the Crothersville Industrial Park in October 1996.
The initial products were industrial forklift transmissions. Those were shipped to Toyota Material Handling in Walesboro and to France.
ADI added the steering column business in the early 2000s, and heavy-duty transmissions were added in 2012.
Then in 2020, the company started the electrification business, including electric water pumps and electric rear axles.
The latest addition is the Mazda transmission business, which started earlier this year.
Other automotive customers today include Toyota, Lexus, Honda and Stellantis.
“We are high precision, subassemblies, final assemblies,” Neuman said. “We know how to do that very well. We also machine aluminum, cast iron, gears, steel. ADI can also perform durability and reliability testing along with testing – noise, vibration and harshness.”
While forklift transmissions were the first products, they now account for a smaller portion of ADI’s business today. The majority of the business is now powertrain products.
“This product mix is going to change,” Neuman said. “Hybrid for the next 10 to 15 years is going to explode in North America. Some automakers are making hybrid or electric only. They are pushing their portfolio to be basically all hybrid or electric. … That growth is going to continue to boom here at ADI.”
Other companies make manual steering columns, but Neuman said ADI is the only one in North America that makes electric steering columns for Toyota.
“No one else makes power tilt telescopic steering columns in North American Toyota vehicles other than AISIN and this facility,” he said.
The electric water pump also is unique to ADI. The company makes two types for Toyota and one for Honda.
ADI also is now a sole producer of transmissions for two Mazda models in the North American market.
The company’s products are shipped to other states along with Canada, France and Mexico.
“We produce these products at this facility in tiny Crothersville, Indiana,” Neuman said. “When we talk about our members, I’m super prideful that we are able to produce global-reaching products right out of this facility.”
Neuman said ADI is a global benchmark facility for AISIN.
“All of AISIN globally, there are 140-some companies, and ADI strives to be a benchmark facility globally, so this is part of this community fabric,” he said. “We always talk about being the best versions of ourselves every day because every day is a new day, and if you can be a little bit better than you were the day before and you’re trying to do it the right way, you’ll be successful.”
ADI also aims to be the best in class with employee engagement. From April to September, the company celebrates the dedication and hard work of its employees with Employee Appreciation Days filled with food, prizes and a car show.
Through these events, employees raise money for local causes chosen by them. Neuman said since this initiative started in 2022, ADI has donated more than $67,000.
“Taking care of people, you can always scale that up if you get the right people in place and the right vision and push it out,” he said. “We ask our members to choose the charity of what they generate and what we give. They have empowerment of where the money that they’ve donated goes on top of ADI, as well.”
Looking to the future, Neuman expects continued growth for ADI, which employs 555 people and is situated on 34 acres.
That message was conveyed in a video created for the 30th anniversary that’s narrated by Neuman.
“Over 30 years, we’ve built more than a business,” he says in the video. “We’ve built relationships, we’ve earned trust, we’ve created opportunities and we’ve made an impact on the people and communities around us.”
While 30 years is something worth celebrating, Neuman said ADI isn’t finished yet.
“The next chapter is already underway: New ideas, new challenges, new opportunities,” he says in the video. “Thirty years behind us, but the best is still ahead.”
