ELKHART — KIK Custom Products in Elkhart announced a $24 million expansion project that will bring 190 jobs. The jobs will require special training and will pay $14 an hour.

Gov. Mitch Daniels toured the plant Thursday. He says expansion projects like this one are helping the sluggish economy.

Like many of us, shopper Pat Richard didn't know that many of the products in her shopping cart were made locally.

Name brand aerosol products, like Gold Bond foot spray, came off KIK Custom Product's production line.

The company is expanding its Elkhart plant and adding 190 new jobs by 2009.

"It was about time to see progress like that. You hardly see it anything like that. You just see the doom, doom, doom that's happening," said Richard.

Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in Northern Indiana since January.

"As we welcome 200 here, we could be losing more jobs; so tomorrow we have to go get two for every one we lose," said Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.

A spokesperson for his challenger Jill Long-Thompson says nearly 20,000 jobs have been lost in the last two months, something that needs to change.

Indiana started a campaign earlier this year urging Michigan businesses to "Come on in."

"We live in a world of not only national but global competition. Investment like this, jobs like this, could go anywhere," said Daniels.

A spokesperson for Long-Thompson says she'd bring jobs to the state by overhauling the tax system and creating job training programs for students.

Fortunately for Elkhart, 190 jobs are coming, as well as $24 million in investment.

"I am happy about it," said Richard.

And her future shopping lists will take local products into consideration.

KIK says it chose Elkhart because of a property tax abatement and state grants. In return, KIK will give the city 15 percent of its savings to use for economic growth.

The company plans to start hiring people for specialized jobs paying nearly $14 an hour in July.