LAGRANGE, IN - Wood furniture and custom moulding maker Lake Area Designs, a supplier to recreational vehicle and commercial wood manufacturers, is spending $1.5 million as it moves from Sturgis, MI to LaGrange, IN.

The company will invest in leasing and renovating a 24,000 square-foot plant, then move its operations when construction is completed in April 2013. Ten employees from Sturgis will relocated. lake Area Designs will begin hiring additional employees in manufacturing and production in June.

Lake Area Designs produces coffee tables, chairs, end tables and other wooden furniture of its own designs. It also manunfactures custom wood mouldings such as door trims and base rails, for RV companies across northeast Indiana. More than 80 percent of U.S. RVs are made in Indiana.

"We are very excited to make the move to Indiana to be closer to our customer base in northern Indiana," said Rob West, president of Lake Area Design. He said that Indiana's right-to-work status factored into the decision.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation says it also provided Lake Area Designs $325,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company's job creation plans. It plans to employ 36 people in its wood manufacturing operation by 2016.