|
Letter from the Director
Greetings!
I have been looking forward to writing this
letter for the past couple weeks. There are many exciting
happenings throughout the Ashland County economy, and this is
a good opportunity to list them all and invite comments or
questions:
- First, at a recent City Schools board meeting, I was
amazed at the recent academic progress exhibited by our
students. They, along with the administration, school board,
and teachers, deserve our sincere congratulations for their
performance and high ranking on the State’s report card
system. The school district is very near an “Excellent”
rating (the highest possible), and several buildings,
including the high school, individually received an
Excellent ranking for their facility. This is a great
achievement for the City School system, and it makes my job
so much more enjoyable. It is always nice to brag about
academic success when working with business leaders deciding
whether or not to invest in Ashland County. The school
system will be on the ballot in November for a levy renewal,
i.e. no new taxes, and I will be a strong supporter for the
community’s continued investment in our schools.
- As you will see inside, our recent survey project of
area manufacturers uncovered many great growth stories and
innovative leadership. The highlighted business leaders have
much to offer in terms of economic impact and economic
development ideas; they are waiting to hear from you to
discuss their operations and our community.
- I continue to work closely with Mayor Strine and a major
Ashland Business Park prospect—Novatex North America, Inc.
The proposed 30,000 square foot plant, located on Faultless
Drive will be the German- based firm’s first North American
plant. I am confident we will be successful in making this
happen. It should draw attention statewide as a major
international investment in Ohio.
Novatex, as a plastics company, mentioned to me
locating close to Akron’s polymer expertise is a benefit. This
reinforced in my mind that it is not a stretch for Ashland
County to be considered part of Northeast Ohio. Northeast Ohio
is gaining some well- deserved recognition for its regional
economic development initiative—The Fund for Our Economic
Future (FFEF). I would like to thank all of the Ashland County
partners that have invested in FFEF. It is nearing completion
of its first, three-year cycle, and I would encourage you to
read about this unique approach to regional development at
www.futurefundneo.org. Upon completion of its citizen outreach
project called “Voices and Choices”, FFEF will unveil its
“Economic Competitiveness Agenda,” and I will be sharing these
details with you most likely in our November newsletter. FFEF
is also proposing the creation of a Regional Council of
Economic Advisors to oversee and continue to study some agreed
upon measurements to judge a regional and/or local economy. I
look forward to studying this process and using these
measurements in our local economic development work. Economic
development will never be a complete science, but with
expertise and tools that we are gaining in fellowships like
FFEF, we are all making progress towards the goal of continued
growth of our community.
Enjoy the Fall Season and stop by and see us at
any time.
Sincerely,
Evan Scurti
|
|
|
Agriculture: a Part of the Past,
Present, and Future
Many of the farms here in Ashland are family
owned, and preserving the agriculture of Ashland County is not
just about preserving a financial means for many of Ashland’s
residents but a heritage passed on through generations. Many
residents have a rich history of living on farms. Marilyn
Byers, Ashland County Commissioner said in an article in the
Ashland Times-Gazette, “I think (farmland) is a part of our
Ashland County heritage we’d like to preserve.” Although
preserving farming and agriculture is important because of our
past, today much of Ashland County is still involved with
farming.
According to the United States Census Bureau
over 25 percent of the population live in rural counties like
Ashland. To these counties agriculture is a huge part of the
economy. There is approximately 273,418.3 acres of land that
cover Ashland County; over half of that land (estimated
167,000 acres) is farmland. There are over 1,000 farms here in
Ashland County. Farms in Ashland are among the strongest in
Ohio. Last year they ranked sixth in the state for cattle
farming, produced over 1,400,000 bushels of soybeans, and
Dairy Farms output more than $21.1 million dollars of goods.
Furthermore, three local dairy farms were ranked in the top
five percent in Ohio for producing milk, fat, and protein;
they were Clair-Lyn Farms, Ayers Farm, and Robert Brightbill.
This past February the Ashland County Dairy Service Unit
honored them for their achievement.
Agriculture has
made itself popular in the news with the growing need and
demand for alternative fuels such as ethanol or the prospect
of natural rubber plants. Ashland’s strong presence in the
Ohio agriculture community means those opportunities could
come knocking on the doors of Ashland County farmers. This
will not be achieved with a passive approach to the future. It
takes a proactive approach like what is being developed in a
collaborative effort among Ashland, Wayne, and Holmes counties
led by the Wayne Ag Success Team, this consortium has applied
for grant dollars to develop a model for preserving our
working agriculture landscape. The first step is to have
farmers identify potential Agricultural Security Areas that
could be a part of Ohio farmland protection laws. These are
areas of Ashland and Holmes Counties in which the consortium
proposes to instruct farmers and landowners on options if in a
security area. Then by using the information gained from these
areas, they propose to create a toolbox of ‘educational
materials’ in order to instruct farmers on options, and
business plans that would best suit their operations.
Agriculture has been an important part of the economy
in the past, in the present and with the help of innovative
and enthusiastic approaches, it could be a major part of
Ashland County’s future.
For more information please
contact Ashland Area Council for Economic Development.
|
|
|
|
|
Economic
Development concludes their Economic Impact
Report |
|
In conjunction with Ashland County’s recent Business
Appreciation Week, AACED visited many companies to document
their impact on our economy. We visited nearly 30
manufacturers during July and August and asked 4 basic
questions: 1) How many employees do you currently have? 2) How
many individuals have you hired in the past 12 months? 3) What
was the amount of capital investment in your facility in the
past 12 months? and 4) What do you estimate that you spend on
products/services from Ashland County vendors on an annual
basis?
Company Breakdown
We heard some great reports; such as Tremco’s FY
2006 sales rising 22% from ’05 and ’07 sales are on track to
be 17% higher than 2006. Maverick Innovative Solutions (MIS)
told us that they are about to purchase a new machine that
will cost about $80,000 and will require about 10 new hires in
the next 60-90 days. In the past couple months; they have
hired 10 full-time workers and 8 temporary workers. MIS is
another great example of local entrepreneurs restructuring a
business (MIS bought the Automatic Welding plant in Montgomery
Township in 2004) and growing it in the modern economy.
See our Article about Company Highlights
|
|
|
|
|
Company
Highlights |
|
Challenge Fasteners
Challenge
Fasteners, started in 1984 by President Mark Dodson, then
moved to its Myers Parkway location in 1987. The company
distributes a variety of fasteners, tools, safety products,
abrasives, and much more to the local, regional, and even
international economies like Mexico. During the past two
years, Mark has seen his work with local companies grow,
requiring the likely hiring of a handful of workers over the
next 1-2 years.
Mark’s success in developing a strong
team of 13 full- time employees is what we would like to
highlight. He has developed a good relationship with Ashland
University and the Ashland City Schools; he estimates that a
total of 15-20 interns from these schools have worked for him
since the early ‘90s. During the last three years alone, he
has hired 5 interns from the City Schools, and several of
these have developed into full-time employees. This is an
excellent example of growing our own business success and
giving our local kids some great opportunities. Please
contact Mark to learn more about this unique approach to
company growth and utilization of what this great community
has to offer.
Ohio Tool Works
Ohio Tool Works (OTW) was started in January
2004 by President John Hovsepian. John was previously employed
by the General Hone Company, which was bought and moved to St.
Louis. However, several former employees stayed in the area
and helped fuel the growth of OTW. John currently employs 30
and expects 2006 sales of over $4 million, more than double
the 2005 total. He explains that he had equipment and
facilities in place in Alabama to accommodate him but because
of the remarkable design and technical expertise of his
employees he chose to locate the start-up firm in Ashland.
OTW just hired a web designer to re-design the website
and market their new commodity-type product line. Their
products are in high demand; in fact, the company is
struggling to find additional workers to meet this demand.
Skilled CNC machinists are the primary need at this time,
so please contact the company if you are interested in
employment. John emphasizes that the OTW environment
really allows workers to apply their knowledge and experience
to new technologies. They are constantly improving products,
which makes for a rewarding work environment.
Please
keep this company in mind as you think of the future of
manufacturing in Ashland County. Also, John and his brother
Jamie Hovsepian own land adjacent to his plant and will
entertain build-to-suit and/or industrial lease requests. They
are currently marketing over 35,000 square feet that
previously housed the General Hone Company. They also own land
behind Ashland Conveyor on Enterprise Parkway, just east of
the Ashland city limits.
|
|
|
|
|
Jumpstart
Exchange on October 10th |
|
|
For more information contact AACED at 419-289- 3200
or check out their website.
To Learn More
| |
|
|
Loudonville
Upcoming Events |
|
October 14th and 15th
- Fall Foliage Guide-it-yourself Tour
Begins
at 10 am till 5 pm
- Lumber Jack Show
Begins at 12pm to
4:45pm There will also be Pumpkin Carving
and a Horse Pull.
For more information please
contact Jerrilyn Leckrone at 419-994-4789
| |
| |
