As published in Toledo Business Journal - January 1, 2011
Kiln #6 and load-out facility at Martin Marietta Magnesia
Specialties, LLC in Woodville.
The new kiln #7, will go in front of
kiln #6.
$59M to be invested in Sandusky Co.
Martin Marietta plans $53M Woodville project
Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) has put significant effort into working with and supporting established companies located throughout the county. Newly announced investments as well as projects completed in 2010 are paying important dividends to both the companies involved and to Sandusky County.
New projects to invest $58M+
Several projects are set to begin soon in Sandusky County, investing a significant amount of money in the region. Three of these include a $53 million project by Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties, LLC in Woodville Township, a $5 million Holiday Inn Express project in Sandusky Township, and an approximately $1 million Futronics Inc. expansion in Rice Township.
First, the Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties expansion project includes construction of a newly owned and operated 15,000 square foot building and the purchase and installation of a new kiln for the production of dolomitic lime. The new kiln #7 – the sixth kiln on site (there is no kiln #3) – will be placed near the existing kiln #6.
The project is expected to create 15 jobs and retain 160 positions.
Kay Reiter, SCEDC executive director, noted, “There are a sizable amount of construction related jobs – over 100 – for the project as well… Martin Marietta has been looking at this project for a pretty strong period of time… The timing is good for them.”
Martin Marietta has been awarded a 35% Job Creation Tax Credit for a five-year term as a result of the company’s expansion. The value of the tax credit is estimated at $236,015 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the project site for eight years.
Anne Lloyd, executive vice president and CFO, Martin Marietta Materials in Raleigh, North Carolina, stated, “We are looking at the expansion of our lime kiln there in Woodville and creating 15 new jobs, once the project is completed. It will probably take about two years to construct.”
She also discussed the benefits of the Sandusky County site for the manufacturing firm’s expansion project.
“The economic development corporation provided us with tax incentives, which were part of the answer,” Lloyd explained. “It is a site that provides nearly a quarter of the dolomitic lime in North America, and it is a naturally occurring deposit that is not found in all other places. So, to get that kind of dolomitic lime expansion into that market, we need to be there. The geology requires us to be there.”
Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) director, Lisa Patt-McDaniel, stated, “Ohio’s favorable business climate makes it a great place for companies to invest. These incentives will help strengthen our workforce through job creation and retention, which will create growth and boost Ohio’s economy.”
Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties LLC, a subsidiary of Martin Marietta Materials, is a US producer of magnesia-based chemicals for industrial, environmental, and agricultural uses, as well as fiber-reinforced composite materials used for transportation and military applications.
Chemical-grade magnesia is marketed as a process additive, used as raw material for products such as ceramics, paper, and sugar. Magnesia Specialties markets agricultural grades of magnesium oxide for use in mineral premixes and animal feed, environmentally friendly air and water treatments, and a new flame-retardant product.
At the Woodville Township facility, a significant amount of dolomitic lime is sold to the steel industry as a fluxing agent to help purify steel and extend refractory lining life.
Martin Marietta Materials produces construction aggregates used primarily for construction of highways and other infrastructure projects, in certain green initiatives (including flue gas desulphurization), and in the domestic commercial and residential construction industries. Its aggregates business’ network of more than 285 quarries, distribution yards, and plants spans 27 states, Canada, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Islands.
Separately, the Holiday Inn Express is expected to begin construction this year in Sandusky Township, just north of Fremont. The three-story facility will include 78 beds, a pool, a fitness center, and a conference center on a 20.4-acre site.
According to Reiter, the project will break ground as soon as weather permits. Approximately 20 new jobs will be created.
Lastly, Fremont-based Futronics Inc. is investing just under $1 million in a new building to be constructed on land it currently owns. The company has received a $379,000 loan from the US Small Business Administration (SBA) for the project; its three locations – in Fremont, Toledo, and Wooster – will be consolidated into the new facility.
According to Futronics, the new building will provide centralized warehousing and equipment dispatching, expand the company’s service areas, and create a larger base from which the company can grow.
Futronics was founded in 1937. It is a federally licensed, inter-state common carrier and also a licensed public telephone company under the auspices of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Additionally, it is a full service Motorola dealer, providing repair and sales of Motorola products in over 30 counties in northern Ohio and southeast Michigan.
$186M+ Whirlpool projects completed
Sandusky County completed several large investment projects in 2010 as well. One of the manufacturers placing new investment in the area last year was Whirlpool Corporation – Clyde Division. SCEDC is continuing to work with the company to assist in the recruitment of major suppliers to locate production facilities in close proximity to the Clyde, Ohio operations.
Whirlpool Clyde invested $175 million in its facility for a project including tooling, equipment, and facility changes. As a result of this growth, Whirlpool has hired over 900 employees in the past year.
According to Whirlpool, the 2.3 million square foot Clyde plant is the largest automatic washer facility in the world.
Prior to becoming a Whirlpool facility, the plant made a range of products, from Elmore automobiles and Clydesdale fire trucks to church furniture, bicycles, weapons (for World War II), and porcelain signs.
When Whirlpool purchased the facility in 1952 from Clyde Porcelain Steel, it was just 250,000 square feet. Two years later, Whirlpool purchased the adjacent Bendix Corporation, which added an additional 170,000 square feet. With gradual expansions, the factory slowly grew to its current size including distribution centers.
A number of major suppliers have located manufacturing facilities in close proximity to Clyde as well. For example, Whirlpool Clyde supplier, Revere Plastics, also expanded its business on East Elm Street in Clyde by adding 50,400 square feet. The project invested approximately $11 million ($8.5 million in new equipment, $1.1 million in new inventory, and $1.5 million in real property).
“Revere is completed, and that project did extremely well,” stated Reiter. “It is very impacted by what’s happening at Whirlpool.”
The project enabled Revere to retain 443 jobs and add 25 new jobs as a result of its capital investment.
Revere Plastics produces injection-molded plastic parts used in Whirlpool washing machines. The expansion and new equipment is designed to also supply parts for a new Whirlpool product line.
SCEDC continues to work closely with Whirlpool Clyde to support new investment projects for suppliers to this large Sandusky County manufacturing operation.