CLARK COUNTY
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SPRINGFIELD AND CLARK COUNTY |
Center Springfield in a one-hour circle and you'll encompass 13 General Motors plants, the Navistar truck manufacturing facility and a Chrysler plant. At the edge of the circle you'll find four Honda plants in West Central Ohio and the Kenworth truck plant in Chillicothe.
| And therein lies Springfield's appeal for the plastics industry. With 25 percent of an automobile's components (and more in the future) composed of plastics, Springfield is center stage for plastics manufacturing, particularly if it relates to the automotive industry.
Taking a slightly wider view, Springfield is right between Detroit's American automakers, Toyota in Kentucky and Ford in the Louisville and Cleveland areas. Plastics makers can supply any of the three on a one-day basis. Navistar recently announced a big expansion to handle production of a new generation truck. The project involves a retooling investment of $250 million and includes a $60 million stamping plant. The expansion is sure to spell opportunity for suppliers. Springfield brings a broad menu to the table for plastics makers, including a labor supply that is more abundant than in surrounding metro areas. Springfield has the transportation assets to support the plastics industry. It is near the cross-hairs of the intersection of I-70 and I-75 and is just minutes from I-71. The 90-minute air travel and next-morning major market truck delivery encompasses 69 percent of the U.S. population, more than half of Canada's population and more than two-thirds of U.S. business establishments. |
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"We have everything in Clark County necessary to support the plastics industry, including a central location to reach the customer base of many companies," says J.C. Wallace, vice president of economic development for the Springfield-Clark County Chamber of Commerce.
Clark County has service by the Indiana & Ohio Railroad, as well as two mainline railroads, which gives shippers multiple options .
The area is well located for mold and die makers, color composite ingredients and other services the plastics industry needs.
The water supply is excellent -- in fact, what Springfield draws from the vast aquifer is so pure it's bottled. The city has substantial excess capacity in both its water and sewer systems.
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Energy reliability is an important factor for plastics producers, and in the Springfield area both reliability and rates are excellent. Special incentives are available for new industries. Ohio Edison, for example, offers "developmental rates" through the year 2005. The rate is equal to a year's free energy use. Dayton Power & Light "banks" a percentage of a company's energy usage, and these funds can be used to offset the costs of worker training and installing energy-efficient equipment and other necessities. The natural gas supplies in Clark County are abundant.
Springfield has an excellent network of education, training and research options. Companies have access to the fruits of the research under way at Wright Patterson's technology center, with its new composite materials research center in Dayton. Companies can also get help solving problems from the Edison Materials Technology Center. |
The area also offers a good training network at two technical schools and two joint vocational schools. Some of the schools will bring training sessions to a company's site. Within 50 miles -- reachable in an hour or less -- are several universities and colleges, including Ohio State, Wright State, Wittenberg, Clark State and Edison State.
One of Clark County's greatest assets is sites with excellent rail service adjacent to interstate highways. One site, 271 acres on U.S. 68, is adjacent to a primary electric line which makes it attractive to heavy energy users. Another 284-acre site is within eight miles of I-70 and I-71. The county has four fully serviced industrial parks.
| Piqua | OHiO ENGINEERED MATERIALS |
West Central Ohio |
