FOSTORIA

"They have hydraulic fluid in their veins and metal shavings under their fingernails." That's how one industry executive describes the skilled workforce in the Northwest Ohio city of Fostoria.

Fostoria is a working class city, proud of its long industrial heritage. Its name was known around the world as the center of fine glass production in the early years of the 20th century, but today it serves a variety of industry in agribusiness, auto parts and plastics.

Ironically, the same plant that made Fostoria famous for glass is now making its mark in plastics. InterMetro Industries, which likes to refurbish aging plants, bought the Fostoria Glass facility and expanded it to 160,000 sq. ft. (The company's R&D unit resides in an old cigar factory.)

InterMetro, headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was founded in 1929 by an entrepreneur who invented the wire whisk and the shopping cart, as well as wire shelving for the food service industry. The Fostoria facility was fitted out to make polymer shelving under the Metro Max brand name. About a quarter of its production is exported to customers in 63 countries. The company, which has 195 employees at Fostoria, is ISO 9000-certified.

Profile
of
Fostoria
Location: Northwest Ohio
Population: Fostoria, 14,980. Four-county regional area (Seneca, Hancock, Sandusky and Wood counties): 301,477
Transportation:
Road: U.S. 224 and 23
Rail: CSX, Norfolk Southern
Air: Toledo Express, 35 miles
Water: Port of Toledo, 50 miles
Major Employers: Allied Signal/Autolite; Cummins Engine/Atlas; Roppe Corp.; Quality Farm & Fleet; Norton Manufacturing; InterMetro Industries; Seneca Wire & Manufacturing.

"The reason for locating in Fostoria was to get in the center of the U.S. population," says Dennis Dancer, plant manager. "Fostoria is within 500 miles of two-thirds of the U.S. population and within three hours of 80 percent of the nation's auto assembly plants." Access to that consumer and industrial base is easy. It is just 20 minutes to I-75 or to the I-80/90 Ohio Turnpike from Fostoria.

InterMetro's 15 injection molding machines make a broad range of thermoset polymer products -- dish dollies for the food service industry, laundry trucks and hospital emergency room crash carts to jump start "Code Blue" heart attack patients, to name a few. The company also uses rotational molding for large, hollow parts.

nterMetro has invested $30 million in the plant. The Fostoria Economic Development Corp. stepped in to help with the cost via an Urban Development Action Grant and low-interest loan, a state of Ohio loan, industrial revenue bond financing and a grant to help defray the cost of a rail spur.

The story is similar at Sherwood Plastics, a rotational molder which produces parts for the heavy truck, boating and health care industries.

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Sherwood Plastics is a rotational molder for such customers as Rubbermaid.

"Fostoria has been extremely accommodating to us," says Mark Jones, president. "The city helped us expand our plant by vacating a street. The Fostoria Economic Development Corp. helped us get a low-interest loan from the Fostoria Revolving Loan Fund and gave us an Urban Enterprise Zone tax abatement package for the new building and equipment. This town encourages small businesses to grow."

The 76-employee company launched a strong diversification program which has doubled sales in the 1990s.

Fostoria is also home to the nation's largest maker of rubber flooring and baseboards -- Roppe Corp. Don Miller, president and CEO, has a long list of plaudits for his employee motivation and management skills. His incentive-based team goal system lets a team go home early when it reaches its production quota.

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InterMetro makes thermoset polymer products, including "crash carts" for the health care industry
"Our productivity boomed," says Miller. "When we started the program, we offered a 10 percent increase in pay for a 10 percent increase in productivity. What we got was a 30-35 percent increase in productivity." Miller credits Fostoria's combination of work ethic and skills for the success of the concept.

Industries in Fostoria report several other locational advantages, including reliable, reasonably priced power and, because of the region's heavy agricultural production, regular service by two Class I railroads.

Fostoria has a fully serviced, 80-acre industrial park, as well as several hundred acres of greenfield sites reserved for industry. An available 40,000-sq. ft. shell building can be expanded to 160,000 sq. ft.

East Ohio
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Gallia County