Thursday, April 18, 2002
The company is consolidating its Kentucky facility with the Howland facility.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have granted a 60 percent, 10-year tax abatement to a Howland company that plans to expand and add 40 to 50 jobs in the next two years.
The new investment for Ajax Magnethermic is about $4.5 million for new machinery, equipment and inventory. Howland trustees approved the abatement April 10.
Steve Crnich, vice president of manufacturing, said the company, which operates facilities on Overland Avenue N.E., Howland, and in Kentucky, is consolidating operations.
"This will bring cost saving for us and eliminate duplication efforts," he said.
The Howland facility employs 217 people with 50 people working at the Kentucky facility, which is expected to close by the end of May, Crnich said.
Company's product
The company manufactures induction heat treating equipment. Its customers include automakers, steel companies and glass makers.
Crnich said wages range from $10 to about $15 per hour. Employees work one shift, but a second shift may be added after the consolidation.
"We have customers worldwide," he said. "In the last 18 months, we've shipped to China, Japan, Russia, Poland and Hungary."
The company has been in business since the 1940s. It started in the Warren area in the 1950s but shut down for several years during an economic crunch, Crnich said.