LEETONIA New telecom company is high-tech lure

The company can make the area as well-wired as the Silicon Valley, said the industrial park's chief.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- The second tenant of the Columbiana County Port Authority's industrial park here will draw high-tech companies to the region, said Tracy Drake, port authority executive director.
The port authority Monday approved the sale of 7.4 acres of its World Trade Park at $25,000 per acre to Fiber Media Inc., a merger of B-Telecom of Cleveland and Telesource of Miami.
"This company is the real deal," Drake said. "They know a lot of other players in this field that can make the region as well-wired as the Silicon Valley [in California]."
What's planned
Drake said the new company will create about 15 high-tech, high-paying jobs, and provide data storage, data switching and fiber optic services.
He said the company will build a 70,000-square-foot building with space available for fiber optic and data companies.
One of the companies will be SONET/ACCESS, a fiber-optics firm that had planned to locate in Youngstown, Drake said.
He said the company has an ambitious plan to build as soon as possible in the spring and be operational by summer.
Company's choice
Drake said Fiber Media Inc. officials had considered sites in Cleveland, but found the Leetonia site attractive because of its rural setting.
Companies who store backup data for financial institutions or government operations are potential terrorism targets, he said. Company officials realized that the Cleveland area could be targeted, Drake said.
He said the new company's executives also liked Leetonia's location because it is close to rail lines and several airports.
General Extrusions Inc. of Boardman was the first tenant in the industrial park, with a $15-million expansion plant employing about 35 workers.