REGION

REGION
Ghafari Co. donates gifts, money to communities
LORDSTOWN -- The Ghafari Co., the Dearborn, Mich.-based engineering firm overseeing the construction of the new paint shop at the Lordstown Assembly Plant, has raised $5,500 for the local Salvation Army and has also donated 169 gifts to be distributed by the organization.
Gary Winslow, Ghafari's Lordstown site administrator, said the company coordinated the contributions because it believes in giving back to the communities in which it does work. Also donating to the effort were the company's subcontractors, Durr, Walbridge, ACCO, Cleveland Cement, Kalkreuth Roofing and Midwest Steel.
Fund-raising campaignfor black business group
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Area Black Business Association is running a fund-raising campaign until the end of February. The organization intends to provide programs to benefit low- and moderate-income people, including pre-employment training, computer education and mentoring programs.
Donations may be sent to the association at P.O. Box 1492, Youngstown OH 44501-1492.
Sunoco to begin building new $140M coke plant
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Sunoco Inc. said it will begin construction this month of a $140 million coke plant that will employ 64 people and start operating in 2005.
The plant along the Ohio River at nearby Haverhill is to supply 550,000 tons of coke annually to International Steel Group, the Cleveland-based steelmaker. It also will sell 450,000 pounds per hour of steam to Sunoco's adjacent phenol manufacturing plant. The plant will be operated by Sun Coke Co., a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Sunoco.
ISG already buys 700,000 tons of coke per year from Sun Coke. The agreement for the additional supply -- plus tax breaks granted by Ohio -- helped prompt Sun Coke to commit to build the new plant, said Bob Walton, executive director of the Southern Ohio Port Authority.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports