OHIO STAR FORGE Steelmaker plans upgrade

The expansion would create 11 to 14 jobs.
CHAMPION -- Ohio Star Forge is planning $10 million to $13 million in improvements at its plant here, according to paperwork filed with Trumbull County and Champion Township.
Township trustees have scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. Dec. 15 to discuss the requested enterprise zone agreement from Ohio Star Forge, which seeks a 60 percent, 10-year tax abatement on new real and personal property.
Deal must be approved
The deal would have to be approved by both the township and Trumbull County commissioners.
The company is proposing $850,000 in new construction, along with $560,000 to $690,000 in improvements to its existing facility. Also, $7.7 million to $9.9 million would go toward new equipment.
Inventory would be $1.6 million to $2 million and an additional $55,000 to $60,000 would go for furniture and fixtures.
New jobs
Mark Zigmont, a planner at the Trumbull County Planning Commission, said Ohio Star Forge's documents show it now employs 67 people full time and would create 11 to 14 full-time jobs.
"This is mostly a job retention project," he said.
At this point, Ohio Star Forge has not sought assistance from the county's revolving loan fund, and Zigmont said he assumes the improvements are being paid wholly by the company.
Jeff Downing, Ohio Star Forge president, could not be reached for comment.
What it makes
The company manufactures forged steel parts for the auto and bearing industries. It operates on a 2-acre wedge at the rear of the shuttered CSC Ltd. property in a 70,000-square-foot, peach-colored complex.
A wholly owned subsidiary of DAIDO Steel, Ohio Star Forge is part of the Japanese steelmaker's five-plant bearing division. It is DAIDO's only manufacturing plant in the United States.