Ohio Star Forge competes, thrives

An expensive forging machine will key the Champion plant's growth.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CHAMPION -- Tim Witherow would like to get the word out that manufacturing productivity and growth are alive and well on a parcel of land that looks to some people like it holds little more than abandoned buildings once used for steelmaking.
"We're a thriving business and we're still here, but few people know about us," Witherow said, referring to Ohio Star Forge at 4000 Mahoning Ave., and on property owned by CSC Ltd. before the steel bar maker closed five years ago.
Witherow has been a machine operator for the company for more than 10 years, and he is learning to operate Ohio Star's latest symbol of its plans to expand: an $11 million, state-of-the-art forging machine.
Open house
The machine was the centerpiece at a four-hour ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Saturday. Around 250 to 300 people attended the event, which was set up to show the company's latest means to stay competitive with foreign manufacturing companies.
The new piece of equipment will produce larger parts most foreign producers aren't making, explained Jeff Downing, Ohio Star's president. It also will provide for inroads into new markets such as transmission and industrial components as well as larger gears and bearings, he noted.
Ohio Star Forge, which began production in 1989 and has 82 employees, has four forging machines to make bearings, gears and nuts. About 70 percent of its products are for automotive uses.
The open house gave people the opportunity to tour the plant and factory, and featured several speakers such as Noboru Tajima, who touted the company's growth.
Tajima, who served as Ohio Star's president in the mid-1990s, praised Downing for helping the business become profitable after it suffered monetary losses because of a sluggish economy.
"This machine is very necessary for Ohio Star Forge to continue its growth," he said.
Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka told the audience he feels that the company and its expansion will help spur economic growth in the region.
"I hope more businesses like Ohio Star Forge will come to the table and help revitalize our county," Polivka added.
Tom Humphries, president of the Regional Chamber, echoed those sentiments, calling the area "a strong community relative to steel."
Keys to success
Downing said that even though his company's parts are manufactured in China, Japan and several other countries at low cost, it's quality and delivery to customers that enable Ohio Star to maintain a competitive edge. To that end, he continued, the company has spent around $500,000 to upgrade electrical and other key components at the plant.
Another ingredient in the company's success is its employees and the ability of workers, supervisors and managers to work together, he said. Tax abatements also helped decrease start-up and other costs as production got under way, Downing added.
In January 2005, Trumbull County commissioners approved a tax abatement for Ohio Star and, after also receiving approval from its parent company, Daido Steel Inc. of Japan, the machine was assembled in Switzerland. It was taken apart for shipping before being reassembled at Ohio Star.