Friday, August 24, 2007
A Regional Chamber official said the business plan is the opposite of outsourcing.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County commissioners approved a 60 percent, 10-year real estate tax abatement for an expansion of a North Jackson aluminum extrusion plant that is projected to create 20 jobs over the next three years.
The Canadian-based Extrudex Aluminum Inc. plans to add 27,225 square feet to its 120,000-square-foot facility at 12051 Mahoning Ave., making a total investment of $2.5 million, including new machinery and equipment.
The county, Jackson Township and Jackson-Milton schools will collectively forgo $101,300 in property tax revenues over the 10 years.
Besides creating the jobs, the abatement secures 112 current jobs at the plant, said Thomas Presby, manager of business assistance projects for the Regional Chamber.
The Woodbridge, Ontario-based company produces products for the truck and transportation industry. The North Jackson plant is the company’s only U.S. facility. The expansion work is under way and scheduled for completion early next year.
The Youngstown-Warren area ranks third in the nation in number of aluminum extrusion facilities, behind Chicago and Los Angeles, the chamber said.
Third expansion
Todd W. Perren, company controller, told the commissioners the current project is the third expansion since the North Jackson plant was built in 1998, and that a fourth expansion, amounting to 80,000 square feet, is proposed for a few years from now.
He said the 20 new full-time jobs will pay laborers $8.50 to $10 an hour to start, with benefits, including profit-sharing and a 401(k) retirement plan, and attendance and safety bonuses.
“They could have put their money in any one of the facilities, but they decided on North Jackson because it’s great for distribution. I mean we’re in the middle of everything. It’s a big extrusion market,” Perren said. “The extrusion market right now is very competitive, and we truly appreciate any help that we can get,” he told the commissioners before they endorsed the abatement.
“We’ve heard of outsourcing so much. Being a Canadian company, this is insourcing. They’re investing money in the United States,” Presby said.
Raises approved
In other business Thursday, the commissioners approved wage increases averaging 49 cents an hour retroactive to May 27 for 53 members of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3577 in the county’s Child Support Enforcement Agency.
The raises are based on findings of a July 2005 payroll audit by KAFF Analytics, an Independence, Ohio-based management consulting firm that compared their pay with that of their counterparts doing similar work in surrounding counties, said Susan E. Quimby, county human resources director.
Those getting raises include audit, intake and support specialists. The 64 members of Local 3577 at CSEA average about $16.92 per hour.
In May, the commissioners gave $1,200 signing bonuses and 2 percent raises to 222 members of AFSCME Local 2001 at the county’s Department of Job and Family Services based on the same audit after union members filed grievances that they were being paid less than their peers.
Judee Genetin, director of CSEA, which is part of JFS, recommended, and the commissioners agreed, that CSEA workers should also receive raises based on the payroll audit. JFS paid for the KAFF audit.