Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Staff report
columbus
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority has approved $107,483 in job-creation tax credits for Ohio Star Forge, which is considering a nearly $20 million expansion project at its facility on Mahoning Avenue in Champion Township.
The tax credits were offered by the Ohio Development Services Agency in conjunction with JobsOhio. In addition, a state incentive package includes a $30,000 work-force training grant.
The company is considering investing more than $19.8 million at its Champion plant, including $14 million in machinery and equipment, $3.7 million in building costs, $100,000 in land costs and about $2 million in other costs.
OSF would create 26 jobs in the first three years of operation and retain 95 jobs.
The increased payroll from the new jobs would total $1.4 million.
The company will use the training grant to train 40 existing workers and 26 new workers within one year of the contract signature date.
The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber helped OSF with the state incentive package and helped it secure a property-tax abatement through Trumbull County’s Enterprise Zone program.
It also helped the company obtain a variety of work-force services and training funds committed through the Trumbull County One Stop, according to the chamber.
“With this approval of job-creation tax credits for OSF, we are one step closer to this project becoming a reality,” said Sarah Boyarko, Regional Chamber vice president of Economic Development, Business Retention and Expansion, who attended the Tax Credit Authority hearing in Columbus.
“These kinds of projects don’t happen overnight or with the assistance of one single group. It is a combined effort of our local and state economic- development partners,” she said.
The Champion site has been in competition with a site in Japan for the expansion, according to the chamber.
OSF is an independent subsidiary of Daido Steel, a specialty-steel conglomerate with operations in the U.S. and Japan.
The Champion facility produces forgings for the automotive and fastener industries.
OSF has grown in the past 12 years, increasing its output by an average of 97 percent annually.