Can-do attitude fueling optimism for cool plant

In October 2016, Mitchell Joseph, a Youngstown native and CEO of The Joseph Company International, first trumpeted plans for a massive state-of-the-art chill-can campus on Youngstown’s sleepy East Side.

In some quarters, initial reaction was predictably tinged with disbelief to the California entrepreneur’s plans.

Ten months later, however, Joseph not only has proved the skeptics wrong, but his plans have expanded and construction of the expansive complex is progressing ahead of schedule.

We therefore commend Joseph for his faith, determination and rock-solid investment in his hometown and hope that its success can serve as a catalyst for other projects on other wide swaths of vacant or near-vacant property on the East Side and all sides of the city.

As reported by Kalea Hall, The Vindicator’s business reporter, in a story on Sunday’s front page, construction of Joseph’s manufacturing, research and administrative campus is proceeding at breakneck speed off of Oak Street near the Madison Avenue Expressway.

This first major industrial project in decades on the East Side will rise as a hub for Joseph’s innovative and award-winning MicroCool process, which is used to make beverage cans with built-in heat-exchange units that can substantially cool liquid inside them in less than a minute.

That head-turning yet practical innovation is building demand for the company’s growing product line in markets across the United States and throughout Europe. Indeed, before the first Youngstown chill can comes off the assembly line, the potential for growth of this venture looms large.

Project Expansion

In fact, Joseph is so confident of the project’s viability he already has expanded the size and scope of the East Side campus since unveiling it last October.

Originally, four buildings were planned for the site. Now, seven structures are on the drawing boards. They include structures for the plastic division, a filling station for liquids, a can-assembly factory, a warehouse, two production buildings and administrative offices.

As the size of the complex grows, so, too, does its positive impact on the Mahoning Valley and particularly on Youngstown, where the jobless rate stubbornly stands at double the national average. (it was 8.6 percent in june)

For Youngstown, the rewards will be richly satisfying, what with the campus generating at least 250 jobs, an annual payroll of about $5 million and about $150,000 in additional municipal income-tax revenue. Obviously, it also will transform a mostly declining and dingy city sector into a visually pleasing center of hubbub.

Of course, all of this progress did not materialize overnight. For two years now, the company has been working with the city purchasing properties for the campus. City leaders worked diligently and attentively to all details behind the scenes with Joseph.

For his part, Joseph is to be credited for his and his family’s commitment and passion for Youngstown. The Joseph family, after all, once operated the Star Bottling Co. in the same area as the chill-can plant.

Throughout his long career in the beverage and bottling industry, Mitchell Joseph has earned a stellar entrepreneurial reputation of his own.

The MicroCool technology he patented has received wow reviews from institutions as diverse as the Army, NASA, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Well-deserved recognition

Joseph also has been duly recognized by leaders of the international beverage industry. Later this month, he will be lauded as Business Professional of the Year at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Salute to Business 2017.

To be sure, the chill-can innovator stands as a model for responsible corporate engagement with the city. Joseph’s passion for a rejuvenated Youngstown and his allegiance to his alma mater of Youngstown State University motivated him to recommit to the city.

“I get more and more excitied every time I come back,” he recently exclaimed. His excitement is contagious, as such projects rev up neighborhood pride and heighten civic pride.