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Boardman Molded honored with chamber’s first “Excellence in Manufacturing” Award
Local leaders speak of optimism in 2017
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Local business leaders attending the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber Economic Forecast breakfast speak on growth in the Valley and optimism for 2017.
By Kalea Hall
BOARDMAN
Boardman Molded Products had a long hiatus of no growth, but that changed in the last two years.
The growth and perseverance of the 81-year-old plastic injection molding company is what led to it being the first recipient of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Excellence in Manufacturing Award.
“This year, we expect significant growth,” said Ronald Kessler, president of the company.
Kessler was presented the award at the chamber’s 2017 Economic Forecast Breakfast on Thursday at Mr. Anthony’s.
The chamber and the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, MAGNET, selected Boardman Molded Products out of more than 10 nominations received.
“I found it interesting that it’s a typical company in the Youngstown-Warren area,” said Tom Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.
Boardman Molded values its employees and recognizes its history, Humphries explained.
“I think the majority of the companies in this market have the philosophy of Boardman Molded,” Humphries said.
The 2017 Economic Forecast event also featured a discussion on the current state of the national and local economies from Joel Elvery, economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; and Chris Cwiklinski, F.N.B.’s senior vice president and director of portfolio management.
“One of the things that has shifted is we have seen a lot more growth in consumption,” Elvery said.
Consumers are focused more on shopping online and going out to restaurants. Auto sales have also seen record growth, Elvery noted. Last year, the industry had its best year yet with 17.5 million sales.
Nationally, the gross domestic product grew 1.6 percent in 2016.
While the unemployment rate flattened, it was because the civilian labor force, or sum of the employed and unemployed, stopped falling.
In 2017, the economy is expected to continue its growth. Labor markets will get better and tighter. Inflation will continue to be low.
In Youngstown, the unemployment rate has been low relative to recent years. Both income and output have continued to rise and so have housing prices. With the area’s decline in population, the levels of activity are down.
This year, the Youngstown area’s GDP is expected to grow 1.4 percent, and home prices are also expected to rise. The population is expected to decline 3,400.
Manufacturing remains the city’s defining sector, and it’s a sector that’s taken some hits from the impact of trade and other factors.
“There’s a lot of reasons for that,” Cwiklinski said. “Manufacturing jobs have been challenged.”