Ohio #1 in Site Selection Ranking
By Staff & Wire Reports
OHIO LEADS U.S. IN NEW PLANTS AND EXPANSIONS
The Ohio Department of Development announced yesterday Ohio led the nation in company expansions and locations in 2006.
The 2006 national rankings of new capital investment in the United States are based on the annual analysis by Site Selection Magazine. The Report shows that there were 431 new investment projects by national and international companies in Ohio in 2006. Total capital investment in Ohio last year is estimated at over $4 billion.
"It is a great honor for Ohio to be recognized as the nation's leading state for facilitating new business growth and expansion," said Governor Ted Strickland in a press release from the Ohio Department of Development. See release at www.odod.state.oh.us.
Site Selection Publisher, Conway Data, has been tracking new business investment for over forty years. Each qualifying project involved an investment of over $1 million, the creation of 50 jobs or an investment in new floor space of at least 20,000 square feet. Read the Site Selection article at www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/cover.
“The Site Selection Magazine ranking is further evidence Ohio’s economy is more diverse and vibrant than it is often given credit for,” according to Mike Jacoby, Executive Director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority. “We still have an impressive and growing business base in the Buckeye State.”
Jacoby said that economic development officials across the state believe the recent elimination of Ohio’s corporate franchise tax and personal property tax along with tort reform and continued workers compensation reforms were factors contributing to Ohio’s ascendance to number one in the nation.
“Anytime a state as big as Ohio makes those types of sweeping reforms, people take notice,” Jacoby said.
In Washington County, numerous company expansions and locations were announced or transpired in 2006:
· The expansion of Steel Dynamics, LLC, in Muskingum Township will create 16 jobs.
· The expansion of Pioneer Pipe and Viking Fabrication in Warren Township will create 32 jobs.
· Mondo Polymers announced plans to construct a new manufacturing facility in Marietta Township and create 30 jobs.
· E2E Serwiz Solutions set up operations in the Reno Business Complex. E2E Serwiz is a customer service center for online travel, and it employs 250 people.
· Electronic Design for Industry (EDI) expanded and relocated to the former Carter Lumber facility in Dunham Township.
· Ohio Valley Alloys is building a 100,000-square feet warehouse in the Westview area of Marietta. The expansion will create eight new jobs.
· The 60,000-square-feet expansion to Dimex’s manufacturing facility in Marietta Township will create 20 new jobs.
To read Site Selection Magazine Article click on: http://www.siteselection.com/