Daily Record Articles


Venture Products to build

December 7, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — Venture Products, Inc., makers of Ventrac tractors and attachments, has announced plans to build a new $7 million plant and become the first tenant in the city’s new industrial park.

The company made the announcement to its employees on Friday, saying it plans to move forward with a multi-phased project immediately, contingent upon receiving an incentives package from both Ohio and Orrville. On Monday both those packages received approval.

The planned construction project over a period of four years would consolidate the activities of Venture Products’ two manufacturing operations in Orrville. Now, a 33,000-square-foot plant on Church Road handles engineering, development, fabrication and cutting, while a second 37,000-square-foot plant on Water Street houses assembly, powder painting, administrative offices and parts warehousing and shipping.

Randy Kitzmiller, director of operations, said the goal is to unite the operations of the two facilities under one roof, thereby gaining efficiencies of operation and subsequent cost savings.

“It’s exciting for a local company with local ownership to make a decision to grow its business in Orrville,” said Mike Hedberg, director of Orrville development.

Hedberg said he gives “a lot of credit” to city officials for pursuing a vision of a second industrial park that would not only attract new manufacturing to Orrville but also allow existing businesses to grow here.

“It’s proving to be a real asset,” said Hedberg, noting that Venture Products has narrowed its choice of location for the new plant to two parcels, and anticipates purchasing between 15 and 20 acres of the 75-acre business technology park.

Kitzmiller said Venture Products, which began manufacturing the Ventrac line in 1998 after making agricultural equipment for the previous decade, is currently marketing its products in a dozen countries, and at present its future appears to be going straight up.

In 2009 Kitzmiller said, the company began implementing a new sales and marketing strategy which immediately resulted in a double-digit sales increase in 2010 and 2011. Kitzmiller said the company believes the strategy will allow the company to continue at that level of success for at least another five years, barring global economic turmoil.

So sharp has been the sales increase, that at first company officials didn’t realize how successful the company was. But six months ago, Kitzmiller said, Ventrac realized it was “busting at the seams” because “sales keep coming in.”

“It’s an awesome problem to have,” Kitzmiller conceded.

At that point the company began working on plans for a brand new manufacturing facility, initially testing the waters in other states for possible sites as they went through the “due diligence” process.

“But our number one goal was always to stay here, because this is where our employees are, and we care about our employees,” said Kitzmiller.

Kitzmiller said that when the company began working with the city on a possible location for the new plant, it found exceptional cooperation.

“Orrville did an awesome job,” said Kitzmiller. “Mike Hedberg is amazing. Staying in Orrville was a very easy decision for us.”

Kitzmiller said Venture Products plans to begin the first phase of its project in the spring, starting work on a plant that is still in the design phase, but which is expected to be between 50,000 and 60,000 square feet. That plant, expected to take about two years to complete, will house what is now the Church Road operation.

Phase two is planned to commence in 2014 and would be a second building encompassing between 50,000 and 60,000 square feet. It would house production now being done in the Water Street plant and be completed in 2015.

Kitzmiller said the exact amount of land needed remains up in the air, but said the land would be purchased from the city in advance of the construction projects.

Kitzmiller said an advantage of doing the project in a multi-phased manner is that if the global economy sours, Venture Products could put off building the later phase of the plant until economic conditions improve.

In asking city council Monday night to approve a resolution authorizing the safety-service director to provide for job creation income tax credit for the company, Kitmiller said Venture Products envisions adding another 33 employees to its present 85 over the next three years.

Safety Service Director Steve Wheeler said those jobs would translate into $1,026,600 in new payroll taxes for the city, and $10,266 in new income tax. Wheeler said the job creation tax credit would translate into $6,159 over the six-year life of the agreement.

“This is exciting,” said Hedberg. “An announcement like this is a great Christmas gift to this community. It continues the positive momentum we have from local companies continuing to grow, like Will-Burt, Bekaert and the J.M. Smucker Co. We are very fortunate here.”

Kitzmiller said that employees at Venture Products were shocked and “very excited” by last week’s announcement.

“They knew the company was doing well, but I don’t think they knew just how well,” said Kitzmiller. “They knew that one day we wanted to bring all the operation under one roof, but they didn’t know that day was coming so soon. Now it’s here.”


Smucker buys part of Sara Lee Coffee, hot beverages in $400 million deal

October 25, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — The J.M. Smucker Co. announced Monday the signing of a definitive $400 million agreement to acquire a majority of the North American foodservice coffee and hot beverage business of the Sara Lee Corp.

The acquisition, which strengthens Smucker’s stable of foremost food brands, includes Sara Lee’s market-leading liquid coffee concentrate business sold under the license Douwe Egberts brand, along with a variety of roast and ground coffee, cappuccino, tea and cocoa products sold through foodservice channels in North America.

Maribeth Badertscher, vice president for corporate communications, said the agreement strengthens “our position as a leading North American coffee company. With nearly two-thirds of coffee sold away from home, this acquisition offers significant opportunities for growth by expanding our presence in these away-from-home channels.”

Badertscher said the company is particularly excited about the liquid coffee concentrate which, she said, “adds a unique, high quality and technology-driven form of coffee to the company’s existing foodservice product offering.”

In addition, the companies agreed to collaborate on liquid coffee technology by entering into a long-term foodservice innovation partnership.

The acquisition, Badertscher said, is expected to add annual net sales of about $285 million to the Orrville-based company.

“The addition of liquid coffee concentrate to the Smucker portfolio aligns with our desire to compete in all forms of coffee, adding to our roast and ground, single-serve, instant and ready-to-drink platforms. The innovation partnership,” said Chief Executive Officer Richard Smucker in a statement, “further allows us to collaborate on new technologies in the liquid coffee category for the foodservice market.”

Steven Oakland, president International Foodservice and Natural Foods for Smucker’s, said in a statement, “The transaction nearly doubles the size of our foodservice business, provides new coffee technologies, and adds a foodservice coffee direct sales force to our team, ultimately allowing us to extend our reach and enhance our relevance within away-from-home channels.”

Badertscher said the closing of the transaction will add about 450 employees to Smucker’s, including sales, marketing, finance, customer service and administrative functions located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Also added will be a state-of-the-art liquid coffee manufacturing facility in Suffolk, Va.; a leased roast and ground coffee manufacturing facility in Harahan, La.; and coffee equipment and service teams located throughout North America.

In addition to licensing the Douwe Egberts brand, the company will also license the Cafitesse and Pickwick brands.

Terms of the deal call for $350 million to be paid at the time of closing, with an additional $50 million paid in declining installments over the next 10 years. Badertscher said the company expects to complete the all-cash transaction near the beginning of calendar year 2012.

Based on the anticipated closing date, the transaction is expected to contribute about $100 million to Smucker’s net sales in 2012 and is not expected to have a significant impact on earnings per share, excluding the one-time costs of the transaction, estimated at $25 million. About a third of these costs are expected to be included in 2012, with the rest through 2015.

Among the other brands owned by Smucker’s are Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jif Peanut Butter, Crisco, Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Eagle Brand and others.


Smith Dairy leading the way for green

October 7, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — The city may soon become something of a bastion for green energy, if Smith Dairy Products has its way.

Chuck Diehl, fleet manager for Smith Dairy Trucking, made the surprise announcement at the close of Thursday’s day-long AFV conference that Smith’s next year would spend around $1 million to build a private/public fueling island that would provide alternative fuels for vehicles.

In the announcement, which brought down the house, Diehl said that by constructing the facility, the company hoped not only to move into the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles for its own use, but to also provide an incentive for other vehicle fleets in and around Orrville, as well as private vehicle owners, to enter the AFV market.

Diehl said that he had made a proposal to the owners and board of Smith Dairy earlier this year, and that they had given the green light to build the project in 2012. The fuel island would be constructed along Hostetler Road, at the facility where Smith’s trucks are currently fueled.

Noting that the “chicken and the egg” scenario as it related to development of vehicles and fuel infrastructure had consumed a sizable part of Thursday’s seminar, Diehl said, “Someone needs to move ahead, and it is our intention to move ahead.”

According to Diehl, the company will be looking for grants and other financial incentives to help fund the project, expected to cost between $800,000 and $1.2 million.

In addition, Diehl announced that Smith’s would begin to replace trucks in its aging fleet with new alternative fuel vehicles, either propane or compressed natural gas. He said it is likely that, barring further downturn in the economy, the company would be ordering as many as six AFVs. Diehl said the newest vehicles in the company’s 400-vehicle fleet had been purchased in 2007.

The fleet manager said that by building the fueling facility, it hopes to not only “plant seeds” for green energy in the Orrville area, but also “find out how committed the public is on this.” He said that by providing a fueling site, the dairy hopes that people in the area will begin to buy AFVs.

Diehl called the response to the company’s announcement “very positive,” adding, “It’s all absolutely good for Orrville. We hope that some more good things will stem from this.”

Bill McGlinchey, president and CEO of AFV International, an Orrville-based consulting firm, offered praise for Smith’s decision, saying, “This is the first effort of a private company in stepping up without any government incentives to do something like this. Smith Dairy is the first private company to take the lead. Other people only wait for the government to act. They have taken the bull by the horns and done something very important here.”


From culinary school and premium cafeteria to executive offices and manufacturing, the Orrville company’s campus takes on new look inside and out

September 4, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — The J.M. Smucker Co. recently took the wraps off the campus expansion project it began in 2010, aimed at consolidating numerous of its buildings and facilities into a unified campus environment.

On Aug. 12 it held an open house for employees and their families, serving dinner to more than 2,000 people under 13 large tents set up along North Main Street.

At the center of the campus renovation is One Strawberry Lane Center, a four-story 153,000-square-foot office complex that links in the Founders Building (now One Strawberry Lane North) and Legacy Building (now One Strawberry Lane West).

The North building houses 160 employees in 45,000 square-feet, while the West building houses 250 employees in 75,000 square-feet, including the 200-seat Paul Smucker Auditorium.

One Strawberry Lane Central has 370 employees, and much of the space in the modern structure with its central atrium, waterfall and electronic message boards is devoted to conference rooms and office space, including the corporate executive offices.

Maribeth Badertscher, public relations spokesman for Smucker’s, said the new office building was designed to help build personal relationships, create a sense of community and promote the latest technology, while at the same time preserving and promoting Smucker’s core values of quality, people, ethics, growth and independence.

The electronic promotion of its brands in the lobby focuses on the corporation’s central message of bringing families together for memorable meals and moments.

Badertscher said with the move of about 200 employees from leased Fairlawn/Ghent Road facilities in Summit County to Orrville, there are about 1,500 employees on the campus, with 1,150 being office workers and 350 manufacturing employees.

One of the showplaces on the campus is the Renewal Building, which contains the cafeteria, corporate archives, test kitchens, conference rooms and culinary college.

The crown jewel of the building is the cafeteria, which resembles the food court in a shopping mall, with seating for about 350. Different stations offer a variety of food to employees, whose meals are subsidized by the company.

Included in the offerings are a delicatessen, pizza station, a features station, grill and a just completed Latin Fusion station that offers specialties from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and other Latin American countries, with daily exotic specialties. There also is a large two-line salad bar. Each food station offers daily specials.

At the center of this food service maelstrom that serves about 800 employees daily is Cavin Sullivan, general manager. Sullivan oversees a staff of 36 full-time kitchen employees and six additional employees in a special catering kitchen which, he said, prepares about 100 “over-the-top” meals weekly that are delivered to locations throughout the campus where special meetings are taking place.

In addition, the same kitchen caters special meals at Heartland Point in Orrville’s downtown.

On the top floor of the Renewal Building are the so-called “Strawberry Rooms,” a trio of large conference rooms which can be combined to allow seating for up to 600 people. Also a dozen conference rooms soon will be constructed on the first floor.

At Smucker’s Culinary College, guests, sales teams and retailers are brought in to learn how to use the company’s various products.

For instance, said Badertscher, classes may be held on the various Pillsbury and Martha White flours.

“We talk to them about the attributes of each flour, and show them how they can best be used in a variety of products ranging from cakes to muffins,” she said.

The Discovery Building along North Main Street, Badertscher said, was expanded from 90,000 to 143,000 square-feet, providing more space for product testing laboratories and the company’s call center. That building now houses 177 employees.

Just southeast of this multi-building complex is rising the gigantic new J.M. Smucker Co. production plant, its shell so large it seems to stretch away into the distance following the curve of the Earth.

The facility is under roof, with its concrete floor mostly poured. When largely completed next spring, it will offer 460,000 square-feet, 300,000 of which will be used for new production, with the remaining 160,000 square-feet devoted to warehousing.

The facility dwarfs the present manufacturing plant that has 260,000 square feet.

When it becomes operational next spring, the new manufacturing plant will employ 270 people, with 240 of them being hourly and 30 salaries. The present plant has 345 workers, 300 of them hourly and 45 salaried.

When the new plant comes online, Badertscher said, it will produce glass-bottled fruit spreads and ice cream toppings. When it becomes fully operational by late 2013, the plant will produce fully twice as much product as the previous manufacturing operation.

Badertscher said in preparation for the startup of the plant, the number of manufacturing workers is being allowed to dwindle through attrition and retirements. It is hoped, she said, by the time the new heavily automated plant is fully operational the manufacturing work force will be reduced to the point where no one will have to be let go.

According to Badertscher, the campus has state-of-the-art energy saving equipment, including efficient window glass, zoned controls for heat and lighting, high-efficiency furnaces, water flow controls to reduce consumption and motion sensors to shut down energy usage when no one is present in a room.

In other improvements, Smucker has put in a mile-long fitness trail around the campus using a combination of sidewalks and crushed limestone paths, provided for shuttle transportation from its parking lots for members of its “sensory department” consumer taste testing teams, created a health and wellness center staffed by a registered nurse practitioner, and in the near future will be building a complete fitness center for employee use.

Badertscher said the fitness center will be located in the old manufacturing plant, portions of which will be razed, with other sections being “repurposed.” Part of that building will become a center where retailers can come to discover and learn about new Smucker’s products.


Demand heats up for BioBlocks Summit Wood making sawdust blocks into heat

July 17, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — A longtime local company has found a way to convert what was once waste from its manufacturing operations into a new product, and appears poised to crack a new, green energy market.

Summit Wood Industries, 11615 E. Lincoln Way, which started 11 years ago manufacturing wood moldings and doing other millwork, is creating BioBlocks as an alternative to traditional heating sources.

According to Victoria G. Miller, who owns the business with her husband, Gary, Summit had long generated waste in the form of sawdust from the kiln-dried hardwood lumber it uses in its regular operations, and began to question whether there wasn’t some way it could be transformed into a recycled product.

After exploring the market, the Millers found that heating with compressed sawdust blocks was very big in Europe, and subsequently ordered a machine from Germany that would take the sawdust generated from Summit’s wood milling operations and form it into blocks under high pressure.

The resulting BioBlocks can be used both in fireplace and furnace applications for home heating as a replacement for traditional firewood, as well as in fire pits, chimneas and wood stoves.

Gary Miller, who says he loves to design and invent, created a system in Summit’s shop in which sawdust vacuumed from the milling machinery is carried through metal pipes to a collection tank at one end of the shop, from which the block-forming machine draws a continuous supply of material.

Victoria Miller said the major advantage of BioBlocks over competitors’ products is the Summit Wood Industries’ blocks are make of almost pure sawdust with few larger pieces, enabling it to be more dense and solid, and taking on burning characteristics similar to coal. She said similar briquettes on the market are less compacted and use a much coarser grade of material, preventing them from burning as long or as effectively.

Victoria Miller said BioBlocks are a better heat source than traditional firewood for a variety of reasons.

First, she notes, BioBlocks are consistently low in moisture because the hardwood from which they are made is already kiln dried.

“Firewood is unpredictable in its moisture content,” she said. “This means firewood wastes energy when burned because of its moisture content. Additional energy has to be used to convert water into steam. This steam is emitted through your chimney, creating a dangerous creosote buildup.”

Victoria Miller also noted the BioBlocks can be burned in an existing wood stove, fireplace or fire pit without modification, and noted the energy contained in a BioBlock is nearly twice that of seasoned firewood.

She also noted BioBlocks are considered a natural product because no artificial binders are added during the manufacturing process. Moreover, she said, BioBlocks only release as much carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere as was originally absorbed by the growing tree during photosynthesis.

She said BioBlocks are compacted from a volume of sawdust that is originally six times the volume of the resulting block, giving them nearly twice the density of seasoned hardwood.

In addition, Victoria Miller notes BioBlocks are stackable, have no bugs, are clean to handle, require no chopping, light with newspaper and leave little ash. She said they are less expansive than fuel oil and cordwood. Each block weighs about 2 pounds and BioBlocks come in packages of eight, 12, or can be bought in bulk packs of 1,056 blocks, shrink-wrapped on pallets.

She said one ton of BioBlocks delivers more heat than one full cord of wood.

Gary Miller, who has created a portable fire pit that is specifically designed for BioBlocks as a fuel source, and which are manufactured by a local shop, said it won the Most Innovative Product Award at this year’s Wayne County Home and Garden Show.

He said the portable fire pits, which incorporate a swivel-away grille, “are selling as fast as we can make them.”

The Millers say their BioBlock business, which was started in late 2009, has been growing rapidly, and while still centered in the Wayne County area where there are several distributorships, is also making inroads into West Virginia, Iowa, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Victoria Miller, who handles the marketing while her husband works with the manufacturing end, said the biggest challenge is “knowing how to market the product and educate the public about its benefits.”

Among the challenges she sees for the product is being creative with the packaging of both the BioBlocks and complimentary products, moving toward creating a more regionalized market area, and streamlining the manufacturing process with increased automation.

“The biggest challenge is that we have a new product and no one knows what it is,” said Victoria Miller, adding both their children are involved in various aspects of the business.

Gary Miller said he is working toward the complete reorganization of a 6,000-square-foot warehouse to handle the BioBlock portion of Summit’s business.

While Victoria Miller said BioBlocks have found a ready market in the local Amish community, she believes there are many customers out there looking for an efficient and environmentally friendly fuel that can provide cost savings.


Orrville Tax review hears good news from four industries

April 22, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — The manufacturing climate in the city seems to be on the upswing. At least that was the word Monday from management officials of several industries who talked with members of the Wayne County Tax Incentive Review Council.

Mike Henkle, plant manager of Scotts Orrville facility, talked about the company’s 50,000-square-foot expansion at a cost of $500,000, saying even though lack of warm weather is playing havoc with the company’s business in Ohio, 2011 overall “looks really good for the Orrville facility.”

He said business at the manufacturing and warehouse facility appears it will remain strong through the end of June.

Henkle said the company has 59 full-time positions, with 61 percent of those being Wayne County residents.

“We’re looking for another good year,” said Henkle, before the TIRC voted unanimously to continue the abatement agreement, which continues until the end of 2015. Henkle said if the company is having any problems, it is in finding workers to meet its staffing needs.

Robin Rose, general manager of Ameristeel Bright Bar, said the company’s business “remains strong.” She said while the first quarter was strong, there has been a slight leveling off this month.

She said while the demand for the company’s polished steel products has been strong, she is not yet ready to institute a third shift, though “there is no indication demand will go away.”

According to Rose, the company in Orrville’s industrial park has seen a “silver lining” from the earthquake/tsunami tragedy in Japan. She said the destruction has spawned a need for new heavy equipment to grapple with repairs, and that is the application in which most of Ameristeel Bright Bar’s products are used.

“Business is good. We can’t complain,” Rose said, adding the increase in business has allowed the company to make capital improvements and do preventive maintenance in the plant.

The TIRC voted unanimously to continue the company’s abatement.

Dave Yonto and Tony Yonto, directors of Quality Castings, detailed more than $4 million in improvements the company has made during the past year as business has turned up. Dave Yonto said the company created a new $1 million paint line, in addition to spending some $3 million to upgrade the George Fisher automated casting production line with the addition of a mechanical manipulator to pick up castings at the end of the line.

“The work load is heavy, we’re very busy,” a fact Dave Yonto attributes to Quality Castings being connected to the industries that are recovering the fastest, including mining, agriculture and the railroads.

Also, Dave Yonto noted, Quality Castings has acquired National Patterns under its auspices because it can use that company’s machining expertise.

Tony Yonto said Quality Castings had the good fortune to make it through the rough times of the past few years, and is doing well in part because it is “the last man standing” after many foundries failed.

“The ones that are left are going great,” he noted, with much business that was lost to China in recent years now flowing back to the U.S. as customers have become dissatisfied with quality and scheduling and production times in that country.

The TIRC voted unanimously to continue the company’s tax abatement.

At Refcotec, general manager Tim Sheehan said of the company, which makes coatings for the castings industry, “Things are picking up. It’s going pretty well. Orders are up a little,” which he credited to a recovery in the auto industry.

“Our revenue looks pretty strong; the business is pretty good,” Sheehan said, adding the company custom mixes its coatings and ships them as far away as Oregon, Washington, Kansas City and Ontario and Montreal Canada.

He said Refcotec, with nine employees, specializes in quick turn-around on orders, bringing in the raw materials used to mix the coatings, blending them, and then shipping them out immediately in drums or tote tanks.

Sheehan said the company’s employment level was up from the six employees it had last year, although it remains below the 15 it had before the economic downturn.

The TIRC voted unanimously to extend Refoctec’s abatement, which expires at the end of 2013.


Council gives nod to first reading of Bekaert request

April 20, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — Council on Monday cleared the way for the Bekaert Corp. to construct an addition to its manufacturing plant on Collins Boulevard in the Orrville Industrial Park.

Bekaert asked for a 50 percent abatement for 15 years on real and personal property taxes. The abatement would represent a savings of $18,804 per year.

Safety-Service Director Steve Wheeler said Bekaert plans to add 20,000 square feet of space to house offices, a quality lab and support services, thereby freeing up more manufacturing floor space where it plans to construct a rolling mill and a trio of stamping lines.

Cost of the expansion is expected to be $2.6 million to $3 million, with the cost of the new equipment ranging between $1.2 million and $1.4 million.

Wheeler said the company plans to add eight jobs, with the typical salary being around $50,000. This will increase the company’s annual payroll by an estimated $405,808. Of the new employees, 30 percent are expected to reside in Orrville. The company employs a work force of 201 people.

In addition, Bekaert, formerly Contours Ltd., pledged to remain in the community for one year for each abatement year granted.

At large Councilman Paul Vance said, “Business is booming for the city’s industrial clients, and we are out of industrial space.”

Council voted unanimously on first reading to extend the abatement.

Also under new business, council voted on first reading to adopt a resolution authorizing the Board of Control to enter into an agreement with the state purchasing cooperative to buy a 2011 or 2012 three-quarter ton 4×4 pickup truck with extended cab, trading in a 1992 Ford F-350 pickup truck. The vehicle, expected to cost about $30,000, would be a daily use vehicle for the Service Department.

Also on first reading, council unanimously adopted a resolution to enter into an agreement with the purchasing cooperative for a 2011 or 2012 4×4 cab and chassis for a one-ton work truck that will replace a similar two-wheel drive vehicle purchased in 1992. The truck will be used to plow snow in the wintertime and do hauling the rest of the year.

Council also voted unanimously on first reading to adopt a resolution authorizing the utilities board to contract without bidding for the installation of a 3,440-foot water main along Burton City Road. The $433,000 project is being funded with a 79 percent grant ($343,000) from the Ohio Department of Public Works and $90,000 from the city.

“This was a low priority project on this water main installation,” said utilities Director Jeff Brediger. “If we hadn’t had the grant now, it would have been maybe three or four years until we would have gone ahead with it.”

Brediger said the construction project will start in late May or early June and take about four weeks to complete. He said traffic will be maintained on Burton City Road throughout the project.

Wheeler said the Orrville Police Department will participate in Operation Medicine Cabinet with the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency on April 30. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. residents can turn in outdated prescription drugs at city hall with no questions asked. The drugs will be destroyed by law enforcement agencies.

In addition, Wheeler announced there will be five Friday family movie nights in the community this summer, starting June 17. He said sponsors are still needed for some of the movies.


Orrville manufacturer to expand, add jobs

April 7, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — A longtime Orrville manufacturer has announced plans to significantly expand its plant as well as its work force.

According to Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Economic Development, the Bekaert Corp. – once known as Contours Ltd. – is planning a 20,000-square-foot expansion of its plant in Orrville’s industrial park at 510 Collins Blvd.

Hedberg made the announcement to a special meeting of the Orrville board of education on Wednesday. The board met to vote on Bekaert's request for a 15-year 50 percent tax abatement for the $1.3 million project.

He said the expansion is needed in order to centralize its scattered office spaces, thereby gaining operating efficiencies and freeing up cramped manufacturing floor space.

Hedberg said the expansion is expected to create at least eight jobs at the company, which currently employs 190. Bekaert is manufacturer of cold rolled and cold drawn shaped steel wire products for a variety of uses that range from car seat springs to the wire cages for champagne bottle corks.

According to Hedberg, Bekaert is “very busy” and is “bringing in a new line.” He said the addition would be made to the front of the Bekaert building on the south side of the plant.

Board members voted unanimously on the tax abatement to Bekaert, which started in the community in 1970. The measure goes before City Council on April 18.

Following the vote, Hedberg said, “It’s exciting to see another long-time business growing in Orrville and making a continued investment in not only bricks and mortar, but people. This continues the positive momentum the city has been fortunate to have.”

Mayor Dave Handwerk agreed with that assessment, saying the announcement “piggybacks on the other good news the city has had recently. It’s always very good news that a local company is doing well enough that they can undertake this kind of expansion.”

Handwerk said since the city learned of the expansion a couple weeks ago, members of the administration have been busily working to clear the hurdles for the project to happen.

Hedberg characterized the Bekaert project as “ready to go” if it receives approvals for the tax abatement.

He said the cooperation from the school board and City Council represents “a huge asset to get these projects going on a timely basis. By the time a manufacturer comes to us with a plan like this, they’re ready to go” and the sooner they can get the needed approvals the better.

Handwerk said word of the efforts the city makes to accommodate manufacturers’ needs “has to be getting out there,” with manufacturers telling one another, “they make it pretty easy” in Orrville.

Bekaert President Otto Simmerman was traveling and could not be reached for comment.


Wholesome Pet Distributing taking operations to industrial park

April 3, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — A longtime business is experiencing growing pains and will move from Smithville to Orrville’s Industrial Park this spring.

According to Mike Hedberg, director of the Orrville Office of Economic Development, Wholesome Pet Distributing will move from 5857 Apple Creek Road to the former Sonoco Building, 425 Collins Blvd.

Hedberg said the company plans to use about two-thirds of the 67,000-square-foot structure, which is compartmentalized inside. He said the company will likely grow into the remaining square footage.

Wholesome Pet was founded in 1998 by Allan and Rose Bauman of Wooster who, with more than 20 years experience in the pet care field, saw the benefits of healthy pet products. Their passion for a pet’s well-being was the impetus for Wholesome Pet, which provides healthy pet products to the pet market, ranging from foods to apparel.

According to Clancy Lavins of Hudson, president, who purchased the company from the Baumans five years ago, “Wholesome Pet works hard to establish relationships with ‘independent businesses’ in the pet and natural health food markets. We take pride working with our retailers to provide them with education as well as healthy pet products for their customers.”

He said Wholesome Pet is continually researching natural and organic products, as well as unique beneficial products, for pets.

Lavins, a former Rubbermaid employee, said with the help and partnering of independent retailers, Wholesome Pet has been able to expand to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia. The company serves independent retailers, veterinary hospitals, groomers and day care centers.

He said the company’s business model is very basic. “We research and purchase pet food supplements, treat and grooming and household aids. We warehouse and distribute them to our customers. Our employees and their ability to work this business model better than anyone else really sets us apart. They’re the key to our success.”

Lavins said Wholesome Pet has experienced a 60 percent revenue growth within the past four years.

Lavins said Wholesome Pet sells more than 3,000 specialized products, and said there is a “vibrant market” for those product lines, which include Innova, California Natural, Fromm and Orijen. The products include dog and cat food, treat, chew, bones and other consumables.

With such a large inventory, Lavins said, “managing the movement of its product lines remains one of the company’s biggest challenges. We review our major lines every day. Our team works proactively to make such we have the appropriate amount of inventory on hand.”

The company’s service area is kept within a five-hour drive from its headquarters, Lavins noted. “We have a young market in Indiana and Michigan where we are still pursuing business, so we have decided not to expand our are right now.”

Looking to the future, Lavins hopes the new facility in Orrville will provide the opportunity for growth that will expand the company’s employment from 30 people, two of whom were added during the past month.

Hedberg said Wholesome Pet has begun interior renovations at the building, upgrading the office area and making changes to the lighting and cooling system.

Lavins said the front 40,000 square feet will be used for offices and product racking, while the rear portion will house loading docks and a large drive-in freezer for raw and frozen foods. He said the company hopes to be in the new facility by June 1.

“For us it’s an opportunity to take a vacant building and put employees back to work in it. It adds to the diversity of industry in Orrville,” Hedberg said.

Hedberg said Orrville didn’t set out to deliberately entice Wholesome Pet away from Smithville, but just happened to have the right-size building for the company to move into. He noted expansion at the company’s Apple Creek Road site would have been difficult and perhaps not have gotten the company exactly what it needed in the end.

Hedberg said he was pleased with Wholesome Pet’s decision because, “It’s a company that is very community-oriented and is involved in the community. We’re excited to have this company growing and becoming a part of Orrville. We’re especially glad that is made the decision to continue to grow in Wayne County.”

Hedberg said in Orrville Wholesome Pet will employ 25-30 people.

“Mike did a good job bringing this together,” said Mayor Dave Handwerk. “He worked with the company, looked at what we had available that suited their purposes, and we’re glad to have them here.”

Noting his office partnered with the Wayne Economic Development Council in making the move a reality, Hedberg said, “This continues the positive momentum we’ve seen in Orrville. We’re lucky that there are a lot of good things going on in Orrville these days.”


New face smiles on Orrville campus

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE DISTRICT — The year 2010 might well be inscribed in the history of the city as “The Year of the School.”

So much transpired during the 12-month period as to profoundly reshape the face of education in the community, and to lay the groundwork for even more major projects to follow.

The year started off with the opening in February of a privately-funded $1.3 million multipurpose building constructed west of Orrville High School. The two-year fundraising campaign to build the 15,700-square-foot facility was spearheaded by business leaders Bob Ellis and Dean Reusser.

Ellis said the duo couldn’t have picked a worse moment to embark on a fundraising effort, noting the very day after they announced the campaign, the national economy went into the nosedive. Nevertheless, the two moved forward, and in April 2009, with about $1 million pledged and in hand, ground was broken.

The vision for the structure was to create a true multipurpose building having applications beyond sports, benefiting academic programs and able to be used for a variety of community events.

On the ground floor, the main space is a gymnasium with two basketball courts, but it can be partitioned off with a divider lowered from the ceiling. The scoreboards were donated by Orrville’s favorite son, coach Bobby Knight.

Also on the main floor are a weight training room with new equipment, as well as restrooms and space for a future locker room.

The main space is adaptable to tennis, volleyball and other indoor sports.

On top of the weight training room is an open area that can be surrounded by netting and serve as a batting cage.

Because fundraising exceeded its goal, the project was able to scrap its plans for a split block exterior, and instead spend an additional $32,000 on red brick to reflect the architecture of the nearby Orrville Middle School and Orrville Elementary School. Also able to be installed was a higher quality halogen/fluorescent lighting system.

The south wall of the building is constructed to allow it to be easily removed should the facility be expanded. The building is heated using a nearby district-owned gas well.

Superintendent Jon Ritchie called the project “the final piece of the puzzle” in developing the new Orrville school campus.

In early May, the district opened the $12 million Orrville Elementary School. At a late April open house for the community, hundreds of people thronged into the hallways of the 88,000-square-foot structure, looking in every nook and cranny and coming away impressed both by the décor and the array of new technology at the students’ fingertips.

Many in the community were particularly impressed with the classroom smartboards, the library with its plentiful natural lighting, carpet-lined reading pit and whimsical paw prints impressed into the ceiling tiles, the cafeteria with its two serving lines and the computer labs.

The district decided to allow third- and fourth-grade students from North Elementary School (meeting in the old Orrville Junior High) to finish out their school year in the new school, both because they were so excited about it, and also because it would provide teachers and staff the opportunity to assess traffic patterns both inside and outside the building. That allowed the design to be tweaked over the summer months in preparation for the full opening of the building in August.

In August, the district held an auction for two of its now surplus buildings. With the new Orrville Middle School and Orrville Elementary School now up and running, the district no longer needed the aging Maple Street Elementary School and the former Orrville Junior High School.

An auction was called, but there were no bidders. Consequently, the district moved forward to let contracts for asbestos abatement as well as for demolition of the two buildings.

The old junior high went first, with demolition ongoing through most of December, followed immediately by the demolition of Maple Street, starting in early January. The district will sell the land on which the schools stood at a public auction to be held on March 2 at 5 p.m. at the high school library.

In mid-November, the district stunned the community with the unexpected announcement it will build a new Orrville High School, rather than do a partial addition-partial renovation, which had been talked about for more than a year.

Ritchie and Treasurer Mark Dickerhoof unveiled plans for the 83,000-square-foot high school that will constitute the third and final phase of the district’s master plan to create a centralized campus of three school buildings. The new high school is planned to open for the 2013–14 school year and will be designed and built by the same firms that did the middle school and elementary school projects.

The school will be built at a cost of about $18 million, at an estimated $220 per square foot. The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which had committed to paying $15 million of that cost because of credits the district earned through its other school construction projects, agreed to pay an additional $400,000 toward the new building.

In addition, and separate from the new building, a portion of the old high school will be saved, renovated and “repurposed.”

Plans for the old portion of the structure is to save everything north of the high school office. The present gymnasium will be saved, giving the new facility two gyms. The high school auditorium will be saved and renovated into a performing arts center.

Ritchie said the J.M. Smucker Co. stepped forward with a “significant donation” to renovate the auditorium.

Also saved will be the high school’s industrial tech space.

The renovation of the saved 57,000-square-foot portion of the building, expected to cost about $3 million, will be paid for with local dollars, all of which is in hand and taxpayers will not be asked for money.

The money the district will use for the renovation will come from savings achieved on the previous two buildings thanks to a good building climate that brought those projects in under budget, the district’s not spending interest income from the other building projects, and money accumulated in the permanent improvement fund.

A year after the new high school building is finished, it will be connected at two points to the renovated block next to it.

Dickerhoof said the decision to build an all-new high school was driven by the fact renovating the existing school would have involved variables and risks not found with new construction. Dickerhoof said it would have cost more than two-thirds the price of a new building to renovate the existing structure.

He said when the state agreed to commit more funding to the project, the economic advantages of building new were irrefutable.

Groundbreaking for the high school will take place sometime in early summer and Ritchie hopes the district will get possession of it as early as May 2013. Regular classes would begin in the building in August 2013.


Wayne College establishes its first degree program

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — It may have been 38 years in coming, but the University of Akron Wayne College in 2010 rolled out for the first time a bachelor’s degree program that can be completed entirely on the Wayne College campus.

The bachelor’s of organizational supervision is a degree geared toward students who hold a completed technical program associate degree.

Wayne College Dean Jack Kristofco said the college has wanted to offer a bachelor’s degree on the Wayne College campus since he began at the college in 1997.

“We had heard consistently from our associate degree alumni and from the community at large that they would love to see a bachelor’s degree available here at Wayne,” Kristofco said. “When we surveyed business leaders on this topic a few years back, there was overwhelming support for such a degree. It allows residents of this area to remain here for all of their degree work. Many of these individuals are employed and have families, and they need a program close to home so they can earn the degree and maintain some balance in their lives.”

Associate dean of instruction, Paulette Popovich, said the degree creates an opportunity for students to advance professionally.

“There are many associate degree graduates who have been in their careers for a number of years and who need the bachelor’s degree to advance,” said Popovich. “The bachelor of organizational supervision (degree) will allow them to build upon their existing degree, while learning those important skills to progress in their careers.”

Kristofco also noted the degree addresses Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut’s initiative to raise the number of bachelor’s degrees holders in Ohio.

“This is exactly the kind of degree model that has been advocated not only by Columbus, but nationwide as a mechanism to increase the number of bachelors degrees and to enhance our work force,” Kristofco said. “Wayne College is very excited to add this program to its offerings in our region.”


Enrollment on a steady climbing path at Wayne College

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — Wayne College didn’t break any records for enrollment in 2010 – it’s more like it shattered them.

The college recorded unprecedented enrollment figures at the start of classes this fall, continuing for a third year its strong and steady enrollment growth that began in 2008 and continued throughout 2009.

Enrollment on the first day of classes, in the fall, according to the office of Dean Jack Kristofco, was 2,603, up 11 percent from the 2,351 students enrolled on the first day of the fall semester in 2009. In addition, Wayne College enjoyed one of the largest new student populations in its history, with 625 new students.

Kristofco said the college’s enrollment growth actually is running ahead of schedule, according to predictions. The college had projected an enrollment of 2,500 students by the fall semester of 2012.

“It’s exciting to reach this level earlier than expected,” said Kristofco. “Our entering class shows increases in both traditional and adult students, and this is very good to see.”

As for what factors are behind the escalating enrollment at Wayne, college officials point to the new Student Life Building, which went into its second academic year. They say there is still plenty of buzz about the building, which features a Barnes & Noble campus bookstore, modern classroom spaces, student dining and lounges, and the Smucker Multi-Purpose room which is designed to be adaptable to a wide variety of programming, including Wayne’s well-known Shakespeare Festival.

Kristofco said the Student Life Building is instrumental in providing the feeling of an actual campus, which it had previously lacked with a single structure. That building saw a sharp upward trend in programming during 2010, with special events targeted toward both the student population and the larger Orrville community.

In the fall a new art gallery was opened in the Student Life Building, and will present three exhibits per year in conjunction with the Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster. The gallery was formally inaugurated with a joint exhibit by three Wayne County artists.

Additionally, Kristofco says, the Wayne campus is benefiting from the effects of an ongoing poor economy. Many students at Wayne this year are people who have lost their jobs and are attending there to improve their job skills through retraining.

The dean notes that starting out at Wayne College is a less expensive way to pursue a bachelor’s degree. He also says that 75 percent of Wayne students start at the college for two years and then go on for their bachelor’s degree, often at the main campus in Akron. He said not only is this a less expensive way to pursue a degree, but it also plays to Wayne’s inherent strengths.


Investments part of busy Dunlap year

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — “During 2010, Dunlap Community Hospital invested $1,902,779 and served 28,886 individuals through programs, community outreach, activities and services,” according to Andreas Ellis, vice president of marketing.

The investments covered a wide range of equipment and building infrastructure, while the programming was in a variety of areas as well.

Ellis said the main thing that happened during the year was a change in leadership at the hospital, with the Orrville Hospital Foundation Board of Directors announcing in the fall the appointment of Marchelle L. Suppan, D.P.M., M.B.A., as president and C.E.O. of Dunlap, following the retirement of Rod Steiger, who returned to the banking industry.

Some major hirings during the year, Ellis said, were Dr. Bob Bowden in the area of women’s health services, Dr. Nicholas Sherock in obstetrics and gynecology, and Jessica Sylvester, C.N.M., at the Twin Springs Medical Center. Another significant hiring during the year was Brian Mahaney, perioperative services manager.

Ellis said Dunlap’s emergency department “successfully continued to have patients seen by a physician in an average of 15 minutes or less.”

A major purchase by the Orrville Hospital Foundation, Ellis noted, was a harmonic scalpel that requires fewer instrument changes during a surgical procedure. She said the new tool “allows for greater precision, minimizes any lateral tissue damage, and coagulates blood to create less bleeding than steel scalpel.”

Other major purchases by the hospital last year included a Hoyer Lift, a new telemetry system for cardiac rehabilitation patients, and preparations to replace the employee elevator.

Dunlap also formed in 2010 a Medication Error Reduction Improvement Team “to address medication occurrences and process improvement opportunities with findings reported through that P&T committee,” Ellis said.

Also the hospital continued its support of the Healthcare Cost Reduction Coalition, a community wide effort coordinated by Cy Naumoff and Aultman Health Foundation employee Deb Stimmel. It also continued its support of both the Healthy Communities Program led by Dr. Andy Naumoff and the Know Your Numbers campaign by Dunlap Healthworks.

Ellis said the hospital also held its second annual Women’s Health Awareness Event in November, which included celebrating Dr. Doug Brown’s 4,000 births and his retirement from the obstetrics field at the end of the 2010.

She said Dunlap’s echocardiography program received accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Labs.

“In 2011,” said Ellis, “Dunlap plans to continue the growth of women’s health and general surgery services, and collaborate with hospitals within the region for electronic transfer of medical information, expediting patient transfers for those requiring a higher level of care.”


Smucker’s success continues to shine brightly on area

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — If there was a meteor streaming brightly across the region’s darkened economic skies during 2010, that thunderball was surely the J.M. Smucker Co.

The Orrville-based company had a variety of major building projects in motion last year, most of them on the local campus, although the company made significant strides at its other facilities across the country as well.

Probably the most visible structure rising on Orrville’s skyline at the intersection of Strawberry Lane and Mill Street is the new four-story office building that will serve as the epicenter of Smucker’s corporate headquarters complex.

The new structure, scheduled for opening as early as March, will be 150,000 square feet and have office space for 500 employees. Completion of the building, which will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system standards, will enable the company to relocate about 300 logistics team employees from leased office space in the Fairlawn-Ghent area where they have been for several years, to the Orrville campus.

According to Maribeth Badertscher, director of corporate communications, this will bring the number of employees at the Orrville facility to 1,390, with 1,255 full-time employees and 135 part-time employees. She said during 2010 Smucker’s added 100 new positions at the Orrville campus.

The new office tower will connect to a trio of existing buildings on the campus, linking them all under a single roof which, Badertscher said, will advance a core company philosophy of face-to-face communication on a first-name basis for employees working in all aspects of the operation. The Founders Building to the north of the tower will be renovated to include more office space, and the bulk of the logistics team from Ghent will move into this structure. The Legacy Building to the west of the office tower will also have its offices renovated.

The Renewal Building, one of the newest on the campus and which contains the employee cafeteria with its food court format, will see an expansion of the dining area to accommodate the new influx of employees. In addition, conference rooms will be added to the lower level.

The new office tower will contain the company’s executive offices and be the terminus for Strawberry Lane, which will remain the main entrance to the campus. Traffic on the north-south Mill Street will travel underneath the corporate office tower.

Another project taking shape along state Route 57 north of the downtown is a 57,000-square-foot addition to the company’s 90,000-square Discovery Building, which contains its test kitchen, pilot lab, research lab, consumer call center, corporate engineering and sensory testing.

The opening of this building, Badertscher said, is set to coincide – or nearly so – with the opening of the office tower in March.

Badertscher said the Discovery Building expansion is for research and development for coffee, which now accounts for 40 percent of Smucker’s business, eclipsing its iconic jellies and fruit spreads, which have fallen to third place behind peanut butter products.

In addition, some of office space in the existing portion of the building will be renovated, the sensory panel will expand from 24 booths to 36 booths, and a new parking lot will be built at the former site of the Orrville Bronze Co.

But the biggest and most eye-popping project moving forward on the 90-acre campus is the construction of Smucker’s new manufacturing plant, whose footprint in and of itself will be about the size of all the other buildings combined.

Construction of the new one-story plant commenced in the fall, and the building is now above ground, with its steel skeleton clearly visible. When completed, it will be 300,000 square feet, compared to the 145,000-square-foot present manufacturing plant.

Badertscher said the new building will contain “state-of-the-art automation and production facilities” that will be designed to “leverage the capabilities of the team structure and Smucker’s Quality Management Systems.”

The new manufacturing facility will employ 250 hourly workers and 30 salaried positions.

According to Badertscher, the new manufacturing plant will be completed this fall, with the first production going forward in the spring of 2012. The plant is expected to achieve full operating capacity by the fall of 2013.

The new $150 million plant will produce fruit spreads, ice cream toppings, Hungry Jack breakfast syrup and fillings for Smucker’s Uncrustables and Goobers lines.

As for the old manufacturing plant, Badertscher said that some portions of it will be demolished, while others are renovated and repurposed.

A repurposed portion of the old manufacturing plant will become the Smucker Learning Center, Badertscher said. Planned to be operational by 2013, it will serve as an orientation center for Smucker’s customers.

“It will be a place where Smucker’s customers can come to learn more about our product offerings,” said Badertscher.

Badertscher said that there is greater vision for the campus than just a group of new and renovated buildings. She said those structures will serve as a backdrop for an enhanced “culture, vision and environment” and that the resulting campus is designed to be “a warm and friendly environment with open interaction between employees and a sense of community.”

But Badertscher said Orrville isn’t the only place where Smucker’s is hard at work.

She said that during 2010 the company invested $70 million in coffee production facilities in New Orleans consolidating two coffee manufacturing facilities into one. The Louisiana facility added 120 new jobs, bringing its total employment to more than 500.

Badertscher said that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu turned out for the opening of the huge facility to express the appreciation of the New Orleans community. At the ceremony, Smucker’s presented a check for $1 million to the local United Way, to be used in the rebuilding of 35 to 37 homes.

“This will allow about three dozen families to get out of the FEMA trailers where they have been living since the hurricane, and help improve their lives,” said Badertscher.

She noted that a significant partnership the company became involved with in 2010 was the manufacturing of “K cups” for the Keurig Co., owned by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. She said that producing the single-serve coffee containers has proven to be a lucrative venture for Smucker’s.

In addition, Smucker’s is manufacturing the Dunkin’ Donuts retail coffees.

Badertscher said the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee that is available in grocery and other retail stores is produced by Smucker’s to provide a “similar experience𔄢 to that which is served in Dunkin’ Donuts franchised stores, which is made by that company. In addition, Smucker’s is producing lines of seasonal coffees for Dunkin’ Donuts.

Badertscher said 2010 marked the biggest year for television advertising in the company’s history, with 14 advertisements produced for Smucker’s, Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts and K Cups. For the first time the company also produced a Christmas season ad.

She said Smucker’s also for first time “invested in the digital marketing area,” launching a Facebook page and using other social media to promote its various brands.

Badertscher said the company uses “stringent advertising standards” to produce promotional pieces which are family friendly. Those standards, she said, earned the company recognition as “The Best Advertiser of the Year” by the Parents Television Council in 2010.

Badertscher said the company continues as the major sponsor of “Smucker’s Stars On Ice,” which this year will tour in 25 major U.S. markets and feature some of the world’s top ice skaters. She noted the Stars On Ice sponsorship is “a good relationship builder” for the company, which in every city of the tour donates to the literacy program of the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Badertscher said Smucker’s enjoys its affiliation with Stars On Ice because it is both very family friendly and multi-generational.

She noted that the company’s consumer communications center in Orrville logged 275,000 calls and some 80,000 e-mails during 2010, and that its Crisco Pie Hotline, operating in its fifth year, had calls from 4,000 consumers looking to make the perfect pie.

As for the Smucker Co. Brands store located just south of Orrville, Badertscher said the facility saw a 51 percent increase in tour bus business in 2010, and a 30 percent increase in the sales of custom gift baskets.

Badertscher said the company “had a successful year in 2010. It grew despite the challenging economic times.” She said this was due in large part to the fact that the economic conditions brought families together around the table for more meals, and that they used more of the products owned by Smucker’s.

Mike Hedberg, director of Orrville’s Office of Economic Development, said, “We are very blessed to have a company like J.M. Smucker’s which continues to invest in its campus and in the community.”


Orrville saw plenty of economic activity in 2010

February 24, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — In a year that was a notoriously lackluster one for the American business scene, and Ohio in particular, Orrville outshone most in what may have been its biggest year yet in terms of progress.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Economic Development, said the city saw industrial projects started and completed during 2010 that collectively amounted to more than $150 million.

Leading the way was the J.M. Smucker Co. expansion, with the Orrville-based corporate giant continuing the construction of a new office building, expanding the Discovery Building housing its consumer test kitchens and call center, and breaking ground for the construction of a sprawling new manufacturing complex expected to revolutionize its operations.

“We’re very blessed to have a company like the J.M. Smucker Co. which continues to invest both in its campus and in the community,” said Hedberg, noting the company’s three current projects would exceed $100 million in construction costs.

During 2010 Smucker’s demolished the Orrville Bronze manufacturing plant, which it had acquired in 2009, and was reported very close to acquiring the Ross Sand Casting Co., which ceased operations at the end of the year. The site of the Orrville Bronze plant will be integrated into the Smucker Co.’s new manufacturing plant infrastructure.

“We are excited to see all the progress going on, on the Smucker’s campus,” said Hedberg. “We’re blessed to have a project of this scope and scale here. It’s just a great project.”

Another economic boost in 2010, Hedberg said, came from Orrvillon, which relocated from Mount Eaton to occupy the 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant newly built on Dairy Lane by the American Weatherseal Co. just before it went out of business in 2008.

Orrvillon added another 80,000 square feet of manufacturing space to the building, along with more manpower and equipment. Hedberg said the company’s employment numbers currently stand at around 200, but company officials project that number will move to around 300 after the new addition is completed.

Hedberg said Orrvillon, which is focused on aluminum extrusion and fabrication for a variety of markets, anticipates running three shifts, seven days a week, in the near future. He said the company is also expected to be the city’s second largest electric utility customer, a distinction previously held by Ross Sand Castings.

“It’s been very exciting to take a vacant building and watch a new company go into operation there, gradually building its way toward 300 employees,” Hedberg said.

Another company completing major additions this year was the Scott’s lawn care company, which came to Orrville three years ago. During 2010 the company completed two additions aimed at enclosing previously open areas and improving production efficiency. Cost of the additions, Hedberg said, was about $250,000.

Scott’s, which mixes and warehouses a wide variety of potting soils, fertilizers and other lawn care products, has more than eight acres under roof at its facility at Back Orrville and Schrock Roads.

The Smith Dairy Products Co., announced in 2010 plans to build a $20 million addition to its Dairy Lane headquarters facility, in conjunction with some major new business partnerships.

Hedberg said the longtime Orrville company, which last year marked its 100th anniversary with a year-long celebration that featured numerous public events, plans to build a “skinny milk” plant for producing strictly gallon containers of milk, as well as to expand its sour cream operation. In 2010 Smith’s contracted with the Chipotle restaurant chain to supply it with sour cream for its products.

According to Hedberg, Smith’s is planning to spend $10 million to create the new facility, and an additional $10 million for machinery. The company has not announced when it will start construction.

Also in 2010 the city put the finishing touches on its new business and technology park at the city’s northern edge, working closely with the Wayne Economic Development Council.

Hedberg said the new park offers 74 improved and shovel-ready acres for industrial development, in addition to the 30 acres that remain available in the city’s first industrial park on Collins Boulevard.

As for potential tenants for the park, Hedberg concedes industries haven’t yet been beating down the door to get in, but he expects that to change as the economy improves.

In mid-summer Hedberg said his office sent out marketing pieces to industries, using a database of consultants brought together by the Wayne Economic Development Council. He said the idea of the mailers was simply “to draw attention to Orrville and what we have available.”

While Hedberg said the city is not trying to steal companies from other cities, he says that industries that are considering expansion owe it to themselves to look at Orrville and what it has to offer.

Hedberg said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the year 2011 will see growing interest in the new business and technology park.

In 2010, Hedberg said, the city moved forward with its business retention and expansion lunches, at which members of the city’s administration sit down with officials of Orrville companies to talk about their needs and how the city can best help them.

He said that during the year his office partnered with the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce to poll the city’s top 20 industries about their employment levels. Hedberg said that half of them had added employees during the first half of 2010. He added that among the top 10 companies more than 200 employees had been added during that time period.

“It’s very good news that the top 10 of 20 employees added employees,” said Hedberg. “From the city’s and companies’ perspective, that’s very valuable.”

Hedberg said the 90-minute retention and expansion luncheons had revised their format of previous years, now allowing both city administrators and company officers each about five minutes to talk about their progress and challenges they are facing. He said that about 30 such lunches are held annually, and that they area “a great way to build relationships between the city and the companies located there.”

Hedberg said that change impacted his own office in 2010, which saw it changed from the Office of Orrville Industrial Development to the Office of Orrville Economic Development. The change enables the office to work in both the industrial and commercial sectors, outside the jurisdiction of Main Street Orrville.

That move, Hedberg said, allows his office to establish relationships with Realtors and adds commercial development to the office’s web site.

Already, Hedberg said, he has visited other communities to interview development professionals concerning their best practices.

“We hope to parlay what we’ve learned on the industrial development side to the commercial side,” Hedberg said.

Citing some of the major industrial projects that headlined the city’s growth in 2010, Orrville mayor David Handwerk characterized Orrville as being “very fortunate to have companies that are strong and doing that well.” Handwerk said that while he feels the lion’s share of that success must go to the industries, their leadership and their employees, he said some must be attributable to the good relationship that exists between each of them and the city, its utilities department, the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Office of Orrville Economic Development.

In addition, Handwerk credited the ongoing upgrading of the city’s schools as being a magnet for the attraction of businesses and industry.

“They are a huge piece of that puzzle, and they help keep Orrville a good place to grow business,” Handwerk said.

“This city is so blessed to have the projects that we did in 2010,” Hedberg said. “We want that positive momentum to continue in 2011, and we’ll have some more important announcements coming.”


Orrville council paves way for Will-Burt credit

February 9, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — City Council on Monday voted unanimously to adopt two resolutions brought up on behalf of the Will-Burt Co.

The first resolution authorized the Safety-Service director to contract to provide a Job Creation Income Tax Credit for Will-Burt. Last week the state approved a tax credit of $271,749 over six years for Will-Burt, with the city piggybacking that credit by allowing a local tax reduction of 10 percent for six years.

A second resolution authorized the Safety-Service director to contract with GIR Holdings and Will-Burt to permit Will-Burt to assume the benefits of an enterprise zone agreement dated Dec. 26, 2006, between the city, GIR Holdings and Round-Top Window Products.

That agreement allows Will-Burt to continue the 50 percent tax abatement – originally approved for the property for 15 years – for its remaining 11 years.

To qualify for the incentives, Will-Burt guaranteed it would create a minimum of 25 jobs with an annual payroll of at least $1.4 million, and promised to remain in business for two years for each year of the agreement.

Scott Hinterleiter, director of marketing and business development for Will-Burt, said only four or five workers from Alkan Shelter of Fairbanks, Alaska, were being relocated to Orrville, with the rest of the job creation being done locally. Hinterleiter said Will-Burt plans to advertise positions with the company locally.

Alkan, which has been purchased by Will-Burt and will move into an empty 35,000-square-foot factory across from it in the city’s industrial park, produces carbon composite shelters that have been used for military and law enforcement use. Hinterleiter, however, said Will-Burt envisions broader applications for the material.

In other new business, council voted unanimously to adopt resolutions endorsing the Ohio General Assembly to renew the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit that is considered vital to funding Main Street projects, and a resolution authorizing the utilities director to contract for the replacement of an electric distribution truck.

Utilities Diriector Jeff Brediger said the new truck is expected to cost between $150,000 and $160,000, and is in his department’s budget for the year.

Mayor Dave Handwerk and some council members praised the efforts of the city’s street maintenance and electric utility distribution crews for their work in dealing with the various snowstorms and ice storms the area has experienced recently.

The mayor said he was “thankful for the foresight” of the city’s and AMP-Ohio’s tree-trimming program, which he believed was instrumental in limiting power outages, and also thanked citizens for keeping sidewalks clean. He also reminded property owners who are not shoveling sidewalks that it remains their responsibility.

Safety-Services Director Steve Wheeler said the city this year ordered 1,100 tons of road salt. He said the figure represents a 20 percent increase over 2009 and 2010 combined, when 900 tons were ordered.


Will-Burt buys business, moves it to Orrville

February 4, 2011

By PAUL LOCHER

ORRVILLE — Will-Burt, one of the city’s most venerable industries, has acquired a new business that it is relocating to the city’s Collins Boulevard industrial park.

It was the first dose of good news in 2011 for a city that, in the past several years, has continued a drumbeat of both major and minor economic victories at a time when other communities are struggling to maintain their status quo or are falling behind.

“We’re excited,” said Mike Hedberg, director of Orrville’s Office of Economic Development. “It’s tremendous news that a company like Will-Burt will continue to expand its business here.”

According to Scott Hinterleiter, director of marketing and business development at Will-Burt, the expansion was triggered by the company’s purchase about 18 months ago of Alkan Shelter of Fairbanks, Alaska. The small company makes carbon composite shelters for military and law enforcement personnel and equipment using a proprietary technology.

Hinterleiter said Will-Burt found Alkan as a result of actively searching for acquisitions that would complement its product line, the centerpiece of which is telescoping masts for military, emergency services, cellular and television broadcast vehicles.

The company manufactures shelters from fabric panels that are embedded with a carbon composite epoxy resin, then rolled into panels and baked. The resulting material is stronger and lighter than metal, does not rust, has higher thermal values and offers some ballistic protection.

Hinterleiter said the 8-by-8-by-20-foot shelters made of carbon composite can be stacked nine high on a C-130 cargo transport plane, compared to six high for their metal counterparts.

“It’s a very innovative material,” said Hinterleiter. “It has military and other applications. The potential is huge with the proprietary technology. It puts us in a competitive advantage with metal shelters and will enable us to take market share. There’s really no limit here.”

The company will relocate Alkan Shelter to Orrville’s first industrial park, housing it in a 35,000-square-foot building constructed in 2007 for the Canada-based Round Top Window Company. Round Top Windows constructed the building, planning to partner with American Weatherseal and other window companies in the region. The company, however, collapsed when the housing industry went into a nosedive, barely getting to use the new factory it had just constructed.

The building, Hinterleiter said, is perfect for Will-Burt’s new acquisition. In addition to being right across the street from the main plant and situated on 4 1/2 acres that could facilitate future expansion – with Will-Burt owning another five acres contiguous to it – Hinterleiter said the building is “new, clean and the perfect size.”

Moreover, being located across from the main plant will create some manufacturing efficiencies not otherwise attainable.

Hinterleiter noted that just before Thanksgiving, Will-Burt began moving manufacturing equipment from the Fairbanks operation to Orrville, transporting 18 tractor-trailer loads by a variety of conveyances. He said all that equipment has arrived at Orrville, along with some of the company’s employees who opted to move to Ohio.

“It’s kind of funny to look out in the parking lot and see license plates from Alaska,” Hinterleiter said.

The marketing director said as the new subsidiary ramps up production, it is anticipated employment will rise to 25 people within the next few years, putting the Will-Burt’s total employment beyond 300. He said Alkan’s new operation will be much more streamlined and have much more sophisticated technology than the company employed in Alaska.

Hedberg said Will-Burt has leased the Round Top Windows building for three years, with an option to purchase, and noted the company plans to install $350,000 in new machinery and equipment there. He said Will-Burt will spend a total of $519,000 on Alkan’s expansion.

Earlier this week the state of Ohio approved a job creation tax credit of $271,749 over six years to help Will-Burt pay for the expansion. In addition, Hedberg said the city will piggyback with that credit, allowing a local tax reduction of 10 percent for six years.

Additionally, the city will allow Will-Burt to continue the 50 percent tax abatement – originally approved for the property for 15 years – for its 11 remaining years.

The city also will extend to the company its economic development electric rate of 10 percent below market for the next two years.

Hinterleiter said Will-Burt has been looking for acquisitions the past few years as a means of growing the business.

“What it comes down to,” Hinterleiter said, “is offering more products to our existing customers and giving them the solutions they need. It’s a matter of our becoming more valuable to them.”

“This continues the positive momentum and experiences our city has been blessed with over the past several years,” Hedberg said. “It’s a great way to start 2011. Stay tuned.”


State OKs loans for Smucker, ATI

By MARC KOVAC
Dix Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS — The state Controlling Board has signed off on a $1.8 million low-interest loan for a new research and development facility at the J.M. Smucker Co. in Orrville.

Smucker’s plans to use the funds, along with $11.7 million of its own, to build the 35,000-square-foot building and equip it with machinery and equipment to house the company’s Global Coffee R&D operations. The latter currently are housed in Cincinnati.

The new facility “will allow Smucker to develop innovative new products and maintain its status as a market leader in the coffee production industry,” according to documents.

Smucker’s committed to retaining 85 full-time positions at the site. The company also plans to cut about 40 percent of its manufacturing work force over the next three years.

According to documents, “The state of Ohio is in competition with the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana. The R&D Investment Loan is a major factor in Smucker’s decision to construct its Global Coffee Research & Development facility and retain 84 full-time jobs. State assistance is instrumental in making the Ohio site cost-competitive.”

In other business, the Controlling Board released funding for improvements at the Agricultural Technical Institute’s livestock facility near Apple Creek.

The project calls for the installation of a cattle corral and livestock handling system in a pasture at the site on Apple Creek Road.

Funding originally was set aside for an equine storage facility, but ATI determined there was a greater need for the livestock handling system, according to documents.

The lawmaker panel released $23,200 for professional design services related to the project.


Major facility to expand on Orrville campus

March 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — The J.M. Smucker Co. announced plans Wednesday to build yet another major facility on its fast-growing Orrville campus, but at the same time said it will reduce its manufacturing plant workforce by about 40 percent over the next three years.

The good news-bad news scenario was contained in an announcement that the Orrville-based conglomerate will undergo an extensive economic restructuring that will result in closing some of its plants in the United States while making major investments in others.

In a Wednesday release that took administrators at city hall completely by surprise, Smucker’s announced capital investments for a new state-of-the-art food manufacturing facility in Orrville, as well as expenditures for equipment and technology enhancements at its Ripon, Wisc., facility totaling $150 million.

The newly announced manufacturing facility at Orrville will produce fruit spreads, ice cream toppings and syrups, and will have the additional capacity to support future growth.

However, the company said it will be closing its fruit spreads manufacturing facilities in Memphis, Tenn., and Sainte-Marie, Quebec, as well as coffee plants in Sherman, Texas, and Kansas City, Mo. Smucker’s will also make capital investments totaling $70 million to consolidate all coffee production into its existing facilities in New Orleans.

The changes come as a result of Smucker’s completing an extensive analysis of its coffee and fruit spread chain network. As a result, it will begin what it calls a “multi-purpose initiative” that will be implemented over the next three years. Company officials characterize that initiative as “a long-term investment to optimize production capacity and lower the overall cost structure,” according to a release.

Smucker’s plans include making a $220 million investment in its coffee and namesake fruit spreads businesses over the next three years. Additionally, the company is expected to incur about $190 million in restructuring charges over the life of the plan.

Tim Smucker, chairman of the board and co-chief executive officer, said, “We are confident that this strategic decision is important for the long-term growth of the company. However, it was difficult, given the effect on employees, their families and the communities related to the impacted facilities. We appreciate the contributions of our employees,” he continued, “and are committed to treating them with fairness and respect as we transition these facilities over the next several years.”

His comments were echoed by Richard Smucker, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer, who said, “This initiative is consistent with the commitment we’ve had to continuous improvement throughout our history. This significant investment we are making in our coffee and fruit spreads business will help us achieve our long-term financial objectives, strengthen our category leadership positions, and enable us to deliver even greater value to our consumers, customers and shareholders.”

Maribeth Badertscher, vice president of corporate communications, said the new plant to be constructed in Orrville represents “the largest capital investment in the company’s history,” and predicted it would dwarf the 137,000-square-foot office complex under construction on the campus, which is scheduled to open in 2011.

Badertscher said the two major new buildings will be under construction simultaneously. She said the exact location of the new manufacturing building has not yet been sited, but said it would be northeast of the new office complex off of Mill Street and be connected to the existing warehouse facility.

While the exact costs for the new plant were not available, Badertscher said it would represent the lion’s share of the announced $150 million capital investment shared between the Orrville and Ripon, Wis., locations.

Badertscher said ground for the sprawling new plant will be broken this fall, with a phased-in startup beginning in the summer of 2012 and moving into the summer of 2013. When the new plant starts up, Smucker’s will close it Memphis and Sainte-Marie plants.

Badertscher said the new facility will completely replace the company’s existing manufacturing plant in Orrville, which is more than 60 years old. Because of the new technologies and efficiency improvements designed into the new facility, a reduction of the Orrville plant workforce of about 40 percent is anticipated over the next three years.

Smucker’s currently has about 1,300 employees on the Orrville campus, with 420 being full-time manufacturing jobs and 60 temporary manufacturing jobs. This means, Badertscher said, that about 168 full-time manufacturing jobs will be lost. However, she noted that of those positions, as many as 130 long-time employees are eligible to take advantage of Smucker’s voluntary retirement program. She said other jobs will become vacant as a result of attrition and not be filled.

Badertscher said the company – which has a reputation as one of the best to work for in the United States – “had to make very difficult decisions” about employment to implement the ambitious new plan.

According to Badertscher, it is unknown how many people will be employed in the new manufacturing facility, but the math suggests that number might be around 250.

As a result of these initiatives, Smucker’s manufacturing facilities in North America will be reduced to 18 from the present 22, with a total reduction of about 700 full-time employees, or 15 percent of its work force.

Upon completion of the new plant, the production of Smucker’s fruit spreads, syrups and ice cream toppings in the U.S. and Canada will be concentrated in Orrville and Ripon.

When its plan is fully implemented, Smucker’s expects the annual savings will be about $60 million.

Badertscher said Wednesday’s announcement illustrates Smucker’s long-term commitment to Orrville, which represents “the heritage of the company.”


Wayne College has created its campus goal

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE -- Half a year has elapsed since Wayne College opened the doors on its new $8.5 million student life building, which transformed the single-building institution into a genuine campus.

During that time, administrators have had an opportunity to look back and reflect on the structure and the choices they made in the years leading up to the actual construction, and ponder things they might have done better.

And you know what? They can't think of anything.

"We created exactly what we hoped for," said Dean Jack Kristofco. "The first week of the fall semester it became apparent that we had transformed this into a campus. That struck me as I stood in the new building and watched students walking back and forth across the lawn between the buildings, and just hanging out in the new building."

Kristofco said efforts are now focused on using space in the new structure as effectively as possible. For example, he noted, discussions are under way about using the wide hallway/foyer area outside the Smucker Multi-Purpose Room as gallery space for art and photography.

"We want to take advantage of all the space we have for the best possible use," said Kristofco, adding moving some operations into the new building has provided opportunities for the original structure on campus.

He said full utilization of both buildings is expected to occur by the fall semester.

Cindy Summers, director of student recruiting and community relations, said after the old Filling Station cafeteria was closed and the space converted into quiet study lounges, students began to use that area immediately for its intended purpose.

Meanwhile, she said, the new cafeteria with its "grab 'n' go" format has proven popular with students, who suggested the idea. The new facility offers a daily selection of salads, soups, pizza by the slice, yogurt and other items students can eat at the nearby table area, which, Kristofco said, will soon be equipped with two wide-screen TVs.

As for the Barnes & Noble bookstore, Summers notes it has much more space to market books and other merchandise to the public than the old bookstore.

"This was built and set up as a store," Summers said. "There are windows, and the walls are set up to display products."

Kristofco said if there were any real surprises in watching the utilization of the building, it was seeing the high usage level of the office spaces that had been constructed for various student organizations, including the student senate.

"Those are always crowded with students," he said.

Summers said the Smucker Multi-Purpose Room has proven a boon to the college for large-group gatherings, including the Shakespeare Festival held in October. For the first time, she noted, the event was able to be held in an acoustically correct environment with the audience able to enjoy good sight lines and lighting.

She said the space has been used for a variety of holiday events, Leadership Orrville, continuing education courses and a musical concert.

"One thing it hasn't been used for yet has been classroom space," said Summers, adding some classes have now been scheduled for the room, which can be divided into as many as five soundproof spaces.

Kristofco said the transfer of many functions to the Student Life Building has allowed space in the original structure to be "repurposed, updated and renewed." He called that a positive effect for the old building.

Summers said the faculty also has especially enjoyed using the tiered classroom in the Student Life Building capable of seating as many as 84 students.

Asked whether the building already was facing updating any high-tech equipment because of fast-changing improvements in the field, Kristofco said not at the present time, but only because planners had waited until the last possible second to order such devices in order to get the newest equipment possible.

But, he noted, new high-tech equipment already has come on the market in the intervening months, and it won't be long until replacement of technology does become an issue.

Also still planned for installation are three or four individual computer access stations in the eating area. Both campus buildings already have free Wi-Fi.

Summers said enrollment at Wayne College is approaching 2,300 students. She said the college had projected an enrollment of 2,500 student by 2012, so it is slightly ahead of schedule in that regard.


Orrville Schools construction ahead of schedule

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE DISTRICT -- The year 2009 saw the schools barrel past the halfway point in the implementation of its master plan, which was proposed several years ago and has moved forward ever since.

After opening a new middle school in 2007, voters granted the district funds to move forward with building an elementary. Construction on that project started early in 2008.

Although the $12 million building was planned to open at the start of the 2010-11 school year, a combination of good weather, falling materials costs and availability of labor pushed the project well ahead of schedule. As a result, administrators have decided to open the building to third- and fourth-grade classes May 10.

Treasurer Mark Dickerhoof said while the kids will enjoy getting a chance to experience the new building -- especially the fourth-graders who will be moving on to the middle school in the fall and would not otherwise have the experience -- putting students there will give administrators an opportunity to learn some things about the building as well. These will include the use of technology, traffic patterns and how parents will pick up and drop off their children.

Superintendent Jon Ritchie said it will transform the third-graders -- who will be fourth-graders next year and the oldest students in the school -- into mentors for the younger students in terms of directing them to the various spaces in the school.

The interior of the elementary in a number of ways resembles that of the middle school, located a scant stone's throw away -- but more colorful.

Colored tiles in the floors -- red, green, blue and yellow -- match the wall treatments in the classrooms, the checkout desk at the library, and other features throughout the building.

"When you have young kids, you try to give them more stimulation, and part of that is through the use of color," Dickerhoof said.

Like the middle school, the elementary has a "cafetorium" -- a combination of cafeteria and auditorium -- because the Ohio School Facilities Commission does not fund auditoriums or performing arts centers. In between the cafeteria and the gymnasium is an elevated stage area, which is constructed so that it can be used for programs or productions for either venue.

The new cafeteria is larger than that of the middle school, and the food serving line is raised so young students can see what is being served for lunch.

Dickerhoof said the gymnasium, now ready for use, is the same size as the one in the middle school, and the décor is the same in both.

The library, which has large windows to allow in a lot of natural lighting, has a unique area in front of a set of bay windows. A carpeted "pit" area recessed into the floor allows students to sit in a circle to hear speakers who will be in the middle. Another interesting element of the library is the acoustic ceiling tiles, some of which have impressed "tracks" across them, making it look like some sort of large animal has walked upside down across them.

The new building will have all the energy-saving technologies of the middle school -- including motion sensors that shut lights off when no one is in the rooms. In addition, it will incorporate 32 computerized SmartBoards, thanks to a $21,000 gift from the Parent-Teacher Organization.

Completion of the elementary school brings the district two-thirds of the way in its transitioning from five old outmoded and inefficient structures scattered throughout the city, to a three-building centralized campus that will have new and efficient structures.

The final piece of the centralized campus will come with the complete renovation of the present Orrville High School. It is envisioned that the $18 million project -- to be built with OSFC funds -- will go out to bid as early as this fall and be completed in time for the start of the 2012-13 school year.

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or e-mail plocher@the-daily-record.com.


Smucker's growth continues to be 'beacon' to Orrville

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE -- The largest building to be developed on the Orrville campus of the J.M. Smucker Co. in its history is beginning to take shape, swiftly moving from blueprints to reality.

Steel framing is going up with the help of a huge crane for the 137,000-square-foot, four-story office complex that will connect to the nearby Legacy Building and Founder's Building. Ground was broken in late October for the project, which will allow Smucker's to move to Orrville about 160 employees that came with its purchase of Folgers Coffee in 2008 from the Procter & Gamble Co.

Due to lack of office space at the Orrville operation, those employees have been temporarily housed in the Fairlawn/Ghent area in Summit County. In addition, the project will allow more than 80 employees from Cincinnati to move to Orrville.

Currently, Smucker's has about 5,000 full- and part-time employees, 1,200 of which are on the Orrville campus.

Maribeth Badertscher, company spokesman, said the building will contain 500 offices and conference rooms. In order to accommodate the new employees, the corporation's cafeteria will be expanded to allow for food service expansion.

Badertscher said 2009 was a busy year for Smucker's as it laid the groundwork for the changes to come. During the year the Paul Smucker Auditorium in the Legacy Building was expanded from 108 seats to seating for 194. In addition, the auditorium's stage area was expanded.

Also, what Badertscher characterized as "significant parking" was developed on the campus, increasing the number of vehicle spaces from 300 to 800.

Smucker's bought the nearby Orrville Bronze plant, which it plans to demolish in the spring for future campus expansion. It also purchased Central Court and demolished all the structures thereon, in addition to numerous other residential structures on streets adjacent to the campus.

Badertscher said Smucker's also moved its consumer call center from the Renewal Building to the Discovery Building, where a 45,000-square-foot addition is planned to get under construction in the spring. The building also contains the company's various test kitchens and labs for the myriad of brand names it now owns, including Pillsbury, Martha White, Hungry Jack, Jif, Crisco and Eagle Brand condensed milk.

As part of the construction process for the office complex, Mill Street has been closed for about a year. Eventually, Badertscher said, drivers on Mill Street will pass underneath the new office building.

Eventually the company will close Clark Street located just south of the historic Jerome M. Smucker home. Arch Street, open from Main to Walnut Street, will eventually close between Walnut and Mill streets, because that is now part of Smucker's drive. Strawberry Lane will be open from Main Street to Mill Street, but will be closed at Mill since the new office building is constructed over Strawberry Lane.

Like its latest structure, the new office building will be LEED certified, meaning it is designed to minimize its impact on the environment in every way possible, from a variety of energy-saving systems to the type of furniture and carpeting used.

Due to the loss of many trees from the campus as a result of its sprawling outward, the company has made the commitment to plant two trees for every one that was lost.

Some of the trees were transplanted to other part of the campus. Smucker's has said that beautification of the 90-acre campus is a priority after construction is completed.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, called the expansion "an awesome project for the city," saying that Smucker's continues to be "a beacon" for the community.

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or e-mail plocher@the-daily-record.com.


Infrastructure component of Orrville industrial park in place

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE -- After two years of planning, the city's second industrial park started to take shape late in 2009 with the construction of the supporting infrastructure.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said the park at the north end of Dairy Lane -- billed as a business and technology park -- saw the installation of infrastructure valued at about $1 million during the summer and fall.

Work on the project had been scheduled to start in the spring, but the project was delayed while researchers contracted to the Ohio Historical Society conducted a cursory archaeological investigation of the unspoiled 80-acre site that lies just west of state Route 57 north of the downtown. The researchers reportedly found little of significance at the site and did not delay construction.

The city purchased the acreage two years ago for $960,000 to facilitate the creation of a second industrial park, since the space in its first industrial park on Collins Boulevard was mostly developed.

Hedberg said the city needs to have an assortment of shovel-ready industrial sites available if it is going to continue to attract new industry.

Because the city lacked the money to finance the needed infrastructure, it applied to the Ohio Department of Development for a $640,000 grant, which it received. The money went not only to pave the half-mile stretch of roadway that bisects the park, but also for the installation of sanitary sewer, water, storm sewer and natural gas lines.

Because of the condition of Ohio's economy, some of the amenities that had been on the drawing board for the project -- such as sidewalks for employee exercise, benches and some green spaces -- had to be scrapped.

As the park is configured from a conceptual standpoint, Hedberg said, there are 11 industrial sites that range in size from four to eight acres, but that number is flexible, and the early incoming industries could have more or less land if they need it. He said land prices in the park will range somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000 per acre.

"There's a lot of flexibility built in, depending on the size of the company and its site needs," Hedberg said.

While Hedberg said he is hopeful the park will be able to focus on technology-related industries, he noted the city would be content to attract any "good-paying manufacturing jobs."

The new industrial park will give the city 13 marketable, shovel-ready sites, in addition to three vacant industrial buildings in the Collins Boulevard park. The latter includes a plant completed in 2008 by the Round Top Windows company, which closed without ever having moved into the new building.

Round Top Windows, based in Canada, had planned to ally itself with American Weatherseal, window manufacturer, but the demise of the latter company -- which itself had built a $9 million structure it barely used prior to closing because of a dearth of activity in the home building market -- resulted in its failure.

Hedberg said with spring around the corner, the city is just starting to aggressively market the industrial park and is working closely with the Wayne Economic Development Council in that regard.

He said having the park positions the city very well to take advantage of any rebound in the economy.

"We're hopeful more industries will come our way," he said, adding Orrville is not trying to steal existing industries from other counties, but hopes to be in a position to have a desirable site if such businesses choose to expand their operations.

"We're developing marketing materials and we plan to provide information through both direct mail and virtual marketing," Hedberg said.

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or e-mail plocher@the-daily-record.com.


Smith Dairy shares 100 years of success with Wayne County

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE -- In what was a celebration truly worthy of a century in business, the Smith Dairy Products Co. pulled out all the stops in 2009 and treated its employees and the Wayne County community to a yearlong observance of its success.

Through a series of events that got rolling in late 2008, the multi-generation family-owned company celebrated the progress that has taken it from serving solely the Orrville community with its horse-drawn carts of the early 1900s, to a huge corporation that has a presence throughout Ohio and surrounding states, and is growing constantly.

Penny Baker, director of marketing, said the celebration kicked off in December 2008 with the annual Christmas banquet for the company's associates, both past and present.

"Our new Web site was launched in January," Baker said, "and featured a DVD about our history."

The DVD featured historical photographs of the company drawn from its archives, and many employees recognized friends and family members shown working at the dairy in decades past.

In February, Baker said, the company put the finishing touches on the renovation of Schmid Hall in Orr Park. The structure, which was expanded and given a facelift inside and out in a partnership endeavor with the city, is a popular place for family reunions and other community gatherings, and is used by service clubs for a wide variety of fundraisers such as pancake breakfasts.

With the coming of spring, Baker said, the dairy put into action plans for the renovation of its plant between North Main and Vine streets, which it had been working on for some time. The company attractively renovated the brick facade of the building that faces onto Main Street. In addition, it constructed a brick enclosure for the first of what will be several high-rise milk storage tanks for its new line of organic products.

Along with the extensive renovation of its Vine Street entrance and alterations made to its facade along both Vine and West Church streets, the company hired an artist to paint murals on the buildings reflecting the company's heritage.

California artist Michael Gearhart arrived in May and embarked on what would be a six-week odyssey of creating the colorful masterpieces. One depicts an early home delivery being made by horse and cart to a grateful customer.

The other recreates the appearance of the original Smith Dairy on Vine Street, precisely where the building was integrated into the present-day dairy structure. It shows employees and customers enjoying an old-fashioned ice cream parlor setting.

Baker said she hopes the community is "enjoying the murals as much as we are."

June 19 marked the single biggest community event associated with the dairy's 100th anniversary celebration as Smith's put on a huge ice cream social for whoever wanted to attend -- and thousands did.

The afternoon-long celebration featured a wide variety of activities for both young and old. In addition to free samples of various Smith's products, there were displays of company memorabilia and its various historical vehicles, games for children, a special breakfast gathering and open house for customers, suppliers and associates, and much more.

"It also served as a Schmid family reunion, as many relatives came from around the country to mark the milestone event," Baker said.

Throughout the afternoon, President Steve Schmid and Vice President John Schmid roamed the sprawling array of tents set up at the Dairy Lane facility, greeting friends, customers and associates.

In October, said Baker, "We were fortunate to be the first stop on the Wayne County Farm Tour."

Baker said during the weekend, more than 3,000 visitors stopped by to get a mini-tour of the ice cream plant and sample frozen treats right off the production line. In addition, Smith's had milk and other drinks available free of charge to cool off thirsty farm tour-goers.

Baker said the event closed out the public aspects of the celebration, but she noted, "We have been blessed to have great customers, loyal consumers and dedicated associates who have supported us for the last century. As we close out this year, we look forward to 2010 and the start of our second hundred years."

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or e-mail plocher@the-daily-record.com.


Wayne's job picture a little brighter

February 25, 2010

By BRYAN SCHAAF
Staff Writer

WOOSTER -- Listing 22 significant projects that saw new investment and/or created or retained jobs in Wayne County in 2009, Wayne Economic Development Council President Rod Crider said, despite a down economy nationally, things certainly could've been worse.

In fact, Crider said based on the local activity, he anticipates the Wayne micropolitan area to be ranked high once again in this year's Site Selection Magazine listings.

Crider pointed to large expansion projects at Orrvillon (formerly Holtec), Scotts Miracle Grow and the J.M. Smucker Co. in Orrville, as well as Tyler Grain and Fertilizer, Tekfor and Wooster Community Hospital as a huge reason for the area's stability. In addition, new companies Quasar and ABS Materials, along with a relocation of Riceland Cabinet to Wooster were contributing factors.

"We had quite a few projects when you sit back and look at it," said Crider who noted 2008 saw only 15 such projects come across the WEDC radar. "I don't want to minimize all the pain some people in the community have felt as a result of the bad economy, but on the other hand, that economy was due to national conditions, not because of anything distinctly unique to Wayne County or even Northeast Ohio. Based upon our diversity, we felt the impact of that on a lesser level than did other regions."

All totaled for Wayne County in 2009, businesses retained or created 954 jobs and made more than $118 million in new investments to the area.

In Orrville, Smucker's is in the process of constructing the largest facility on its campus with a 137,000, four-story office complex that will connect with both the nearby Founders Building and Legacy Building.

Orrvillon moved into the vacant American Weatherseal facility over the summer with the promise of creating a minimum of 200 jobs over the next 36 months.

Scotts, which similarly moved into a building vacated by Spectrum Brands, has committed to bringing 63 new jobs to its operation.

Tyler Grain and Fertilizer, one of the oldest industries in Wayne County with nearly 150 years in business, built a $1.5 million, 91,000-square-foot, 43-foot high, bulk fertilizer storage facility onto its Smithville campus earlier this year.

Wooster Community Hospital is nearing completion of a $13 million, 46,000-square-foot, two-story patient tower expansion above the Women's Pavilion that will allow the organization to offer 100 percent private patient rooms.

Tekfor, which started in Wooster in 2002, recently doubled its employment base to 230 and is seeking a 40,000-square foot expansion onto its facility to help meet a huge influx of demand from automakers. In addition, the company committed more than $6 million to new equipment in 2009.

Riceland Cabinet successfully relocated 74 jobs and an annual payroll of more than $3 million into the former Buckeye Corrugated facility on Hillcrest Road.

In addition, other companies in the area saw growth last year. Global Body and Will-Burt signed military contracts that will ensure their viability for years to come, while ABS Materials, which manufactures a silica-based material that absorbs toxins in water, and Quasar, which converts plant and animal waste into electricity, laid their foundations for the future a year ago.


Orrville invests in future with new projects, jobs

February 25, 2010

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE -- Talk about progress in Wayne County during 2009 and the word becomes virtually synonymous with Orrville.

In the midst of the nation's most dismal economic times in recent memory, the city recorded some $70 million in new investment, bringing with it the potential for as many as 700 new jobs -- and that's not even figuring a new elementary school into the equation.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said that level of investment may well be an all-time record for the city, which in 2006 boasted $50 million in new investment, which it also considered a record.

"As a community we have a lot to be thankful for," said Hedberg, who noted coming into 2009 the city's prospects appeared gloomy.

"We had nothing, at least on paper," Hedberg said. "We thought we would be in the same situation as everyone else, seeing more closures than gains. But then we started seeing potential projects, and they just kept coming. It was all exciting news for Orrville, and would have been in any economic climate, but we were blessed with a good year."

Hedberg said he credits the city administration, City Council and schools with banding together to ensure many ambitious goals were achieved.

"When you have everyone working together, it makes the process easier, and ultimately makes for success," he said.

The first big opportunity for the city came early in the year when Scotts began looking at the former Spectrum Brands plant near Crown Hill and Schrock roads after the sprawling facility -- with one of its buildings having more than 8 acres under roof -- had stood empty for months.

Hedberg said he had felt because the facility was so unique, it would be difficult to find a buyer for it, even in the long term. In the end, however, the plant proved what Hedberg characterized as "a perfect fit" for the Scotts company, which is using the facility to ship millions of pounds of product to customers through the northeastern part of the United States.

"We are excited to welcome a world-renowned company like Scotts and very fortunate Scotts could acquire these assets," said Hedberg, noting the company brought aboard the former Spectrum Brands management team, as well as some Spectrum employees. The company eventually expects to hire 50-60 employees.

Hard on the heels of the Scotts acquisition came an effort by Holtec -- now Orrvillon -- to acquire the former American Weatherseal manufacturing facility on Dairy Lane.

Hedberg said Orrvillon's acquisition of the nearly new $9 million facility that had been vacated by American Weatherseal only a short time after it was constructed, took about 10 months from contract to closing.

The good thing, he said, was it provided an opportunity for the city's newly revamped and younger administration to cut its teeth and realize what it could do.

"They got to work through the entire process," said Hedberg, "and it was exciting to watch them go through a project like this. It was exciting to see everyone working together toward a common goal. The learning curve was minimal and everyone was supportive.

"We're excited about welcoming a company like this to Orrville," said Hedberg, noting it plans to hire 300 employees in the long term. Currently it is adding 80,000 square feet of manufacturing space onto the plant.

"It was a long process, but the end result was a huge, huge win for the community," Hedberg said.

Orrville Mayor Dave Handwerk said, "We are looking forward to a lasting relationship with Scotts and Orrvillon much like we have had with our longtime industries such as Smucker's, Smith Dairy, Quality Castings, Will-Burt and Schantz Organ."

While the Orrvillon project moved forward, the J.M. Smucker Co. announced it would build its largest building to date on the Orrville campus. The company, which in 2008 acquired Folgers Coffee, had been unable to bring more than 200 employees associated with that merger to Orrville, simply because there was not enough office space. Those employees have been housed in the Akron-Fairlawn area since the acquisition.

"Smucker's continued investment is tremendous news," said Hedberg. "It is one of the premier companies in the world, and to have them here and investing in the city is a continued blessing for Orrville."

Looking out his office window at city hall from where he can watch the crane constructing the Smucker's building, Hedberg said, "It's always exciting to see that kind of activity along Main Street."

Jennie Reusser, president of the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce, noted, "All these people had options, so their choice to grow in Orrville is a very important thing to understand and to appreciate. A definite key to our success is citywide teamwork -- and we're good at that. But we are also just plain fortunate to have been blessed by good people, good facilities and good businesses."

Other highlights of the year, Hedberg said, were the Smith Dairy Products Co., which marked its 2009 centennial not only with several community celebrations, but also by renovating its building along Main Street north of city hall to make it more attractive. In addition, the dairy revamped the appearance of its Vine Street plant's entry, created historical murals on its building, and constructed storage tanks for its organic milk products.

Hedberg called the various improvements "a testament to the Schmid family and its leadership in the city."

In addition, Hedberg noted, JLG Industries moved one of the production lines from its McConnellsburg, Pa., operation to Orrville.

"This represents a potential to add a significant number of jobs over the next three years," said Hedberg, adding, "With JLG moving a line here, it continues to develop and expand its presence in Orrville."

In 2002 when Gradall -- the predecessor of JLG -- closed, its manufacturing lines were moved from Orrville to McConnellsburg.

Still other major improvements cited by Hedberg were the creation of the infrastructure for the city's second industrial park, the construction of a new Student Life Building at Wayne College, and the construction of a new elementary school.

"You cannot underestimate the value of schools when it comes to economic development," said Hedberg. He said attractive schools invariably translate into both new business and industry and, along with that, new residential development.

Hedberg, who confesses he used to steer representatives of potential industries away from the city's aging schools, now says he shows them off first, calling them "the gem of the community."

Reusser called the change to the campus concept "one of the most exciting things I have seen in my lifetime in Orrville. The forward-thinking attitude of the school administration and the community backing definitely aid our efforts to make Orrville a community of choice for families seeking a great place to live."

"This would have been a good year anytime, but we are especially pleased with 2009, given the general state of the economy," said Handwerk. "I'm hoping 2010 will also prove to be successful as we continue to partner with the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street to bring quality business and industry to Orrville."

Hedberg said that unlike 2009, which the city entered with nothing up its sleeve in the area of potential projects, there are already some things shaping up on the drawing board for the year ahead.

"We're off to a better start than 2009," Hedberg said. "We're going to continue the positive momentum."


Holtec incentives approved

October 29, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — The effort to bring Holtec Engineered Aluminum Systems to the city moved a step closer Wednesday as the Orrville City Schools board voted unanimously to approve a 15-year, 50 percent abatement on real estate taxes.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said the abatement would apply only to a 72,000-square-foot addition Holtec plans to build onto the north side of the 192,000-square-foot American Weatherseal plant at 1400 Dairy Lane.

Hedberg said Holtec will receive a 13-year continuation of a 15-year tax abatement that was on the property when Weatherseal built the $9 million structure two years ago.

According to Hedberg, Holtec, an international company, will make an investment in the facility estimated at between $2 million and $3.5 million, and initially will employ a work force of 300 people, with positions paying in the $12 to $14 per hour range.

Hedberg said the company plans to break ground as soon as an incentives package is approved. He noted the city has extended to Holtec its economic development electric rate for two years. That is a 10 percent reduction in the company’s electric rate.

Eventually, Hedberg said, it is anticipated Holtec will be one of the top five customers of the electric utility.

Hedberg noted if Holtec’s 87 employees in Mount Eaton and 24 employees in Campbell all elect to relocate, the company will still have available 150 new jobs. He said the company hopes to be in production in Orrville by spring, and reach full production capacity within 24 months.

Hedberg told the board the schools were “a huge selling point” for getting Holtec to locate here, saying, “The district is top-notch.”

Superintendent Jon Ritchie said the district would like to hold an open house to show prospective Holtec employees what the schools are like inside.

“This is fantastic. It is great for our community. We’re very fortunate.” said Ritchie.

Hedberg said he regarded the effort to bring Holtec to Ohio – at a time the company was considering moving out of state – as “saving Ohio jobs.” He said Orrville has been having a “very good year” in 2009, with between 600 and 700 industrial jobs announced to be added in the community.

The school board also voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing acceptance in the Ohio School Facilities Commission Classroom Facilities Assistance Program.

Treasurer Mark Dickerhoof said the resolution puts the district on track to receive funding for the $18.5 million renovation of Orrville High School, starting as early as next year. Documents show the state will pay about $18.1 million toward renovating the high school, with the district’s share being $403,651.


Industry bringing 300 jobs to Orrville

October 27, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — An international company intends to relocate and consolidate its Ohio operations in Orrville, bringing with it 300 jobs and occupying the former American Weatherseal manufacturing plant.

Monday’s announcement by Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, capped more than eight months of negotiations to bring Marlton, N.J.-based Holtec to Orrville. Hedberg said the deal remains contingent upon the approval of various tax incentives at the state and local levels, which are expected to be approved later this week.

Holtec is an aluminum extrusion and fabrication manufacturer for the automotive, recreational, building and construction and medical equipment fields. Holtec operates two facilities in Ohio – one in Mount Eaton (formerly Pro-Fab) with 80 employees and the other in Campbell, with 20 employees. The company’s Ohio employees have been given the opportunity to relocate to the Orrville facility.

Hedberg said Orrville had its first contact with Holtec in March, with the company looking for about 200,00 square feet of industrial space. At the end of March, Holtec officials visited the former American Weatherseal plant, which offered 192,000 square feet.

Over the next eight months, Hedberg said, the company made six site visits and held numerous meetings with Orrville officials.

He said earlier this month Holtec signed a purchase agreement contingent on a tax incentives package. One of those is state job creation tax credits. Another is the transfer of the remaining 13 years of the 15-year American Weatherseal tax abatement of 50 percent to Holtec along with the property.

Orrville Schools Superintendent Jon Ritchie said the board will meet in special session Wednesday to consider the abatement request.

In addition, Hedberg said, there is a package of “small fringe incentives” from the city used to sweeten the deal. He characterized Holtec as a large user of electricity, and he predicted the company would be one of the top five customers of Orrville’s municipal power plant.

Hedberg said during the next six months, Holtec will modify the American Weatherseal building to meet its needs. He said the company plans to add on another 72,000 square feet of floor space and reinforce the structure in order to add overhead cranes.

Over a 24-month period, Hedberg said, Holtec anticipates building its employment in the Weatherseal building to 300.

Hedberg characterized the negotiations to bring Holtec to the city as “difficult,” largely because the Weatherseal building was in bankruptcy proceedings and local officials had to deal with the bank that held it. On the other hand, he said, the “condition of the building,” which was nearly new, proved overwhelmingly attractive to Holtec.

“This is tremendous news, that in this kind of an economy we are able to attract an international company like this to Orrville,” said Hedberg. “Bringing 300 jobs to the city is a blessing to the community, and we’re excited.”

Mayor Dave Handwerk said it is “an understatement to say we’re thrilled that we’re able to make the deal. It’s a huge positive for the Orrville area.”

Noting this was a big first project for the city’s new administrative team, Handwerk said its members were “wonderful to work with,” having an unrelenting determination to make the project a reality. Handwerk also praised the efforts of Hedberg, Rod Crider of the Wayne Economic Development Council and state Sen. Bob Gibbs who stepped up to help move the effort forward.

Hedberg said Monday’s announcement “builds on the positive momentum of the recent Smucker’s and the Scott’s announcements.” He said he looks forward to Holtec “becoming a community partner.”

J.M. Smucker Co. plans to construct a 137,000-square-foot office complex on its campus to house about 240 employees that came with its Folgers Coffee acquisition last year.


Orrville-based manufacturer plans its largest building

October 23, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — The J.M. Smucker Co. broke ground this week for what will be its largest structure yet on the Orrville campus, providing facilities that will allow hundreds of employees currently housed in offices in Fairlawn and Cincinnati to be integrated into the company’s local work force.

Heavy equipment was moving dirt at the very heart of the Smucker campus at Strawberry Lane, which will eventually dead end into the new 137,000-square-foot, four-story office complex that will connect with both the nearby Founders Building and Legacy Building. The portion of the structure that connects to the Legacy Building will be elevated, allowing regular traffic on Mill Street to drive through to Orr Street.

According to company spokesman Maribeth Badertscher, the new building will have 500 offices and conference rooms and be completed in the spring of 2011. She said it will enable 160 employees that Smucker’s acquired when it bought the Folgers Coffee brand last year from Procter & Gamble, and who are currently housed in leased offices on Ghent Road, to move to the Orrville campus. It will also allow more than 80 employees from Cincinnati to come to Orrville.

Badertscher said Smucker’s currently has 5,000 full- and part-time employees, 1,200 of which are on the Orrville campus.

In order to accommodate all the new employees, Badertscher said, the cafeteria facility in the Renewal Building will be completely renovated to allow for food service expansion.

Badertscher said the company has already completed an enlargement of its main auditorium, allowing for the seating of 194 instead of 108 in another location.

Like its latest building – the Renewal Building constructed in 2008 – the new office complex will be LEEDS certified, meaning that it is designed to minimize its impact on the environment in every way possible. From the exterior, visitors will notice special awnings and window treatments designed to help save energy.

With the campus sprawling outward from its traditional core and surrounding parking spots growing from 300 to 800, Badertscher said many trees have already been lost during the construction process. In many cases, she noted, trees were dug out and transplanted to other parts of the campus, but she said the company plans to replant at least two trees for every one that has been lost.

She said beautification of the 90-acre campus is a major priority for the company, which since 2001 has aggressively acquired numerous major food brands to add to its universally known lines of jams and jellies. Those brands include Crisco, Jif, Pillsbury, Martha White, Hungry Jack and Eagle Brand condensed milk.

The company’s philosophy has been to acquire companies that offer products that bring families together around the table, and which are leaders in their respective fields.

Richard Smucker said this is “an exciting time” for the company, which has its roots in Orrville, starting when Jerome Smucker began making apple butter from an old family recipe, then branched into making jams, jellies and preserves with locally grown fruit.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, called the announcement by Smucker’s “an awesome project for the City of Orrville,” adding, “The J.M. Smucker Company continues to be a beacon.”

“I’m excited about the company’s continued growth in Orrville and its long-term commitment to this community,” Hedberg said.

In addition to the new office complex, Badertscher said Smucker’s has other plans moving forward on its Orrville campus as well. She said it is in the process of acquiring the Orrville Bronze Company to make way for a major expansion of its Discovery Building along North Main Street. She said a 45,000-square-foot addition to that structure is planned, although no details are available.

The Discovery Building houses the company’s various test kitchens, labs and consumer call center.

Badertscher said after the office project is completed, Strawberry Lane will be open from Main Street to Mill Street. It will be closed at Mill, since the new building will be constructed over Strawberry Lane.

Eventually, Badertscher said, the company will close Clark Street, located just south of the historic Jerome M. Smucker house. Arch Street, open from Main to Walnut Street, will eventually close between Walnut and Mill streets as that is now part of Smucker’s drive.

Badertscher, who noted final cost estimates for the construction project have not been finalized, said it is "an exciting time to be involved with the company" because of the growth and many different projects going on there.


Scotts’ tax credit OK’d; move-in expected soon

July 31, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — A special meeting of City Council paved the way for the Scotts Co. to open a facility at what had been the Spectrum Brands plant, near the intersection of Back Orrville, Schrock and South Crown Hill roads.

Council voted unanimously to approve a job creation income tax credit of 10 percent for six years for the Scotts Co. and its subsidiaries. In return, Scotts agreed to hire at least 63 employees over the next three years.

The terms of the tax credit require Scotts to remain at the site for two years for each year the incentive is granted for.

Council’s vote Wednesday comes on the heels of similar action taken at the state level Monday, where Scotts was awarded a job creation tax credit of 40 percent for six years.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said the state had to extend its portion of the tax credit before it came to Orrville. Council had been prepared to vote on the measure Monday, but the unforeseen absence of two members forced the cancellation of that action.

Hedberg said the city became aware of conversations between Scotts and Spectrum Brands about the plant before that facility closed its doors at the end of 2008. Spectrum Brands eventually filed for Chapter 11 protection and Scotts obtained the plant’s machinery and equipment through Chapter 11 proceedings.

Eventually Scotts was able to negotiate a lease with Spectrum Brands through the Chicago-based Insite realty firm.

Hedberg said Scotts approached the city about possible tax incentives between two and three months ago.

In addition to the state and city tax incentives, Hedberg said Scotts is working with the Wayne County commissioners to have transferred to it the remainder of a 50 percent, 10-year tax abatement that had been in place for Spectrum Brands. Hedberg said about seven more years remains on that uncompleted agreement. That abatement applies to one building on the site, which had to be renovated in the wake of a fire several years ago.

About three years ago the city extended the new wastewater line to the Spectrum plant under an agreement in which Spectrum expanded its facility.

Hedberg said Scotts has told the city it expects to be a good corporate citizen and participate in a variety of aspects of life in Orrville.

The Orrville facility is reportedly one of only two Scotts had nationwide that acts as both a manufacturing and distribution facility. The company will mix specialty soils and fertilizers at the Orrville plant, using some 500,000 square feet, including one structure that has about eight acres under roof.

Also, the Orrville plant – which will serve all of the eastern United States, will be Scotts’ second largest facility, behind only its Marysville plant that has 800,000 square feet.

Mayor Dave Handwerk called the finalization of arrangements with Scotts “such good news. A year ago we learned that Spectrum would be leaving, and now we have this very good news for the community.”

Hedberg said getting Scotts into the community defied a lot of odds. He said his office knew the vacant Spectrum plant with its specialized equipment and design “didn’t lend itself to just any kind of manufacturing,” and was likely to be a hard sell. He characterized Scotts as “the perfect tenant. It’s the only company I can think of that is suited for that type of manufacturing.”

Handwerk added, “The neatest part is that because it’s the same type of business, it has allowed some people who worked for Spectrum to get their same job back.”

Safety-Service Director Steve Wheeler said the company expects to do a full move-in within the next couple weeks. He said there has been a flurry of preparatory work going on at the plant for some weeks, and noted the warehouse area has never actually completely closed down since Spectrum ceased operations.

The mayor credited Hedberg with doggedness in pursuing a tenant for what could have become the city’s biggest white elephant.

“Mike has done an excellent job staying in contact with everyone involved and keeping the facility in the forefront in terms of getting someone in there,” Handwerk said.

“We’re excited,” said Hedberg. “It’s great news for Orrville.”


Orrville library ranks fourth in Hennen’s ratings for 2009

July 30, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — The Hennen’s Public Library Ratings for 2009 has again ranked the Orrville Public Library near the top of its list, placing it fourth in the nation among libraries serving populations between 10,000 and 25,000.

The ranking improves the library’s standing by one step, after it was placed fifth in the nation last year. The library has been ranked in the nation’s top 10 for a decade.

“We’re very thrilled,” said Director Leslie Picot. “This rating is a wonderful affirmation of our hard work during tough economic times, and we’re very honored.

“The rating system looks at not only how a community uses its library, but how the library uses its resources, its staff and materials to best effect,” she said.

Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings includes 15 factors for rating libraries, focusing on circulation, staffing, materials, reference service and funding levels. It also looks at traditional data for print services and book checkouts. The data has been collected on a consistent national basis since 1981.

Picot said what has boosted the Orrville Public Library to its high ranking is “our really high usage; our per capita circulation. A circulation of a half million with a population in our school district of 11,300 is pretty remarkable.”

Her sentiments were echoed by Cheryl Kirkbride, president of the library board, who said, “I’m so pleased to see that circulation is at an all-time high, and that the Orrville Public Library continues to serve her community so well.”

But Picot, who is marking her fifth year as director, said achieving the ranking at the present time of having to do more with ever-fewer resources borders on the bittersweet.

“The consequences of the (state financial) cuts have been difficult, but the library’s administration and board of trustees planned well in advance,” she said. “We began to make significant cuts last summer when we looked at economic projections for 2009.”

She noted, “While no library employee has been laid off or lost their job, all departments have been affected. Every full-time employee has taken a 6.25 percent pay cut and part-time employee hours have been reduced.”

The book budget has been reduced by more than $20,000, employees who have retired or left for other jobs have not been replaced, and hours of operation have been reduced by 28 percent. This includes the elimination of hours of service for Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings starting in August.

Beginning the week of Aug. 24, the library’s hours will be 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday. The reductions, Picot said, total a 29 percent cut in expenditures over 2008 levels.

Picot vows, however, the library will continue to maintain its story time schedule, which fills 12 weekly sessions.

“We have a commitment to service to children to support literacy and language skills development,” said Picot. “Some day the economy will be better, but in the meantime – to coin a phrase – we want no child left behind.”

Picot admits to being disheartened by the necessary financial cutbacks the library faces.

“Sometimes,” she said, “it’s difficult not to take the funding reductions to our library as a negative judgment from state government on the value of the work we do. But seeing the Orrville Public Library come out fourth in the nation when compared to thousands of libraries across the country says we serve an exceptional community and we're doing very good things.”

Picot said she is especially thrilled with the success of the library’s summer reading program, which has enrolled some 600 children who have already read their way collectively through more than 15,000 books.


Scotts tax incentive OK’d

July 28, 2009

By MARC KOVAC
Dix Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS — A state board has signed off on tax incentives for a new Scotts Co. location in Orrville.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority OK’d a six-year, 40 percent tax credit for the project.

In return, Scotts would commit to creating 63 full-time jobs and maintaining operations at the site for at least 12 years.

The project involves the lease of the 550,000-square-foot former Spectrum Brands facility.

The company would use the space “for manufacturing of growing media soils and mulch, and fertilizer products while serving as a regional warehouse and distribution hub,” according to documents.

Scotts would make a fixed-asset investment of at least $1.4 million in the site, and new hires would include some Spectrum employees who were laid off, according to documents.

The state incentives are refundable tax credits against what the company would pay in corporate activity or income taxes, based on the state income taxes withheld on new, full-time employees.

For example, a company paying $100 in state income tax withholding for a new worker would be credited with $40 toward its other state tax obligations (commercial activity, state income or insurance premium tax liabilities), based on a 40 percent credit.

According to documents, the incentive “is a major factor in the Scotts Co.’s decision to locate in Ohio. This project is a major investment by (Scotts) and the incentives being requested are an integral part of the return on investment projection and the feasibility of project as the company is considering sites in Indiana and Kentucky for this expansion.”

The Orville incentive was one of two approved for Scotts Monday.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority also OK’d a 10-year, 50 percent credit for a Scotts project in Marysville that will result in the creation of 33 jobs and the retention of another 303, according to documents.


Scotts may go to Orrville, bringing 63 jobs

July 22, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — After months of grappling with industrial layoffs and plant closings, the city got a welcome breath of good news Monday with an announcement the Scotts Co. is considering moving to Orrville, bringing 63 jobs.

City Council heard a resolution authorizing the safety-service director to enter into a contract with the company to provide a job creation income tax credit for the Scotts Co. and its subsidiaries.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said earlier Monday Scotts is in the process of negotiating the purchase of the Spectrum Brands plant near the intersection of Back Orrville, South Crown Hill and Schrock roads. The plant, which closed at the end of 2008, has buildings containing more than eight acres under roof, which had previously been used to mix custom fertilizers and specialty potting soils for several major manufacturers.

Hedberg said Scotts is seeking a job creation tax credit of 10 percent for six years. The credit would save the company about $1,900 a year for six years. Hedberg said the company would have a $1.9 million payroll locally and would contribute $19,000 in additional income tax revenue to the city.

Hedberg said Scotts’ decision to purchase the Spectrum plant is contingent upon the approval of incentives packages at the local and state levels. He said the state is expected to announce its approval of the incentives package Monday. The state is being asked to transfer a tax abatement that had been held by Spectrum on the manufacturing facility, to the Scotts Co. That abatement was 50 percent for 10 years.

At Monday’s meeting, council had hoped to adopt the job creation income tax resolution on an emergency basis, but was prevented by doing so due to the absence of council members Rick Aspiras and Julie Leathers. The absence of two council members prevents the suspension of rules.

Council has called a special meeting for Monday to consider the job creation tax credit. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m.

“This is great news. We’re excited. We’re ecstatic to have a company with Scotts’ reputation coming to the community,” said Hedberg. “It’s awesome, and it adds to all the other exciting projects taking place here like the new schools, the multipurpose facility, the huge Smucker’s project and the South Main Street paving. It’s all good.”

Council members asked Safety-Service Director Steve Wheeler when the 63 jobs would be created. Wheeler said, “I suspect it’s in the next few months, based on the company’s tracking. We’re still working with Scotts on the timing.”

Councilman Paul Vance said he is “excited to have the opportunity to be partners with them (Scotts). They are certainly one of America’s oldest yard maintenance companies.”


JLG callback won’t have big impact at Orrville plant

July 17, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — In the middle of some rough economic times, JLG Industries received a shot of good news in the form of a U.S. government contract that could allow a substantial number of its laid off workers to return to their jobs.

But exactly how many of those jobs would be at the Orrville facility where there have been a couple rounds of layoffs since last fall remains unclear.

Ann Stawski, vice president of marketing and communications at Oshkosh Corp. in Wisconsin, JLG’s parent company, said Thursday the company landed a U.S. Department of Defense contract valued at $1.05 billion on June 30 to produce 2,244 M-RAP -All-Terrain Vehicles for the military.

Earlier this week JLG announced the contract would enable it to call back between 550 and 650 of its employees. But Stawski said it appears most of those callbacks will be taking place at a facility in Pennsylvania. She said she thought “small numbers” of employees would be called back at the Orrville facility, but the company would not make that decision until the end of the month.

Stawski, who said half of the company’s work force is furloughed, said some workers will be called back immediately, while others will be phased in as needed.

The order Oshkosh is working on is for the innovative new M-RAP-ATV, manufactured specifically for military use in Afghanistan. She said the ATV, which has a gross vehicle weight of 25,000 pounds, is “more mobile and maneuverable” than any other vehicle used by the military, thanks to a newly patented independent suspension system.

Stawski characterized the M-RAP as “a medium tactical vehicle replacement” that will be used “in situations where it is a difficult mission to move troops.”

The new contract, Stawski said, requires fulfillment of production and shipping by the end of the year, so, without major new orders, those called back to their jobs could find themselves again laid off later in the year.

Stawski said she is “pleased with the additional opportunity to call back employees,” calling it a “positive note” for the company in particular and the economy in general.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, called news of the contract and callbacks “tremendous news for the community,” adding, “Any time one of your largest employers calls any people back to work, it’s good news.”


Visual changes start to happen at Orrville’s new school

March 22, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE DISTRICT — Another new building – this one privately funded – will be added to the school campus, with construction to start as early as next month, Superintendent Jon Ritchie said at Thursday’s board meeting.

Ritchie said a multi-purpose building will be constructed between the high school and the middle school, thanks to the efforts of a private group that set out about a year ago to raise $1.3 million. Ritchie said the group is so close to reaching its goal it has committed to the construction.

The structure, according to Bob Ellis and Dean Reusser who have served as co-chairmen of the fund drive, will contain athletic training facilities, but can be used for academic activities and community functions.

“It’s really neat to live and work in a city like Orrville where people just pitch in for the common good,” Ritchie said. “The kids will be the beneficiaries of this.”

He said the project will be “ready to move dirt in three weeks.”

The board voted unanimously to approve a resolution accepting the gift of the building, and also voted unanimously to approve a permanent improvement gift policy.

The board heard construction reports on the elementary school from Tony Ignazio Jr., project manager for Cleveland-based RP Carbone Co., and architect Byron Manchester.

Ignazio said the building has begun to see “a significant amount of progress.” Red brick veneer is being laid on the west side, and block work will be completed over the next two months.

Ignazio said starting next week, the concrete floor slabs will start to be set into place. He said about one-sixth of the school’s square footage will have the floor placed by early April.

If the project gets dry weather, Ignazio noted, “the north side will go up very fast, and most of the walls will be up in a month, with their brick veneer.”

He said the utility rough-ins are being installed and the roof trusses will arrive mid-April. The structure should be under roof by July, allowing for interior work to begin.

Manchester said his office is keeping busy reviewing the shop drawings, working three to four weeks ahead of the construction process.

Steve McCumber, director of business services, said the interior color scheme has been worked out, and it will be considerably more colorful than the middle school. He said the next step is to order the loose furnishings and playground equipment.

McCumber said he is working to fill a sinkhole that opened north of the high school when a water pipe burst this winter, as well as revising bus routes for next year.

In other action the board voted unanimously to approve the high school Earth Science Club’s spring break trip to the Missouri Ozark Mountains; approved the 117-member OHS graduating class of 2009, approved an interdistrict open enrollment policy, and approved a memorandum of understanding between the University of Akron Wayne College and Orrville City Schools for dual credit. The board voted to go into executive session to discuss personnel matters and adjourned without transacting further public business.


State stamps Smucker tax incentives

January 27, 2009

By MARC KOVAC
Dix Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS — State officials have signed off on tax incentives valued at an estimated $1.8 million to facilitate an expansion of the J.M. Smucker Co. in Orrville.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved the 10-year, 65 percent incentive during its business meeting Monday. The company, in turn, would commit to creating 115 jobs and retaining another 372 at its Orrville headquarters. The jobs will carry an average wage of upward of $36 per hour.

The incentives are refundable tax credits against what the company would pay in corporate activity or income taxes, based on the state income taxes withheld on new, full-time employees. For example, a company paying $100 in state income tax withholding for a new worker would be credited with $65 toward its other state tax obligations (commercial activity, state income or insurance premium tax liabilities), based on a 65 percent credit.

The expansion would include the construction of a 120,000-square-foot facility at Smucker’s existing Orrville campus to accommodate the company’s acquisition of the Folger’s coffee brand from Procter & Gamble.

Smucker’s would make a fixed-asset investment of at least $15.6 million, including $12 million for machinery and equipment and $3.6 million for building renovations, according to documents.

Smucker’s is considering the Orrville site and another in Kentucky for the project.

“Tax credit assistance will help improve the company’s business case for locating the expansion in Ohio,” according to documents. “Smucker states in its application materials the Kentucky option is favored by a lower cost of doing business and larger incentives package.”

In addition to a company representative, Monday’s meeting was attended by Mike Hedberg, director of the city’s office of industrial development, and Steve Wheeler, incoming director of safety services.

“We’re excited about this project and potential for it to go forward,” Hedberg told authority members.

The city is providing additional incentives to bring the project to fruition.

The company hopes to complete the building and hiring objectives in the next two to three years.


With a $20 million plan, it has to be good

January 22, 2009

By PAUL LOCHER
Staff Writer

ORRVILLE — The J.M. Smucker Co. told City Council on Tuesday it plans to undertake a $20 million project that will bring a minimum of 115 jobs to the city – and possibly many more.

Maribeth Badertscher, media spokeswoman, said the project is tied to Smucker Co.’s acquisition last fall of the Folger’s coffee brand from Procter & Gamble, which has brought more employees into the company’s fold. The sudden influx of employees resulted in the company having to lease office space in Fairlawn for 150 workers because adequate room was not available on the Orrville campus.

But now, Badertscher said, building plans are in the works to create space for at least 115 workers – and perhaps as many as 215 – in Orrville.

Badertscher said Smucker’s plans to invest $2 million in building costs and an additional $18 million in equipment and machinery. She said the 115 jobs will have an annual payroll of $8.6 million, with most of them being corporate positions in marketing and logistics. She said the jobs will pay an average of $36 per hour.

The objective of the building project, she said, would be to move as many of the employees temporarily working in Fairlawn to Orrville as quickly as possible.

Badertscher said, however, building plans are not yet finalized.

“There has been no decision as to whether a new building will be constructed or an existing building will be added onto. We’re exploring the options,” Badertscher said, adding whatever is decided upon will likely be under construction by mid-summer.

Mike Hedberg, director of the Office of Orrville Industrial Development, said he was thrilled with the announcement by Smucker.

“In this economy, the J.M. Smucker Co. is already a pillar of the community, and here they are making another major investment in Orrville,” Hedberg said. “It’s not entirely a bricks and mortar investment, it’s putting people to work.

“Every day," Hedberg said, “we read about downsizings, and here we have a company that is growing.”

Before its regular meeting, council held a workshop to alter language in its Job Creation Income Tax Credit Program, which was adopted May 20, 2002.

The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss a clause that stated “the maximum term of credit granted under this program shall be five years, but no longer than the period allowed under the State of Ohio Tax Credit Agreement with the participant.”

Council agreed the city’s maximum term of credit should be changed to 10 years, the same as that granted by the state.

In addition, council agreed the criteria should be changed to allow refundable income tax credits authorized by council resolution, rather than by an ordinance.

Mayor Dave Handwerk encouraged council to make the changes that had been requested by Smucker, saying, “It’s a company that has given this community an awful lot.”

Safety-Service Director Becky Jewell said council’s action on the income tax credits would “show whether this community wants them (Smucker’s) to be here.” She said passage would illustrate “this is a business-friendly community. It’s a city that is willing to pay these costs.”

During its business session, council voted unanimously on first reading to adopt a resolution authorizing the safety-service director to enter into a contract to provide a job creation income tax credit for the J.M. Smucker Co.

Following the vote, Badertscher said the cooperation from the city “is what makes Orrville a unique community. We’re thankful to the city for its support.”

Smucker operates a store 2 miles south of Orrville that offers items from all its various product lines and has an in-house restaurant.


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