Williams County is positioned to attract new business | Local Business

Williams County is positioned in a prime spot for the tri-state area of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, an advantage in recruiting new businesses. One factor that benefits Pioneer specifically is that the Michigan heavy truck routes dip into northern Ohio.

Megan Hausch, executive director of Williams County Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO), commented that while each economic development office is concentrating on what is within the boundaries, job seekers do not see the county lines or state lines when looking for work.

“Quality of life projects benefit all of Northwest Ohio,” she continued.

And new companies are coming to Williams County. Toledo Tool & Die (TTD), a full-service metal stamping company, purchased the former Arcelor Mittal building in Pioneer. Arcelor Mittal had closed in early 2019. TTD is a third generation family-owned company. Their parts can be found on products made by Tesla, Honda, Nissan, Unipres, Subaru, and Chrysler.

In September 2020, Wausau Supply Co. announced expansion of their established service area by opening a distribution facility in West Unity. The facility houses a vast selection of products from the industry’s top manufacturers and its two proprietary brands: Diamond Kote Building Products and Waudena Entrance Systems. The company expects to hire at least 19 people through its $4.6 million investment. The company highlighted the region’s logistics assets, particularly the comprehensive transportation and highway network, as a critical factor in its decision to locate in Northwest Ohio.

ALG Health announced their newest manufacturing facility located in Bryan and forecast to bring nearly 400 jobs to the area starting in November 2020. The company chose to open its respirator mask-making facility in 100,000 sq. ft. of the building on Mulberry Street, owned and managed by the Spangler Candy Company. Spangler has owned and managed the 400,000-square-foot former Ingersoll Rand/ARO manufacturing complex for the last two years.

Among the larger plant expansions is Pioneer Custom Molding invested $3 million into a 22,000 square addition, doubling the plant size.

An expansion has just been announced for 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics, which is described by company officials as the “go-to custom molder for large parts”. Set to begin this month, the expansion is expected to bring more than 100 new jobs to two plant locations — Holiday City and Bluffton, Ind.

With the positives of new businesses choosing Williams County and current businesses, two concerns come to the forefront. A shortage of manpower was beginning to be felt even before COVID-19 “put the pause button on workforce needs,” Hausch added. With employment levels back up to the pre-COVID level, county employers still need as many as 500 employees.

The thought being expressed is that the extra Federal unemployment benefits being offered are preventing people from coming back to work. Hasch said employers in the five counties of Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding, and Williams have participated in a wages and benefits survey conducted by Ohio Means Jobs Centers to determine how wages are being affected and what businesses are doing to attract new employees.

Another issue is the housing shortage which is having a detrimental effect on the workforce in all of Northwest Ohio. There is nothing on the market for incoming workers even on a temporary basis. An investment in infrastructure is needed to target and attract the developers.