In one of the biggest proposed investments unveiled by the county, three cities — Moraine, West Carrollton and Vandalia — are in competition with Tennessee and Texas for a $38.8 million investment by an undisclosed company in the bio-health industry, county officials said. At stake are up to 292 new jobs — with average salaries of $48,630 — for that project alone.
The new projected 438 jobs are not guaranteed. Companies will make final decisions on whether and where to make the proposed investments, while Montgomery County leaders will weigh requests for development funding help through the Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) grant program in the coming weeks.
A committee is expected to nail down recommendations to Montgomery County commissioners by Dec. 4. The three-member commission is scheduled to vote on the recommendations Dec. 10.
Countywide, 438 new jobs
Eight Montgomery County jurisdictions are seeking $1.87 million combined in development funding for 10 proposed projects, property improvements or expansions, county officials said Friday.
The total investment value of the projects is more than $126.9 million, said Erik Collins, the county’s director of community and economic development.
If funded, the proposed projects would create 438 new jobs and retain 494 existing ones, according to EDGE applications obtained by the Dayton Daily News.
Only $1.15 million is available for the fall ED/GE funding round, which means a selection committee and county commissioners will have to decide which applicants to fund and how much each will receive.
The ED/GE committee will meet Nov. 18 to review applications and project presentations. Voting on funding recommendations is scheduled for Dec. 4.
The development assistance is funded through shared Montgomery County sales tax revenue.
An undisclosed medical device company, dubbed “Project Skin,” is looking at locations in the cities of Vandalia, Moraine and West Carrollton as an anchor site for increased manufacturing capacity. The three cities submitted a joint application seeking a combined $350,000 in ED/GE funding.
Moraine puts the total cost of the project at $35.5 million; West Carrollton puts it at $38.8 million; and Vandalia puts it at $26 million. All potential sites include existing buildings, including the vacant 180,000-square-foot Motoman facility in West Carrollton and an existing 134,000-square-foot facility owned by Miller-Valentine Group in Moraine.
On Friday, the company’s “economic incentive adviser” — the Site Selection Group based in West Lake Hills, Texas — said the three cities are semi-finalists for the project. Construction would begin Jan. 1 and be completed in April 2016.
If selected, Moraine and West Carrollton would both realize 292 new jobs, while Vandalia would realize 226 new jobs, plus retain some at a location already in the county, officials said.
The local sites are in competition with Tennessee and Texas and one international location for the project, which would double the company’s manufacturing workforce, at a minimum, documents said.
Other local applications
The city of Miamisburg submitted two applications totaling $300,000. They include a $200,000 request toward a $2.3 million project for Evenflo Co. to modernize its office space to satisfy the concerns of its new owner, China-based Goodbaby International. The infant care products manufacturer would remain in Miamisburg, create 20 new jobs and retain 127 existing workers.
Miamisburg also seeks $100,000 for Advanced Industrial Measurement Systems to renovate their building into a production facility, allowing the company to shift from measuring machine distribution to manufacturing. The $766,541 project would create 22 new jobs and retain 18.
The city of Trotwood seeks $200,000 toward a $2.4 million project for Specialty Manufacturing to acquire and rehabilitate a former big-box retail space for use as a machine tool manufacturing facility. The project would create 10 new jobs and retain 52.
The city of Huber Heights seeks $70,000 toward a $510,000 project for Fire and Explosions Consultants LLC to construct a training facility and expand its warehouse. That project would create one new job and retain 14.
The city of Dayton submitted four applications totalling $750,000. They include $500,000 toward a $2 million proposal dubbed “Project George.” The undisclosed company plans to renovate an existing space in Dayton to make it a competitive setting and reduce future energy consumption. That company would have a payroll of no less than $2 million, but the number of new and retained jobs was not disclosed
Dayton also seeks $150,000 toward a $1.2 million project for Rostam Direct LLC to relocate from Indiana and establish operations at Dayton International Airport. The fulfillment services company would create 54 new jobs.
In addition, Dayton seeks $50,000 each for proposals by Hohman Plating and Angstron Materials Inc.
Hohman Plating plans a $2.95 million project to upgrade its manufacturing area and add new equipment that would create nine new jobs and retain 146.
The city of Brookville seeks $200,000 toward a $13.4 million proposal dubbed “Project Parker.” The undisclosed company is an automotive parts manufacturer that plans to relocate its logistics operations to Brookville, creating more manufacturing space at its current Ohio facility. The project would create 15 new jobs and retain 60.
Materials manufacturing
Dayton-based Angstron Materials Inc. has formed a sister firm, EnerG Nano, to focus on a wider application of graphene material for lithium batteries and energy storage uses, said Ian Fuller, Angstron vice president for business development.
That sister company, yet to be staffed, will have 150 employees at the Mound campus facility. Fuller said he expects those hires to take place over the next five years.
Fuller said he has discussed those plans with Miamisburg city government and JobsOhio, the state’s private jobs development arm.
Work on a space at Mound for EnerG Nano is slated to be complete by 2016, and “select people” will be hired before that, Fuller said. Most of the hiring will take place after construction is complete.
Eric Cluxton, president of Mound Development Corp., which oversees the Mound campus, said Angstron is negotiating with his corporation now.
The company is eyeing new construction, Cluxton said.
“It’s acreage and new construction … they have referenced 100,000 square feet,” he said. “It’s a significant project, for them and for us.”
“Nothing is finalized, but we’re hopeful, very optimistic, and would love to have them as a tenant,” Cluxton added.
Chris Fine, development director with the city of Miamisburg, said he had heard of the company’s plans and welcomed them.
EnerG Nano will be a customer of Angstron, helping to further demand for graphene, as Fuller sees it. “They’re inter-related,” he said.
Angstron has plans for hiring in Dayton, too. Angstron intends to close soon on another building on McCook Avenue, close to its current location. With 14 employees currently at its McCook site, the company plans to hire another 12 to 14 employees there by 2018, Fuller said.
The company has made graphene at its 22,000-square-foot McCook production plant. The new building, across the street from the current plant, will give the company another 26,000 square feet, Fuller said.
The company is seeking $50,000 in Montgomery County ED/GE assistance to buy the larger building.
Graphene was originally made for hybrid electric vehicle battery anodes. But there are also potential uses for batteries.
The company says the strong, lightweight material contributes to quicker battery charges and more enduring performance.
The new growth is being driven by Angstron’s intention to make graphene applicable for other uses.
“It’s been coined ‘the wonder material,’” Fuller said. “It has applications ranging from polymers, putting it into plastics, energy-storage, bio-medical, thermo-management for electronics, all of the above.”
The material was first discovered in the early 2000s. Angstron was formed in late 2007, spun off from Nanotek Instruments, which was founded by Bor Jang, former dean of Wright State University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Jang is chief executive and co-founder of Angstron.
This week, Jang first unveiled plans at a conference in China to boost graphene production to 1,000 metric tons a year starting next year, the company said.
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