By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is on the map for several manufacturing businesses looking to branch out into other communities, according to Kati Thompson, director of economic development for Bowling Green.
The city can check off the list of traits sought by business, Thompson told BG City Council Monday evening.
- Proximity to Interstate 75 and the Ohio Turnpike, check.
- A variety of available locations ranging from five to 170 acres, check.
- Municipal-owned utilities that plan for the future. “We have capacity. We know what we can offer,” Thompson said.
- And a “right-sized” community. “We have real personal relationships with our companies,” she added.
That combination has put Bowling Green on the short list of locations being studied by manufacturers.
“We’ve had a lot of people looking at this community,” Thompson said.
Bowling Green is known by state partners as a community that will give honest and prompt answers to economic development prospects about what the city can and can’t provide, she said.
“You should be really proud of this team,” she said to City Council.
Thompson began by addressing the delay in construction for Abbott Laboratories, which announced plans in December of 2022 to open a plant in Bowling Green to employ 450 people.
The Bowling Green plant is intended to produce speciality and metabolic formulas – nutritional products for people with extreme allergies and dietary restrictions.
“They are still absolutely committed to the project, but don’t have a start date,” she said.
Other projects on BG’s radar include:
- Project Bullseye – a 300,000 square foot distribution center.
- Project Maverick – an aerospace company interested in locating near Wood County Regional Airport.
- Project Melt – a Spanish company planning to tour a BG site in October, with a potential 100 jobs.
- Project Sprint – A tier-one automotive supplier with a possible 400 jobs.
- Project River – A German company that recycles rare earth metals, looking for a five to 10 acre site, and creating about 40 jobs.
Thompson also talked about existing manufacturing sites in the city that are expanding or attracting new investments.
Betco is planning an expansion, adding 30 employees, she said.
The empty Nichols plant in the Woodbridge Business Park has been selected by a new company for its production. “That building won’t sit vacant,” Thompson said.
JVIS, of Michigan, purchased the Toledo Mold & Dye plant earlier this year. The company has retained the 263 employees, is hiring more, and is investing in the facility.
“They’re here for the long haul,” Thompson said of JVIS.
Cooper Standard officials announced earlier this year that the Bowling Green plant will close by 2027, resulting in 175 local workers losing their jobs. Efforts are being made to find employment for those workers. And Thompson predicted the 200,000-square-foot plant will be very marketable to other manufacturers.
“We should be able to find a user,” she said.
Thompson also updated City Council on the office space being remodeled for the city’s Four Corners – economic development, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown BG, and VisitBG – at 248 S. Main St. That project was awarded a $487,000 JobsOhio Vibrant Communities Grant.
A ribbon cutting for the site will be held soon, she said.
