Ohio Firm Plans Move to Manatee County, Fla.
By Nicholas Azzara, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.
Nov. 9–MANATEE — Plans are in place for an Ohio manufacturer of molded rubber products used for pollution control in coal-fired power plants to relocate to Manatee County in 2006, creating two dozen local jobs.
Thermodyn, based in Sylvania, Ohio, hopes to begin building a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Centre Park Industrial subdivision by year’s end. The new $1.5 million building would be double the size of the Ohio plant. The company markets its equipment in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Chief Operating Officer Jim MacMullin, who has lived in Boca Grande since 1998, said the company generated $25 million in revenue last year.
Company officials submitted a land development application to the Manatee County Planning Department on Oct. 17. Laurie Suess, of the Planning Department, said the county staff is now evaluating the proposal.
Tax incentives were a deciding factor in the relocation, MacMullin said. He expects the building to be completed by July.
“Ohio is becoming increasingly difficult to do business in with its tax structure,” he said. “There is no state income tax in Florida and for a privately-owned business that’s very advantageous.”
Another key advantage in moving to Manatee County is its transportation network. Roughly 40 percent of the company’s shipping is done through air or by water. The Centre Park location is less than two miles from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. It is also relatively close to the Port of Manatee.
Shipping materials from Ohio to Korea and Taiwan takes 35 days. Products leaving the Port of Manatee will reach Asia in 20 days, MacMullin said.
One quarter of the business will remain open in Ohio to manufacture products for the northern United States and Canada. The company has been at the Ohio location since 1979.
MacMullin said some of the staff in Ohio may relocate to the Bradenton building. New hires will include manual laborers, secretarial staff and a few engineers.
“We don’t start anybody lower than $11 an hour, including full benefits,” MacMullin said.
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