Automotive companies recruit young employees to fill void left by retiring Baby Boomers.

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LIMA — All automotive companies in the Greater Lima region may be experiencing a “skills gap,” but every com-pany’s skills gap is different.

For Crown Equipment in New Bremen, it’s information technology.

“Think about where technol-ogy resides today that it didn’t 10, 15 years ago,” said vice president Randy Niekamp by phone from Crown’s global headquarters in New Bremen. “It’s in your car, it’s in your watch, it’s in our lift trucks. Those displays that you have in your car? Those displays are on fork lifts, too.”

Crown Equipment has significant hiring needs, due to a double-whammy of Baby Boomer retirements and tremendous growth in the demand for its products, Niekamp said. It accounted for nearly 200 open positions and more than half of all manufac-turing vacancies in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Allen County Economic Development Alliance.

Mechatronic engineering — a combination of mechani-cal, electronic and software engineering — is expected to dominate future hiring at motor vehicle firms, accord-ing to Center for Automotive Research in Detroit, which sur-veyed the Big Three automak-ers for a 2008 report on future automotive workforce needs called “Beyond the Big Leave.”

One look at new car models tells the story. Autonomous features such as self-parking, autopilot systems, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise controls are turning up in more cars. Dashboards are becoming interactive with Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto. And Volkswag-on’s electric “microbus,” the

I.D. Buzz, capable of traveling up to 270 miles per charge, was the hit of last January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“The industry, at breakneck speed, is developing new tech-nologies, and existing research and development is tapped out. It’s spoken for,” said Ber-nard Swiecki, a researcher at the Center for Automotive Research in Detroit. “More responsibility is falling on regional operations” to do that R&D, he said, boosting the need for college-educated industrial engineers and soft-ware developers.

Grob Systems in Bluffton

has noticed this. The company designs and builds entire pro-duction lines for Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Honda and Opal, then breaks them down, ships them to the auto compa-nies’ own plants, installs them, and trains the workforce there to operate the system.

While Baby Boomer retire-ment is not an issue for the company — most of its

employees are in their 30s and 40s, according to supervi-sors at Grob — growth is. The company’s business has grown, as more manufacturers have sought out its so-called “turnkey solutions,” and so has Grob’s workforce, from 44 in 1994 to 471 today.

To help find a workforce with the advanced knowledge and skills Grob needs, it’s

retooled its apprenticeship program, providing successful applicants with a free two-year or four-year degree. Its most recent apprenticeship class had 29 participants, its largest ever, up from 18 the year before.

“I know a lot of manufactur-ing facilities have a lot of pro-duction line-style work, where somebody’s doing the same repetitive thing four, five 800 times a day,” said Mike Fuerst, lead training supervi-sor at Grob. “Nobody who works here does that.”

Reach Amy Eddings at 567-242-0379 or Twitter, @lima_eddings.

Smart cars require smarter workers

Submitted photoEthan Zorn, 18, of Jackson Center, left, and Tosha Parekh, 18, of Brunswick get hands-on training and a company-paid Rhodes State College education as part of their apprenticeship at Grob Systems in Bluffton. Both are first year electrical apprentices.

“The industry, at breakneck speed, is developing new technologies, and existing research and development is tapped out. It’s spoken for.”

— Bernard Swiecki Center for Automotive Research, Detroit

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Tool and die in demand in auto plantsBy Amy Eddingsaeddings@civitasmedia.com

ST. MARYS — Ask auto industry analyst Kristin Dzic-zech with the Center for Auto-motive Research in Detroit where the biggest skills gap is as Baby Boomers retire, and she’s quick to answer: tool and die.

“It’s one of the most critical talent needs,” she said. “The share of those workers under the age of 35 is 2 percent. Roughly 40 percent of tool and die are currently eligible, or will be eligible, to retire in the next five to 10 years.”

She added, “Without tool and die, we don’t have an industry.”

There isn’t a training pro-gram or college degree called “tool and die.” The term encompasses all the skilled trades necessary to shape or mold or stamp something: millwrights, electricians, screw machine operators, plumb-ers and pipefitters. More and more, automakers and other manufacturers are looking for people who are familiar with all of these skills not only to build these machines but to maintain them.

“Like a lot of companies, we no longer have specialists,” said Dan Hosek, senior man-ager at wheelmaker AAP St. Marys Corp. “We need multi-craft technicians, people who troubleshoot and can repair a variety of different machines. Motor repair, mechanical assemblies, industrial electri-cal. People who are familiar with hydraulics, pnematics, robotics.”

In other words, a jack of all trades. Or, more formally, a multi-craft industrial techni-cian. Apollo Career Center in Lima offers a training program for it. Hosek said he’s identi-

fied several employees to go into that program.

“There’s not enough in the pipeline,” he said. “Kids aren’t going into that.”

At Vanamatic in Delphos, where 10 to 15 percent of its 65 full-time workers are expected to retire in the next five years, the company has set up “assistant,” “coordina-tor” and “mentoring” roles in-house to help train the next

generation of production lead-ers.

“This system is working quite well,” operations man-ager Adam Wiltsie wrote in an email. “The younger lead-ers have plenty of time to get acquainted in the role, while the past group leaders are there to support them as men-tors.”

That’s what former group leaders Dan Jettinghoff, 57, and Rodney Wagner, 59, are doing. They’ve transitioned from running Vanamatic’s machines to repairing them, while mentoring 45-year-old John Munoz. The three of

them are currently rebuilding a screw machine, adding com-ponents that will be easier for operators to switch out between jobs.

“There are so many things you don’t see on a daily basis that when you do see it, they tell you how to go about it and what the best way is with dealing with it,” Munoz said. “It comes from experience, people who understand the machines in and out. You don’t have any school any-where that will teach you this thing.”

Wagner said it works both ways. He said younger

employees are more likely to understand new technology, like the collaborative robot Wiltsie recently designed and built to place O-rings on cer-tain couplings. Wagner said a part-time employee, a student at the Apollo Career Center, recently helped him fix one of the plant’s new machines.

“I looked at it and said, ‘I don’t know,’” he said, holding his hands up in mock frustra-tion. “And he basically walked me through it. I’m still learn-ing something new every day.”

Reach Amy Eddings at 567-242-0379 or Twitter, @lima_eddings.

Levi A. Morman | The Lima NewsAndy Harrod, 32, of New Bremen, measures specs on the production rims AAP St. Marys makes.

“Without tooling, we don’t have an industry.”

— Kristin Dziczech Center for Automotive Research

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hard work, attendance important traitsBy Amy Eddingsaeddings@civitasmedia.com

LIMA — There’s one skills gap that Baby Boomer automotive workers are noticing between them and their younger counterparts that can’t be measured by employment figures and North American Industry Classification System codes, and that’s a work ethic.

Many veteran employ-ees and their supervisors say that when it comes to being responsible and committing to a job, Mil-lennials come up short.

“Getting them to come to work is an issue,” said Shirley Goedde, 57, a recording secretary for United Auto Work-ers Local 1219 in Lima. “They’re better off hiring an older person who will fulfill those jobs better than a young person.”

Goedde thinks Millen-nials haven’t been raised right. “They’ve been given everything,” she said.

She remembered the first time she applied for a job at the Ford Engine Plant, where she’s worked for two years. It was 1978. She and her brother, now deceased, slept in their cars in the parking lot so that they could be one of the first to get an application.

Such zeal appears to be in shorter supply now. Unemployment was 3.7 percent in May 2016, a figure that puts the Greater Lima area at nearly full employment, according to the Allen County Economic Devel-opment Group in a 2016 workforce report.

“With such low unem-ployment, everyone who is good has a job,” said Darrin Lanasky, a man-ager at Grob Systems in Bluffton. “The people who are available usually have some reasons why they don’t have a job.”

By many accounts, so-called “soft skills” — described by automakers who were surveyed for a 2008 workforce report by the Center for Automo-tive Research as “respect for others, respect for property, work ethic, pos-itive attitude, an appre-ciation of diversity and

attendance” — have been lacking in Millennial job-seekers, and companies are asking schools for their help.

“Our advisory boards are telling us they want to see someone who shows up on time, some-one who will pass a drug

test, and they want them to have the skill set that’s required in the industry,” said Andy O’Neal, dean of University of North-western Ohio’s College of Applied Technologies, a local leader in automo-tive technologies train-ing.

He said the school tries to instill responsi-bility by having a strict attendance policy. If students miss one day of class, their grade is docked 5 percentage points. Four days out, and they fail the six-week course.

“Skills can be taught; traits are more impor-tant,” Vanamatic opera-tions manager Adam Wiltsie wrote in an email when asked about the skills he most wants out of new employees. “Show up, learn, perform, work well with others. Those,

combined with a posi-tive attitude, makes for a great teammate.”

Team skills were also mentioned by Jeff Oravitz, president of the coatings company Meto-Kote in Lima.

“Basic math skills and teamwork skills, being able to function in a team-centric environ-ment: those are things where we have the big-gest challenges” when evaluating applicants, he said.

Reach Amy Eddings at 567-242-0379 or Twitter, @lima_eddings.

“Getting them to come to work is an issue. They’re better off hiring an older person who will fulfill those jobs better than a young person.”

— Shirley Goedde Ford employee and UAW

Local 1219 recording secretary

Craig J. Orosz | The Lima NewsUniversity of Northwestern Ohio diesel technicians, from left, Kyle Eldridge, Shae Jordon, Jason Jones and Jarred Garrison rebuild a diesel truck transmission. The school has a strict attendance policy, with 5 percentage points docked when a student misses a course.

Sunday, February 26, 2017 5GThe Lima News celebrating our spirit 2017

said Crown vice president Randy Niekamp. “Now, as my daughters are graduating, they plan on coming back. They recognize the value of the area.”Reach Amy Eddings at 567-242-0379 or Twitter, @lima_eddings.

By Amy Eddingsaeddings@civitasmedia.com

LIMA — The challenge facing the Greater Lima area’s aging automotive industry is not only one of preventing a “brain drain” of skills and knowledge as Baby Boomer employees retire. It’s finding the young people who are interested in learning from these auto industry veterans, people who are will-ing to help their employers thrive and grow.

Or, as the Allen County Economic Development Alliance put it in its 2016 workforce report, it’s not only a question of quality, it’s a question of quantity. How can auto companies attract Millennials to their industry?

Wages alone aren’t enough. Manu-facturing workers earn higher wages than most other job sectors in Lima-land: $53,189 a year in 2015, second only to professional service providers ($54,753) and company managers ($80,953), according to the Alliance. But manufacturing wages have stag-nated since the recession, its report said, decreasing by nearly 10 percent since 2005.

To attract young local talent, auto-motive companies have looked to other incentives.

AAP senior manager Dan Hosek said the wheel maker has started offer-ing scholarships to Apollo Career Cen-ter for manufacturing maintenance training.

“We had two last year, one the year before,” he said. “We’ll do another this year.”

Four years ago, facing huge hiring needs after doubling in size, Grob Systems, in Bluffton, revamped its

apprenticeship program, offering to pay for a two-year associates degree at Rhodes State College in mechanical engineering technology or electrical engineering technology. There’s even an option for a company-paid, four-year bachelor’s degree.

“No one wanted a journeyman’s tool and die card,” manager Darrin Lanasky said of Grob’s decision to abandon its former state certification apprenticeship program. “We said, ‘We get it. Let’s give them a degree.’”

They also get their health insurance paid for, a 3 percent company match of their 401(k) retirement contributions and a free lunch, every day. Applica-tions are being accepted until March 17 for the next class.

Local automotive companies are also marketing themselves to a younger audience, seeking out local high school students rather than col-lege juniors and seniors. They tout the quality-of-life benefits of living in a rural community, close to family and friends.

“We spent a lot of energy going to the cities. We went to the really huge schools to try to recruit, and they came here and said, ‘We can’t live here,’” Lanasky said. “We don’t target them anymore. That’s why Ohio Northern University does so well with us. If you can live in Ada, you can live in Bluffton.”

Promotional efforts for Crown in New Bremen reach as far as the sixth grade through plant tours, which allow students a glimpse into the work its 4,200 employees do.

“When I look back to when I started my career, I was one of the few who came back to the area,”

Submitted photoEthan Zorn, 18, of Jackson Center, left, and Tosha Parekh, 18, of Brunswick are first-year electric apprentices at Grob Systems in Bluffton. In addition to paid educational opportunities and a competitive salary, they receive other perks, such as free lunches.

automakers, suppliers offer education, perks to attract Millennials“No one wanted a journeyman’s tool and die card. We said, ‘We get it. Let’s give them a degree.’”

—Darrin Lanasky Manager, Grob Systems in Bluffton

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By Craig Kellyckelly@civitasmedia.com

LIMA — While busi-nesses consider how to transition to the next generation of workers, workers both young and old are also endeavor-ing to put themselves in the best position to gain stable, long-term employ-ment. One strategy that both employers and workers are using to get connected is Ohio Means Jobs, an agency that offers much more than managing job listings.

At Ohio Means Jobs Allen County on South Dixie Highway, job seek-ers can get as little or as much assistance from the agency as they would like, whether it be simply looking at posted jobs on the office wall or on the agency’s website or using a job coach to help walk them through the job search process.

“We always encour-age people to get a job coach,” Ohio Means Jobs Allen County work-force development coor-dinator Joe Patton said. “A job coach is your con-nection, a one-on-one person looking out for you.”

Once a job seeker gets connected with a job coach, the process then begins of making that prospective worker as appealing to employers as possible.

“We’re kind of like matchmakers,” customer service representative Ryan Douglas said. “So employers will contact me and say, ‘We need someone with these qual-ifications.’ So I’ll keep that in mind, and then with a client, I help them

and see what they’re looking for and match them up with what I have. If there’s nothing there, I’ll look in other places for them.”

Job coaches aid in assembling resumes, guiding job seekers through online job post-ings and even conduct-ing employee personal-ity assessments to help guide them to positions where they will have the best chance to succeed and find fulfillment in their work.

“When someone’s sitting across from me, I like to think of them as part of my family,” Douglas said. “I want to beef this up and make

them look as good as possible because I want them to get a job.”

Job coaches also work with clients of multiple education levels, Doug-las said.

“We help people who don’t have GEDs, and we help people with master’s degrees,” he said. “It’s a wide range. Anyone can come in for help.”

Ohio Means Jobs also

works with young people looking to begin carving out a career path.

“What we want to do, working on the youth end, is we want the youth to be self-suffi-cient,” youth specialist Kelly Pratt said. “We want them to keep a roof over their head, keep a steady job and not be on public assistance with food stamps, Medicaid or cash assistance.”

To help reach that goal, youth specialists help young people with financial literacy educa-tion, help with obtaining GEDs as well as getting into post-secondary edu-cation and occupational skills training.

“We create a whole pathway for them, to where if they’re look-ing in the medical field, they could potentially look at getting their

(state testing nursing assistant), then on to their (licensed practical nurse) and then their (registered nurse),” Pratt said. “So ultimate-ly they can become self-sufficient and take care of themselves.”

Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0390 or on Twitter @Lima_CKelly.

ohio Means Jobs links employers, job seekers

“We’re kind of like matchmakers. So employers will contact me and say, ‘We need someone with these qualifications.’ So I’ll keep that in mind, and then with a client, I help them and see what they’re looking for and match them up with what I have.”

— Ryan Douglas Customer service representative for Ohio Means Jobs Allen County

Craig J. Orosz | The Lima NewsDonald Madlock, of Lima, works with Brittany Scott, a customer service representative for Ohio Means Jobs Allen County. Madlock is looking for a welding position in the region.

OHIO MEANS JOBS ALLEN COUNTYFor more information on Ohio Means Jobs Allen County services, call 419-999-0360 or go to www.OhioMeansJobs-Allen-County.com.

Sunday, February 26, 2017 7GThe Lima News celebrating our spirit 2017

By Amy Eddingsaeddings@civitasmedia.com

DELPHOS — On a recent morning at Vana-matic in Delphos, three employees with a com-bined 100 years of experience sat together at a conference room table.

Rodney Wag-ner, 59, has worked at the company for 40 years. So has 57-year-old Dan Jettinghoff. John Munoz, 45, is the up-and-comer of the team, with just — just! — 20 years at Vana-matic, a family-owned business that machines couplings, clamps and other preci-sion industrial fittings for the aerospace, agri-cultural and auto industries.

“You don’t really see this in a lot of places,” Munoz said, nodding toward Wagner and Jettinghoff. “People who are here, 30, 40 years? Those days are gone.”

“The younger genera-tion, they only want to work at a job for five or ten years and move on,” Jettinghoff said.

Of Vanamatic’s 65 employees, 23 of them, or 35 percent, are Baby Boomers like Dan Jet-tinghoff and Rodney Wagner, born between 1946 and 1965, accord-

ing to Vanamatic. Ten to 15 percent are eligible for retirement in the next five years alone.

These approaching retirements, for Vana-

matic and other local employers, are causing deep concern because there aren’t enough younger, skilled workers like Gen X’er John Munoz to readily replace them.

It’s what’s known as the “skills gap,” the gap between the knowledge and experience of a retiring Baby Boomer workforce and that of the younger workers who are being sought to take their places.

“Subsequent generations, known as Generation X and the Millennial generation, have proven to either be too small or are not yet ready to replace those mature work-ers,” noted the Allen County Economic

Development Alliance in a 2016 workforce report. “The worry is that is lim-iting companies’ poten-tial for growth.”

It’s a problem that has the potential to affect Ohio’s automotive indus-try more than any other sector.

About 54 percent of its workers are age 45 or older, compared to 45 percent of all Ohio workers, according to Ohio’s Department of

Job and Family Ser-vices in a 2016 report. Because of this, automo-tive manufacturers are likely to need to replace retiring workers sooner than businesses in other industries, ODJFS said.

But who will replace them? The pool of potential employees is small. The region lost 49,000 people between 1980 and 2007, mostly during the deindustri-alization of the 1980s. The birth rate is nearly half of what it was dur-ing the Baby Boom of the late 1940s and 1950s, according to the Alliance. And, with the Greater Lima Region slowly recovering from the 2008 economic cri-sis, unemployment is reaching historic lows: 3.4 percent in May 2016, according to the Alliance, down from 12 percent in 2009.

“They’re looking to us and other colleges to fill that void,” said Andy O’Neal, dean of College of Applied Technolo-gies at University of Northwestern Ohio. “Right now, everyone is pretty desperate to find people.”

Reach Amy Eddings at 567-242-0379 or Twitter, @lima_eddings.

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celebrating our spirit 2017 The Lima News8G Sunday, February 26, 2017

DTR Industries, Inc. Becomes SumiRiko Ohio, Inc.

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As indicated in a recent press release, DTR Industries, Inc. is changing its name to SumiRiko Ohio, Inc. effective March 1, 2017. This move was done to take advantage of the brand name of the parent company, Sumitomo Riko, Inc., as seen by customers. The parent company has

105 business operations in 23 countries. According to the release, there will be no change to DTR Industries’ ownership, management or daily operations as a result of the name change and the Company will continue its efforts to be a Global Excellent Manufacturing Company.

According to Vice President of Manufacturing, Steve Unterbrink, “Aside from several administrative issues like signs, uniforms and stationary, there should be no major issues arising from the name change.”

The Bluffton, Ohio plant has been a mainstay in the community since 1988, with many of its current managers among the original new hires. The company provides many opportunities for its Associates to grow, ranging from Maintenance Training Programs thru College Tuition Reimbursement. Bluffton businesses benefit from the taxes generated, contributions to local entities and from the image of a manufacturing base that DTR / SRK – OH has contributed to for nearly three decades.

Unterbrink, the 76th Associate hired by DTR Industries, Inc. in 1988 said, “The name may change, but the culture will always be the same. We are determined to be a dependable supplier to our customers, a reliable employer to our Associates and a good partner to the Bluffton Community.”

By Merri Hanjoramhanjora@civitasmedia.com

LIMA — Geographi-cally speaking, Lima/Allen County is strate-gically located in West Central Ohio, making Lima/Allen County the mecca for shipping to a number of major mar-kets.

With a location near U.S. 30 and Interstate 75, as well as being half-way between Dayton and Toledo, the area serves as a hub for trav-elling north, south, east and west. Thus our area is thriving in the truck-ing industry.

“The trucking indus-try is continuing to grow,” said Scott Cock-erell, vice president of sales and logistics at Wannemacher Logis-tics.

While the industry is

growing, one factor that hurts the trucking pro-fession are the stigmas related to truck driv-ers, such as being gone every night of the week, that you have to be old with a big beard and not bathe or that truck drivers don’t make good money.

“That’s not the case anymore,” said Scott

Ritchie, director of safety and recruiting at Garner Trucking in Findlay.

Cockerell added, “The potential to make good money is there for a truck driver.”

According to a Road-master article, truck drivers could make more than $40,000 in their first year as a truck driver with a com-mercial driver’s license. They have job security and various opportuni-ties for travel.

With a lot of truckers retiring, a real problem is shortage of drivers to fill the Baby Boomers’ seats.

“I was just reading the shortage will be 175,000 nationally. That’s a lot of drivers. They need them every-where,” Cockerell said. “Finding drivers is

incredibly difficult right now. It’s a drivers mar-ket.”

The one constant hurdle for hiring drivers is the age requirement to drive on interstate. A person must be 21 years old to drive across state borders.

“Just living in north-western Ohio makes it tough, with Indiana and Michigan being so close. It’s hard to not cross the lines,” Ritchie said.

“The thing is the 18 to 20 year old segment usually has the high-est rate of unemploy-ment of any age group, yet this segment our industry cannot accept. They’re on their career path for three years, as they’ve been out of high school, and most of these people have found either a warehouse posi-

Big demand for truck drivers in regionCraig J. Orosz | The Lima News

Wannemacher Trucking on East Hanthorn Road in Lima tries to attract commercial drivers through word of mouth, such as this sign hanging at its facility.

“I was just reading the shortage will be 175,000 nationally. That’s a lot of drivers. They need them everywhere. Finding drivers is incredibly difficult right now. It’s a drivers market.”

— Scott Cockerell Wannemacher Logistics

tion or a manufacturing facility position before they could possibly be a truck driver,” Cockerell said.

Trucking companies are delving into new ways to attract the younger drivers.

“We rely on word of mouth; that’s always good,” Cockerell said. “We have signs out in front of our building, and we have hundreds of trucks coming in daily, and you never know if that driver coming in will see the sign and think that this would be a good place to work.”

Wannemacher Logis-tics touts new equip-ment, benefits, home nightly and decent pay, Cockerell said.

While word of mouth is good, Garner Truck-ing does a lot more online and social media advertising.

“That helps draw the younger crowd. We don’t do much of the old school advertising of a cent per mile; we’re doing a lot more of the bottom line amount they could expect to make in a year,” Ritchie said. “They seem more attracted to the bigger number rather than the weekly number.”

Ritchie finds that ask-ing poignant questions helps in enticing people into the truck driving field.

“I really sell to the ‘are you making this amount

of money?’ ‘Do you have a guaranteed job if your company closes?’” Ritchie said.

Garner Trucking also holds a Touch-A-Truck event where parents can bring their children and put them up in the semi.

“They can push all the buttons and whatnot, except for the start but-ton,” Ritchie said.

They are hoping kids will grow up wanting to be truck drivers.

Ohio Logistics in Findlay goes to the truck driving schools, as well as relying on word of mouth. Ohio Logistics has also seen a lot of retired drivers coming back to the company.

“They’ve retired for a while, and they’re bored from at home, or their wives are tired of hav-ing them at home, and they’re actually coming back,” said Michele Killian, Ohio Logistics human resource admin-istrator. “I’m quite heavy in the Baby Boomers and the Gen X than I am Millennials in that area.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the transportation indus-try is trying to attract younger workers, mak-ing this a good time to get into the profession. Trucking today employs about 10 million people. That’s expected to increase with increasing demand for goods that need to be shipped.

Reach Merri Hanjora at 567-242-0511

Sunday, February 26, 2017 9GThe Lima News celebrating our spirit 2017

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LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN LIMA AREA

File photo | The Lima NewsCrown Equipment Corporation, in New Bremen, unveiled its new facility, a former opera house that now holds administrative offices for the largest employer in Auglaize County, with 2,400 employees.

File photo | The Lima NewsBryan Niese, assistant vice president at Kalida Manufacturing Inc., holds up scraps of metal that are sent to neighboring businesses for their uses. KMI, the largest employer in Putnam County, recycles as much material as possible, as it benefits those who could use their scraps.

ALLEN COUNTY1. St. Rita’s Medical Center — 3,0002. Lima Building Trades Council — 1,4703. Lima Memorial Health System — 9104. Metokote Corporation — 8005. Ford Motor Company — 6506. Dana Corporation — 6217. DTR Industries, Inc. — 6118. SpartanNash — 5509. University of Northwestern Ohio — 53010. Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 776 — 50010. Walmart — 45011. Husky Lima Refinery — 42012. Rudolph Foods Company — 40013. Joint Systems Manufacturing — 40014. Alfred Nickles Bakery Of Ohio Inc. — 30015. Correctional Behavioral Solutions Of Ohio, Inc. — 30016. Lakeview Farms, Inc. — 30017. Oakwood Correctional Facility — 29218. Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company — 25019. Accubuilt — 23020. Carlson Quality Brake Parts — 200

Source: Allen Economic Development Group

AUGLAIZE CO. 1. Crown Equipment Corpora-tion, New Bremen — 2,4002. Grand Lake Health System, St. Marys — 6503. Nidec Minster Machine, Minster — 5504. AAP-St. Marys Corporation, St. Marys — 5205. Setex Inc., St. Marys — 5006. General Aluminum Manufacturing, Wapakoneta — 4507. ContiTech, St. Marys — 4308. Dannon Company, Minster — 4109. American Trim, Wapakoneta — 23510. Koneta Rubber Co., Wapakoneta — 217

Source: Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council

HARDIN COUNTY1. International Paper, Kenton — 7362. Ohio Northern University,

Ada — 6533. Ada Technologies Inc., Ada — 5034. Hardin County Government, Kenton — 4205. Kenton City Schools, Kenton — 2686. Hardin Memorial Hospital, Kenton — 2207. Triumph Thermal Systems, Forest — 1778. Precision Strip, Kenton — 1759. Wilson Sporting Goods, Ada — 140

Source: Hardin County Chamber & Business Alliance

PUTNAM COUNTY1. Kalida Manufacturing Inc., Kalida — 5022. Whirlpool Corporation, Ottawa — 4503. Mars Group-Iams, Leipsic — 3704. Progressive Stamping Inc., Ottoville — 3285. PRO-TEC Coating Company, Leipsic — 3106. Unverferth Manufacturing, Kalida — 2967. Production Products Inc., Columbus Grove — 2348. Schnipke Engraving Co., Ottoville — 1889. Patrick Products, Leipsic — 14310. Silgan Plastics, Ottawa — 130

Source: Putnam County Community Improvement Corp.

VAN WERT COUNTY1. Eaton-Aeroquip Corporation, Van Wert — 1,0382. Cooper Farms Cooked Meals, Van Wert — 5003. Federal Mogul Corporation, Van Wert — 4504. Toledo Molding & Die., Delphos — 3995. Van Wert Hospital, Van Wert — 3506. Central Mutual Insurance , Van Wert — 3287. Van Wert County, Van Wert — 3008. Van Wert schools, Van Wert — 2609. Braun Industries Inc., Van Wert — 22610. Vantage Career Center, Van Wert — 221

Source: Van Wert Economic Development Group

ALLEN COUNTY Ohio Means Jobs-Allen County1501 S. Dixie HighwayLima, Ohio 45804419-999-0360

Allen Economic Development Group144 S. Main St., Suite 200Lima, Ohio 45801419-222-7706www.aedg.org

City of Lima Community Development50 Town SquareLima, Ohio 45801419-221-5246

AUGLAIZE COUNTYOhio Means Jobs-Auglaize County12 N. Wood St.Wapakoneta, Ohio 45895419-739-7225

Auglaize County Economic Development Coalition877-258-9335www.auglaize.us

HARDIN COUNTYOhio Means Jobs-Hardin County175 W. Franklin St., Suite 150Kenton, Ohio 43326419-674-2312

Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance225 S. Detroit St.Kenton, Ohio 43326419-673-4131www.hardincountyoh.org

PUTNAM COUNTYOhio Means Jobs-Putnam County575 Ottawa-Glandorf Road, Suite 1Ottawa, Ohio 45875419-538-4580 or 1-800-523-5799

Putnam County Community Improvement Corporation115 S. Fair Ave., Suite EP.O. Box 145Ottawa, Ohio 45875419-523-5595www.putnamcountyohio.com

VAN WERT COUNTYOhio Means Jobs-Van Wert County114 E. Main St.Van Wert, Ohio 45891419-238-4931

Van Wert County Economic Development 515 E. Main St., Room 104Van Wert, Ohio 45891419-238-2999www.whyvanwert.org

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYEESA look at business numbers within 45 miles of Lima, as prepared by the Allen Economic Development Group in March 2015:Manufacturing: 1,596 businesses, 52,454 employeesRetail Trade: 3,901 businesses, 31,058 employeesHealth Care and Social Assistance: 2,082 businesses, 22,553 employeesEducational Services: 694 businesses, 19,286 employeesOther Services (except Public Administration): 4,370 businesses, 16,998 employeesAccommodation and Food Services: 1,569 businesses, 16,565 employeesPublic Administration: 1,017 businesses, 15,894 employeesAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services: 5,406 businesses, 14,591 employeesConstruction: 3,099 businesses, 12,572 employeesWholesale Trade: 1,449 businesses, 10,118 employeesAgriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting: 5,738 businesses, 9,665 employeesTransportation & Warehousing: 1,293 businesses, 9,479 employeesProfessional, Scientific & Tech Services: 2,434 businesses, 8,021 employeesFinance & Insurance: 1,428 businesses, 7,148 employeesInformation: 488 businesses, 5,437 employeesReal Estate, Rental and Leasing: 1,687 businesses, 5,434 employeesArts, Entertainment and Recreation: 529 businesses, 2,508 employeesManagement of Companies and Enterprises: 87 businesses, 827 employeesUtilities: 71 businesses, 719 employeesMining: 34 businesses, 436 employees

Total: 42,704 businesses, 261,791 employees

celebrating our spirit 2017 The Lima News10G Sunday, February 26, 2017

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