MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on tax incentives related to a $12.3 million expansion of Edge Plastics, 449 Newman St.
The 34,786 square-foot expansion is expected to create an additional 43 new jobs over the next two years with an estimated new annual payroll of $1.6 million, according to paperwork filed with the request seeking a 15-year property tax abatement and a six-year Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit.
The company, founded in Mansfield in 1975 and now owned by Shelley Fisher, uses state-of-the-art injection molding technology to make high-quality industrial polymer storage products.
The company, which includes EP Transportation, will make a $2.9 million investment in land acquisition and new construction, $9.3 million in new machinery and equipment and $30,000 in new furniture and fixtures, according to the request coming to City Council.
The production facility is currently about 70,000-square feet, with the expansion making its footprint on the city’s north side almost 50 percent larger.
The company was founded by Marilyn and David Eckstein, according to the company website.
Fisher joined the company in the mid 1980s at the at the request of her father after her graduation from The Ohio State University with a master’s degree in business administration. She purchased the company from her father in 2005 and owns 100 percent of the business.
It will be the second business expansion in recent years. In 2018, Edge Plastics purchased a 150,000 square-foot facility to expand the company’s distribution capacity on the west side of Ohio 13, one mile north of U.S. 30.
The company currently employs 78 in Edge Plastics and seven in its transportation division. It expects to add 26 years in the first year and 17 in the second, bringing total employment to 123.
The expansion is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021.
In other activity Tuesday, City Council is expected to:
— vote on a resolution honoring former council President Cliff Mears for his eight years of service to the city.
— vote on the acceptance of personal safety systems from the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation for each riding position in the Mansfield Fire Department trucks and rescue squads. The equipment has a monetary value of $8,924.79.
— vote on a 10-year lease for Hangar 529 at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport with Black Tusk, LLC.
There will be a finance committee meeting Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. and an economic development committee meeting at 6:15 p.m. Caucus begins at 7 p.m. and the legislative session begins immediately afterward.
City Council continues to meet in virtual, online session, which it has done since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Ohio in March 2020.
The public can view committee meetings, caucus and the legislative session on the livestream on the City of Mansfield’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cityofmansfieldoh or the city’s own website at http://www.ci.mansfield.oh.us/
Residents with questions or comments should email them before the meeting to citycouncil@ci.mansfield.oh.us.
