MANSFIELD — They are the kind of jobs about which Mansfield residents love to talk.
Manufacturing jobs with an additional local payroll of about $4.5 million annually.
Both Newman Technologies and R.G. Smith Co. gained approval from City Council on Tuesday night for property tax breaks to help with expansions through Community Reinvestment Area Agreements.
Both companies were represented at the meeting — Brian Baker, vice president of planning and development for Newman’s local operations; and Rick Reece, vice president of operations for R.G. Smith.
After the meeting, Mayor Jodie Perry said the expansion of local manufacturing operations is great news for the community.
Newman Tech will add 70 new workers and R.G. Smith will increase its local workforce by eight to 10 employees.
“It’s exciting when it’s manufacturing because the impact tends to be larger,” Perry said.
“You heard tonight R.G. Smith is a supplier to another local manufacturer, Cleveland-Cliffs. So, oftentimes when you make these investments, they have a further trickle down effect than maybe some similar projects in retail.
“We’re thankful for new jobs and certainly for jobs that are bringing in a living wage, which, again, both of these projects highlighted,” the mayor said.
“The project at Newman Technologies, of course, has been announced previously. But to bring a project of that caliber with that many jobs is really exciting. Anytime we have a current business willing to expand in the community, that’s a really positive thing.”
Newman plans a $74.5-million expansion, including a 25,000-square foot building, adding an estimated $3.5 million in local, annual payroll.
The company at 100 Cairns Road was approved in March for a 1.225 percent, six-year Job Creation Tax Credit for this expansion from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority.
R.G. Smith plans to add 5,880 additional square-feet of work space, an effort scheduled to be complete by the end of October. The company’s total investment is estimated around $1.8 million. The new jobs there will generate between $900,000 and $1 million in annual new payroll, according to the CRA paperwork.
The CRA program is a statewide economic development tool administered by municipal and county government that provides real property tax exemptions for property owners who renovate existing or construct new buildings.
A CRA allows property owners to receive tax incentives for investing in real property improvements, according to the Ohio Department of Development. A CRA tax break can exempt up to 100 percent of the increased property value resulting from new construction or remodeling, usually during a time period of five to 15 years.
In March, the city Planning Commission granted a zoning variance request from R.G. Smith. That moved allowed the company reduced frontage for a new addition at the site, setting the stage for the expansion.
“The R.G. Smith project is also exciting. They’re (expanding at) their spot on Sixth Street. They are going to be bringing more good paying jobs in and continuing their work here in Mansfield,” the mayor said.
Perry praised the work of the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development and Barrett Thomas, its senior director of economic development, in helping work out the agreements.
Newman Technologies deal will benefit the Madison Local School District
City Council approved a 100-percent local property abatement for 15 years on the new development, which will include a new 1,500-ton stamping press, according to Baker. That work is scheduled to start in September and be complete by October 2027.
A separate agreement approved by lawmakers will reimburse the Madison Local School District for the property tax break through company money and city income tax funds.
Thomas said it was a unique expansion.
“This is a relatively small footprint, 25,000 square-feet, but a lot of jobs. Often we’re looking at something like 100,000 square-feet and 15 jobs. So this is a huge jobs-per-square-foot ratio and that puts this into a special category, especially as it relates to the school system.
“Because the payroll is high enough that it goes over a threshold at the state level, we (negotiated) with the schools to find a solution that works for everyone. The solution that we all kind of collectively came up with is instead of doing a 75-percent abatement, we will do a 100-percent abatement.
“Newman Technologies (will then) make a 50-percent payment in lieu of taxes direct to the schools. In addition to that, the city will use some of the increase in income tax that we get to help compensate the schools. So they are made whole in this instance, which is unusual,” Thomas said.
“The city administration wanted to be sure to be a good helpful partner with schools as we go through this.”
Baker told lawmakers Newman Technologies is a Tier One automotive supplier, which is a company that manufactures and provides major systems, modules or complete assemblies directly to an original equipment manufacturer.
The company will mark 40 years in Mansfield in 2027, starting on Newman Street.
“We started (at) just under 40,000 square-feet and as of now, we’re just over a million square-feet of production space,” Baker said.
“We have an opportunity through our customers … through community support … through our workers … to gain some additional business,” he said.
“That new press is going to allow us to work with some materials that we’re currently not able to do. So we do have some business for that now, as well as potential for the future,” Baker said.
In the company’s CRA request, Baker said the company has opportunities for “significant increases in production part volume for current parts that are undergoing design changes, resulting in the need for additional machinery and equipment investments to meet the new demand needs of our customers.”
R.G. Smith expansion will nearly double size, capacity in Mansfield
Lawmakers approved a 12-year, 60-percent abatement on property taxes for R.G. Smith’s expansion at its 166 W. Sixth St. site.
Reece said R.G. Smith, based in Canton, has been in business for more than 100 years and has operated a Mansfield manufacturing site since 1992.
“We’ve had a couple of different expansions. Our current expansion will be almost doubling our size and our capacity,” he told council. “We are an industrial contractor.”
Reece said the local plant services heavy industry within about a 60-mile radius.
“So steel mills in particular, but we’re kind of a specialty contractor. We engineer, design, fabricate and install.
“We have an existing 10-ton crane and we’re going to add an additional 10-ton crane,” Reece told the city Planning Commission four months ago. “We’re getting into larger weldments so we need a larger indoor facility and we need more capacity on the cranes.”
He said one of R.G. Smith’s biggest customers is Cleveland-Cliffs, including the company’s works in Mansfield at 913 Bowman St., it produces the lids that go on top of arc furnaces.
“We are a strictly union company,” Reece said. “So we hire union iron workers, union sheet metal workers, plumbers, pipefitters. The average wage you’re going to be in that is $35 an hour. With overtime, they’re going to make a lot more money.
“We’re always looking for new employees that want to work and enjoy working with their hands. We can get them signed up with the the union hall and put them to work,” Reece said.
Thomas told council, “If you drive down Sixth Street, some of the best-looking properties are properties (owned by R.G. Smith).
“We’re excited to have this investment in Mansfield and having that help supply, or help support, our manufacturing supply chain.”
