SIDNEY — Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst hand-delivered proclamations to company officials at several local manufacturing firms on National Manufacturing Day, Friday, Oct. 7.
Barhorst was accompanied by a delegation that included City Manager Mark Cundiff, Sidney-Shelby Economic Partnership Executive Director Mike Dodds and Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Vice President Dawn Eilert as the quartet that visited Baumfolder, IAC, Cargill, SAPA and Norcold.
“Sidney is the epicenter of manufacturing in Ohio. There are more manufacturing jobs per capita in Sidney than in any other city in Ohio,” Barhorst said. “In fact, every day, Sidney has a net inflow of 5,000 people who come into Sidney to work — it’s almost as if the entire population of a city like Saint Clairsville, Ohio, or Lawrenceburg, Indiana moved into Sidney each day.”
“Many residents don’t realize it, but Shelby County is the home of two of the top three manufacturing employers in the Dayton Region,” Dodds said. “Manufacturing has a larger multiplier effect than any other major economic activity. Every $1 spent in manufacturing generates $1.35 in additional economic activity in the community.”
“Each visit was a bit different,” Barhorst said. “We took plant tours at Baumfolder, IAC and Norcold. At Cargill, we met with a large segment of their management team and discussed the coming year. At SAPA, we met their new plant manager and discussed their addition.”
“In fact, the employers we visited were very positive,” Eilert said. “Despite the difficulty of finding qualified employees to fill current vacancies, the executives with whom we visited were bullish about their futures in Sidney.”
“SAPA and Norcold are two of the companies in Sidney that are in the process of adding additional manufacturing space,” Cundiff said. “Other manufacturing facilities currently expanding in Sidney include additions at Advanced Composites and Electro-Controls.”
“In addition, Bensar Developments is adding a new building on Howard that will add nearly a half-million square feet of space. We are blessed with wonderful companies who see their futures as being bright in Sidney,” Cundiff said.
“Last year, we visited Advanced Composites, Detailed Machining, DRT Power Systems, Emerson Climate Technologies, Freshway Foods, MaMa Rosa’s Pizza and NK Parts. We hope to eventually visit every one of our manufacturers as we celebrate our employers and their employees,” Barhorst said.
“We are home to the world’s largest soybean processing plant, the largest manufacturer of air conditioning compressors and America’s number one refrigerated pizza. Half of the refrigerators that are in recreational vehicles are manufactured in Sidney. We make things in Sidney and are proud of that long tradition,” Barhorst said.
National Manufacturing Day is observed annually on the first Friday in October. It is the opportunity for the country to celebrate those who make the products manufactured in America. Americans continue to develop products and unlock new technologies that grow our economy. It is promoted by the
National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association International.
