Church & Dwight to Invest $38 Million in Seneca County

Adding up to 60 jobs at Old Fort plant

Nick Dutro
Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership

OLD FORT, Ohio – February 11, 2020 – Church & Dwight Co., Inc., has announced that it will invest $38 million at its facility in the village of Old Fort, Ohio, for expansion of consumer products manufacturing and construction of a new warehouse. Final approval for the project is contingent upon the receipt of state and local incentives; if approved, construction is expected to be completed in 2020, and the company would be hiring up to 60 new employees.

Plant Manager David Johnston said: “I’m very pleased that Church & Dwight chose the Old Fort facility as the site of this expansion and continues to invest in our workers and our community. Old Fort was in consideration with plants in Missouri and Pennsylvania. The state and local incentives along with an available workforce helped to push us ahead. Thank you to everyone who helped us win the investment in Seneca County.”

The $4.3 billion consumer goods and specialty products giant established their Old Fort facility in 1980. Today, Church & Dwight employs 240 people locally at its plant in Old Fort and a warehouse distribution center in Fostoria, Ohio, and ranks as one of the largest sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) manufacturing plants in the world. In 2016, Church & Dwight had a $2.5 million expansion of the Old Fort plant.

“That Church & Dwight chose Seneca County for this expansion just goes to show what a dedicated workforce we have here in our community,” said Seneca County Commission President Shayne Thomas. “Congratulations to David Johnston and everyone at the Old Fort plant for their hard work and continuing to be a great local partner.”

Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership (TSEP) and Regional Growth Partnership in Northwest Ohio (RGP) worked with consultant MarksNelson to bring this project to Ohio. Local incentives include an Enterprise Zone property tax exemption on new construction and OhioMeansJobs-Seneca County is offering up to $380,000 in potential workforce development grants. These incentives are contingent upon approval of Old Fort Local School District, Pleasant Township Trustees and Seneca County Board of Commissioners.

At the state level, JobsOhio offered an estimated $530,000 in state incentives through RGP, including a JobsOhio Economic Development Grant, JobsOhio Workforce Grant and additional value in an Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit received during a previous project. Additionally, the Ohio Rail Development Commission has committed $75,000 in grant funds to revamp rail infrastructure currently in Church and Dwight’s yard to allow access to additional unloading areas.

Dean Monske, President and CEO of RGP, commented: “We are proud to see this project take place in Northwest Ohio and are happy to have been on the team helping to make this happen.”

About Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Founded in 1846, Church & Dwight is a $4.3 billion company headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey, that is one of the fastest growing Consumer Packaged Goods companies in the world. Church & Dwight was added to the S&P 500 in 2016. The Company manufactures and markets a wide range of personal care, household and specialty products, with such brands as Arm & Hammer, Trojan, First Response, Nair, Spinbrush, Oxi-Clean, Orajel, Xtra, WaterPik, Batiste, Vitafusion, Flawless and more.  Find out more at www.churchdwight.com.

About the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership
Started in 1983 as the Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corp. (SIEDC), the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to driving positive economic, downtown, and community development in Tiffin and Seneca County, Ohio, which consistently ranks among the top communities nationally for economic development. Learn more about the great things going on in Tiffin and Seneca County at www.tiffinseneca.org.