WMOG Building New $9.5M BG facility

WMOG has a formal agreement to purchase 43 acres of farmland off of Poe Road with Mosser Construction, Inc. selected as the general contractor for construction of the warehouse facility and Ohio Logistics, based in Findlay, Ohio, has committed to lease and manage the property. Construction began in July with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.

The City of Bowling Green granted a tax abatement on the real estate tax for the company. The abatement is for 10 years with a sidebar agreement with Bowling Green City Schools. The Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) worked with JobsOhio in facilitating a road development grant ($370,000) and a jobs and commerce grant ($185,000). Both of the grants are going toward roadwork funding.

According to Chuck Bills, president, CEO, and general manager of Ohio Logistics, the warehouse facility will also be used by local and regional manufacturers, who do not want to be disclosed as of yet. Ohio Logistics will manage the operations by providing materials to their manufacturing lines and, after production, distributing the finished products to their customers. According to Ohio Logistics, these products include auto / light truck components, white goods, food and beverage containers, and personal hygiene products. Ohio Logistics is also investing an additional $300,000 in material handling equipment.

Sue Clark, economic development director with the Bowling Green Community Development Foundation, said, “The manufacturers in Bowling Green and regional area have been asking for closer accessibility to warehouses for the last three years. I kept looking for somebody who would be interested in putting up warehousing to suit these needs, and Chuck Bills and I have been talking for a while and he finally decided this was the right time to do it. I also think the completion of the widening of I-75 has been a major factor because we are seeing much more activity looking for warehousing in the area, and being that much closer to I-75 makes it an ideal location.”

Further construction on WMOG / Ohio Logistics’ facility in Bowling Green

According to Bills, the new facility will create about 40 new jobs for his company, and he anticipates that local manufacturers will add additional jobs and manufacturing capabilities. Some of the other companies located in the Woodbridge Industrial Park include GKN Driveline, Vantek Systems, Zeres Inc., Life Formations, Centaur Tool & Die Inc., Williams Industrial Serivces, Nichols Supply, Ironhead Retread Center Ohio, NovaVision, Dowa THT America, Inc., Clark Fixture Technologies, Inc., and Environmental Recycling.

The parties, WMOG and Ohio Logistics, view this as an opportunity to access the logistics strengths in northwest Ohio.

“Our goal is to create supply chain value with the northwest Ohio logistic assets – I-75, 80/80 Toll, CSX intermodal terminal, Toledo Express Airport, and the Lake Erie port. Additionally, there is an opportunity to leverage student and faculty resources in the supply chain curriculum at Bowling Green State University. By helping the supply chain be more efficient, manufacturers will continue to invest in manufacturing, which adds jobs and value to the area,” said Bills.

“Ohio Logistics has proven to be an outstanding corporation and valuable asset for northwest Ohio,” said Dean Monske, president and CEO of the RGP. “The City of Bowling Green and surrounding businesses will unquestionably benefit through this new distribution and logistics facility.”

“We’re very excited to have Ohio Logistics as a part of our industrial community. We think they are a great operation, they have a national reputation, and we are very pleased and happy to have them,” added Clark.