Debunking the Myths
Say Appalachia, and stereotypes -- some of them negative -- pop to mind. Let's address them:
Myth 1: Appalachians would rather hunt and fish than work. Everybody who wants to work is working.
It's true that part of Southern Ohio's high unemployment rate is the result of people who would rather not work. But isn't that the case the world over? Company after company in Southern Ohio reports that when job openings are advertised, hundreds more people than are needed will show up and apply.
"This part of the country could support a lot of companies that need anything from minimum-skilled to highly skilled workers," says one executive.
Myth 2: Appalachia is too hilly. There aren't many level sites left.
Don't let the prose about undulating hills put you off. Level sites are plentiful in Southern Ohio. Many are rail-served.
As economic development accelerates, most of the counties have prepared land for industry. Among the newest sites are Poston Industrial Park, in Athens County. The 80-acre park has a water treatment plant on site. Adams County's Seamans Industrial Park may be the bargain of the region. Depending on how many jobs an industry brings, sites are as low as $1 an acre. In Vinton County a 200-acre industrial park will be available in six months. Serviced with water, sewer, electricity and gas, the park is 15 minutes from the Appalachian Highway. Gallia County is putting the finishing touches on its new 214-acre park. Donating land and funds for the park was the county's most famous citizen -- Bob Evans, the entrepreneur who runs a popular chain of family restaurants. Meigs County is preparing its 60-acre Tupper Plains Industrial Park, which is in a Rural Enterprise Zone, and the 1,266-acre Great Bend Industrial Site, made available by Columbus Southern Power Co., has attracted its first occupants.
Some of the parks have available buildings. It was a spec building, for example, that attracted Landmark Industries to Chillicothe's Great Seal Industrial Park. The spec was just across the street from Kenworth's truck plant, which Landmark serves.OSCO Industries recently located in an existing facility in Scioto County's 140-acre Ohio River Industrial Park. The park has another 100,000-sq. ft. building with a 25-ton crane that can be renovated and retrofitted as OSCO did with its facility.
Myth 3: Southern Ohio is remote from where the action is.
If you're talking just-in-time, ask TS Trim if its East Ohio plant in Athens is too far to serve Honda's plant in Marysville in West Central Ohio. Or ask Goodyear about its recent expansion in Jackson. Ease of delivery to a customer in Louisville, Ky., was one reason the expansion was approved.
If you're talking access to urban business centers, Cincinnati, Columbus, Parkersburg and Huntington are a drive of just an hour or two from any part of Southern Ohio.