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Merry: Industrial Parks Thriving in Barnesville

Photo Provided The Joint Economical Development District 2 Industrial Park, located east of Barnesville, shown here, is thriving with business from the oil and gas industry, according to Belmont County officials.

The two industrial parks in the Barnesville area are thriving with the influx of oil and gas interests.

Belmont County Port Authority Director Larry Merry presented an update on progress at the parks to Belmont County commissioners J.P. Dutton, Josh Meyer and Mark Thomas last week.

He said the East Ohio Regional Industrial Park along Ohio 800 north of Barnesville and the Joint Economical Development District 2 (JEDD2) Industrial Park east of Barnesville on Ohio 147 began with the need to lay groundwork for new business.

“Developing sites is so vital, and it’s extremely vital here in Belmont County,” Merry said. “There’s not a lot of flat ground in Belmont County.”

Merry referred to a feasibility study from about 13 years ago, showing strip mine ground along Ohio 800 and comparing to photographs of the industrial park from this year. He said the site hosts four occupied buildings with 80 to 100 jobs operating out of that area. A new site of about 6 acres and a road are being built, which could allow for additional buildings. Merry said a fifth building of about 10,000 square feet is planned for 2019.

“JobsOhio has put some funding in, and we have some developers out there building buildings and buildings sites, and that is part of that progress,” Merry said. “You will continue to see more development.”

Merry said the work is being done by Jefferis Real Estate, which received a grant from Jobs Ohio through the Ohio Department of Development.

“This is Jobs Ohio’s effort because they know the demand that’s here, the growth that’s here,” Merry said.

He also said such sites will be needed if new businesses — such as the possible erection of an ethane cracker plant in the Dilles Bottom area of Shadyside — are announced.

The presentation also turned to the JEDD2 Industrial Park, which currently has six buildings of about 10,000 square feet each. It also has a 20,000 square foot building under construction. The hope is for completion by the end of the year or early 2019.

“This was predominantly driven by local developers,” he said. “This was a combination of Barnesville, the private developers, the county and the Port Authority working together to create employment opportunities and develop that area…If you go back six years ago or seven years ago, there were zero jobs at that location.”

Merry said the county could facilitate jobs even if it cannot create them.

“We create an atmosphere, and environment where private sectors create jobs,” he said.

Merry also said those developments could signal a turnaround. The trend had been that jobs were leaving the area, along with the county’s young people.

“We in this area have a multi-generational opportunity,” Merry said.

“Thank goodness for oil and gas, because it’s bringing it back and it’s giving us a competitive advantage in creating that environment,” he said “The cheapest natural gas in the world available for manufacture is in Eastern Ohio…The abundance of that gas is almost unlimited.

“They’re going to be drilling wells and we’re going to be receiving benefits and jobs for many generations,” Merry said. “If the cracker happens, it’s going to give us another great advantage for jobs and opportunities.”

He said PTT Global Chemical, the company considering building the plant, would find it advantageous to construct it near the source of the raw material, as well as close to customers that manufacture plastic.

“We’re located within one truck’s days travel already of 60 percent of the plastic manufacturers in the country,” he said. “It’s going to be a transportation cost advantage.”

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