State Business Digest

OHIO

State earmarks $4.9M for Exal site preparation

YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio Department of Development is contributing $4.9 million to prepare a site in Salt Springs Industrial Park for a new can-producing plant. Exal Corp., which already has a plant in the Performance Place Industrial Park, is planning to increase its production with the new plant.

The state said Youngstown will use money from the Jobs Ready Sites fund to acquire a 68-acre site from LaFarge. The city will remediate the former slag site, upgrade utilities and build a road.

Timken in Canton opens $60M mill for steel bars

CANTON — A struggling U.S. economy hasn’t stopped Timken Co. from opening its new $60 million mill to make thin steel bars. The mill, part of Timken’s Harrison Steel Plant in Canton, opened Thursday. It makes steel bars for customers in the bearing, industrial, energy, distribution and automotive steel markets.

The company added 30 jobs for the mill. Timken collaborated on the design and construction with Daido Steel, a Japanese company that makes small-bar steel for such customers as Nissan, Honda and Toyota.

From Vindicator staff and wire reports