AMP Pulls Plug on $100M Columbiana Metals Plant

COLUMBIANA, Ohio – AMP Corp. reportedly has backed out of a plan to purchase 183 acres in Fairfield Township where it had proposed developing a specialty metals manufacturing plant.

News outlets including WKBN and the Morning Journal report that AMP, which represents the company that to date has only been identified as “Project Foxtrot,” is no longer purchasing the property, according to Lance Willard, Columbiana city manager.

In October, Willard said the company was “taking a step back right now” on the project.

The unidentified global manufacturer said in July it planned to invest some “$100 million to construct and equip approximately 200,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehousing and office space [that] would create approximately 120 well-paying jobs within several years.” The plant would manufacture “products used globally in aerospace, automotive power generation, chemical processing and medical applications.”

At the time, AMP said it would complete due diligence on the site before deciding whether to move forward with purchasing the property. Construction was tentatively scheduled to begin by the end of 2015 and the plant’s opening projected for 2017.

Columbiana was in the process of annexing 183 acres of Fairfield Township property into the city so it would extend the water, sewer and electrical services essential to the project. The properties are owned by David and Carrie McMasters, who own McMasters Farms LLC, and Buckeye Transfer Realty.

Other requirements for the project to move forward included zoning of the site for industrial use and permitting AMP’s parent company to issue tax-free bonds to finance the project.

No reason was given for AMP pulling out of the project and as of this posting officials could not be reached for comment.

Pictured: Proposed plant site, 89 acres on the northern side of Cherry Fork Road in Fairfield Township.

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