WARREN, Ohio – Two local boards will consider proposals to assist Kimberly-Clark Corp. with its proposed Trumbull County plant Wednesday.
When it meets Wednesday morning, the Western Reserve Port Authority Board of Directors will take up a request to approve a capital lease agreement with the consumer paper products manufacturer, which purchased 560 acres of the former BDM Steel property in Trumbull County in December 2023.
That same morning, the Trumbull County Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on the company’s request to enter into an enterprise zone agreement, which the commissioners are expected to act on during their weekly meeting following the hearing.
The hearing follows Monday’s approval by Warren Township Trustees Edward Anthony, Kay Anderson and Ryan Yoho of the enterprise zone agreement, which would provide a 60% tax abatement over 10 years. Last week, Howland Township trustees approved a similar agreement.
Trumbull commissioners will vote whether to give final approval to the agreement.
About 75% of the property where the proposed 1.1 million-square-foot plant would be built is in Howland, with the remaining property in Warren, according to Nicholas Coggins, assistant director/director of economic development for the Trumbull County Planning Commission. The plant is expected to employ more than 400 workers.
The proposed plant is expected to cost between $650 million and $875 million, Coggins said.
Approval of the abatement will align the project financials more favorably to give it a better chance of approval. “This is still a proposed project [Kimberly-Clark’s] board of directors has to approve moving forward,” he cautioned.
“We think it’s a great thing that’s coming to our area,” Anthony said just before the unanimous vote to approve the agreement.
“This is one crucial step of the puzzle that they could bring back to their board of directors to get the final approval,” Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy said.
In an emailed statement, Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, praised the action by Warren trustees, which he characterized as “yet another piece of the puzzle to secure a tremendous investment that can be the catalyst for long-term economic growth” at the former steelmaking site.
“Kimberly-Clark has said they felt welcome and impressed with our business-friendly climate, and that all starts with the Western Reserve Port Authority, Lake to River Economic Development, Warren Township and Howland Township trustees and others, each of which is working to give this project a real chance to succeed,” he continued.
“Hopefully, it’s just the start of something bigger,” Anthony said.
Malloy advised Warren Township trustees to “take full advantage” of the opportunity if the project moves forward. He noted the project, if it moves forward, would provide “extremely” well-paying jobs that will be here for a long time.
“There are a lot of properties that Warren Township owns in that neighborhood that could benefit from Kimberly-Clark being an anchor point there,” he said. “This is going to be a way to reverse the trend of people leaving our Valley and turn them around and have people start heading back.”