HOWLAND, Ohio – With the promise of new jobs, a new health care facility and new innovation – good things are happening in Trumbull County.
During the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Good Morning, Trumbull! event Wednesday at The Grand Resort, Trumbull County Commissioner Rick Hernandez said commissioners have been meeting with Foxconn and SoftBank Group Corp. representatives, and he believes there will be a major announcement by the companies in the first quarter of 2026.
Matt DeWine, head of Foxconn’s external affairs, said the company is transitioning to make AI modular data centers and servers and will use all 6.2 million square feet of space in the company’s former Lordstown manufacturing plant, which SoftBank purchased in August. And current workers will be retrained.
“Today we are positioning ourselves to respond to a new market demand, one that is being driven by artificial intelligence,” DeWine said. “Foxconn has made the decision to repurpose our Ohio facility to build infrastructure to power our region, to lead in the AI race.”
Hernandez said the future looks bright in Trumbull County, which has been “blessed” with recent new additions and additional projects in the works. Kimberly-Clark Corp. will employ nearly 600 people by the end of 2026.
“This is going to stimulate economic activity within our region,” Hernandez said.
A $30 million Amazon distribution center will be opening, with more than 200 employees.
Ultium Cells continues to be the largest employer in the county, with 2,200 employees, and TJX Home Goods opened a $170 million, 1.2 million-square-foot facility in Lordstown in April 2023.
“These are things in Trumbull County that have not been seen since the days of General Motors,” Hernandez said. “We’re going to be experiencing explosive growth. It’s a great day to be living here and within the Mahoning Valley and in Trumbull County.”
Charlotte Gardiner, president of Mercy Health – St. Joseph Warren Hospital, said the site of the hospital system’s newest Champion Emergency Care Center, which broke ground in August, is already “just a flurry of activity.”
She predicts that in winter 2026, the 25-bed facility will be providing emergency care and imaging and lab services to patients in northern Trumbull County and the surrounding area.
In Liberty Township, the 60-bed Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital opened in November and should soon be followed by the 72-bed Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital next door.
“We’re so very proud as Mercy Health continues to invest in the Mahoning Valley with specialty focuses …” Gardiner said.
Paul Oliver, vice president of Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, which recently moved its downtown Warren office to the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Warren G. Harding High School, also shared other good news. Akron Children’s was recently named by Newsweek as one of the country’s top pediatric hospitals.
Akron Children’s Hospital is also expanding autism diagnosis capabilities to serve children in their local home offices.
Josh Prest, executive director of the Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Commission, said more than a billion dollars in economic development has come to the region in the 11 years of EOMAC’s efforts. The commission has a mission to advocate for the military in Washington, D.C., and Columbus in support of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
That includes a $25 million project to construct a new fire station on the base, which played a crucial role in bringing eight C-130J planes to the base after 12 years of work. A new entrance is also being constructed. The base employs approximately 2,100 people and has an annual economic impact of $40 million to $50 million, according to Prest.
Luke Polinsky, director of development at the Youngstown Business Incubator, discussed the organization’s collaboration with Brite Energy Innovators.
“We’re going to be breathing a little bit more life into the (Brite) facility, holding events to raise awareness about the opportunities there,” Polinsky said. “We’re happy to partner with them. We’re happy that they are still their own organization, but we’re happy to work with them.”
Guy Coviello, Regional Chamber president and CEO, attributed growth to the support of Trumbull County commissioners and their $1 million investment following the creation of Valley Vision, a strategy to increase economic prosperity and improve the quality of life across the Valley.
“Thank you for supporting Valley Vision,” Coviello said. “It’s already making a difference way faster than anybody thought it would.”
Pictured at top: Charlotte Gardiner, president of Mercy Health – St. Joseph Hospital in Warren.