Port Authority Recognizes Manufacturing Workers

COLUMBIANA, Ohio – The Columbiana County Port Authority on Wednesday recognized the manufacturing workforce in the city of Columbiana.

Employees from manufacturing firms in the city and surrounding area toured the new A Plus Powder Coaters warehouse in the Columbiana Industrial Park on Heck Road. 

Every year, the port authority recognizes the manufacturing sector as part of its focus on business retention and expansion. The event is in conjunction with National Manufacturing Month, and is in its third year, said Haedan Panezott, private sector specialist with the port authority.

“We wanted to create an event showing our appreciation for the manufacturing sector of Columbiana County, so we created Workforce Appreciation Day,” he recalled. A different community is selected each year and the authority works with its partners to host a luncheon for workers to show them appreciation. 

The first event was in Salem, and last year it was in East Palestine. 

Panezott estimated there are between 650 and 700 manufacturing employees in the city of Columbiana, adding A Plus Powder Coaters was “gracious enough to let us host it here.”

Bob Bertelsen, owner of A Plus Powder Coaters, is a Columbiana native who started the business in 1997 with an 11,000-square-foot building and three employees. Today, the business boasts a 95,000-square-foot operation and 70 workers.

The 17,000-square-foot section of building where Wednesday’s gathering was held was completed last week.

Items that are powder coated appear to be painted. The process involves a dry powder that is electrically charged so it fuses to metal before being baked in a curing oven to smooth the coat.

“Everything you have in your home that’s metal, that looks painted, is actually powder coated – your patio furniture, your computer case, your chairs,” Bertelsen explained. 

Bertelsen builds show and race cars as a hobby. He began his business after reading an article about powder coating, because he wanted to use the process on one of his engines.

After taking it to a small shop where he was told it would take 10-12 weeks to complete, Bertelsen said the owner “made the mistake of letting me watch while he did it.”

Bertelsen was intrigued and decided to open his own powder coating operation – not realizing in those pre-Google days just how many such businesses were already in operation.

“I didn’t really realize what I was getting into,” he admitted.

Regardless, within three to four weeks, he had already purchased his first two acres for an industrial and commercial powder coating business. Those acres were eventually sold, and he now has 9.3 acres on which his business operates with a conveyor and three-vat system.

Bertelsen’s company doesn’t have a designated customer base. Instead, it does a lot of architectural railings and gates, commercial and industrial components, and “just about anything metal that needs coated or painted.”

While talking about the success of the business, Bertelsen gave much of the credit to his employees, saying, “We have a great culture here. We work really hard to treat our employees as our greatest asset. We pay them well and treat them good.”

A logo on his shirt that reads “Respect, Attitude, Quality” was thought of by his employees, who Bertelsen called “a phenomenal group of men and women who make my job easy.”

He said their motto is “Be our best for everyone’s success,” because they believe if they can make their customers satisfied, they have been successful.

According to Bertelsen, the company completes between 100,000 and 150,000 parts per month with less than 10 of those returned by customers for any reason.

As workers from a variety of area manufacturers stopped in during the two-hour event for lunch and a T-shirt, officials discussed how the businesses in the industrial park have expanded.

According to Panezott, 19 percent of the county’s total workforce is engaged in manufacturing, compared to the state average of 11 percent.

An underlying current heard at the event was the need to promote manufacturing in the county.

“It’s important we continue to impress upon our students as young as fourth grade the importance of these jobs. College isn’t for everybody,” said Penny Traina, director of the port authority.

Brittany Smith, assistant director, agreed, saying, “There is not enough focus on the workforce we have here in Columbiana County. Were excited to celebrate them for Manufacturing Month and to emphasize how important it is to be a manufacturer. We always see people pushing four-year colleges without talking about manufacturing and how important it actually is and how successful you can be as a manufacturer. We want to bring attention to those workers and those positions and celebrate them.”

Alex Hertzer, executive director of Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, mentioned a program being initiated in a county school district that introduces students to  manufacturing apprenticeships.

Others in attendance at the celebration included state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, county Commissioner Tim Weigle, Columbiana Mayor Rick Noel, Alexa Sweeney Blackann, interim CEO of the Lake to River Economic Development, and Robert Ritchey, CCPA recovery coordinator.

Pictured at top: Posing in front of the food concession truck sponsored by the Columbiana County Port Authority for Workforce Appreciation Day are (from left) Haedan Panezott, private sector specialist; Robert Ritchey, recovery coordinator; Brittany Smith, assistant director; Penny Traina, director; and state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.