WARREN, Ohio – Trumbull County commissioners on Wednesday approved an enterprise zone agreement with Kimberly-Clark Corp., which could pave the way for a new $160 million distribution center on the same Pine Avenue property where the consumer paper products manufacturer is building an $800 million manufacturing plant.
The agreement calls for a 10-year, 60% tax abatement for the state-of-the-art distribution center.
The enterprise zone has already been approved by Howland Township trustees. Getting the abatement and funding packages in place is the next step before Kimberly-Clark presents the 591,661-square-foot distribution center project to its board for final approval, according to Nic Coggins, assistant director/director of economic development for the Trumbull County Planning Commission.
Should the Kimberly-Clark board approve the project, work could begin in the first quarter of 2026 and be completed at the end of 2027, according to Branch Sinkule, government relations, senior director, at Kimberly-Clark, who was in attendance at the commissioners meeting Wednesday.
The plant would employ 65 full-time people. It would distribute not only products made at the facility currently under construction in Trumbull County but also serve as a hub for items produced at other Kimberly-Clark plants in the region, Sinkule said.
“Hopefully, with all these voted on and in place between the commissioners, JobsOhio, incentives and everything like that … in the first quarter of next year, we find out that we have additional investment here,” Coggins said.
Coggins called the Kimberly-Clark project a generational investment and said it is generating a lot of excitement.
“We appreciate Kimberly-Clark in our county,” Commissioner Rick Hernandez said. “Your footprint in Trumbull County is definitely cause for excitement.”
The additional project would mean an even larger commitment by Kimberly-Clark, according to Commissioner Tony Bernard.
“What this tells me is Kimberly-Clark is telling us that they’re looking at a long-term investment in Trumbull County, and that’s a good thing,” Bernard said. “That’s good for everybody, and this is what happens when townships and cities and the county all work together with a company that wants to come in and provide us with an excellent new manufacturing facility.”