Employers

Middletown’s central location and connection to the aviation industry make it attractive to many companies.

Bringing In BUSINESS

Middletown’s location makes it an easy choice

BY TERRY TROY

With its unique location spanning Butler and Warren counties along the Interstate 75 corridor, the City of Middletown is within reach of both the Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan markets. It has a well-developed highway system that gives it easy access to international shipping by air, rail or water. More than 50,000 residents also call the city home, offering support for independent restaurants and businesses located there.

While obviously proud of the way Middletown’s Economic Development Department works with new businesses, even Chris Xeil Lyons, economic development director, is quick to admit that it’s the City’s location that really makes it attractive.

“We are right in the center of four growing counties right along the I-75 corridor,” Lyons says. “So we have access to two major metropolitan areas with a combined population of more than 3.1 million.

“Our road infrastructure, although it needs some paving, is actually pretty good because it was over-built back in the day,” Lyons adds. “And we have four-lane highways into our downtown from I-75, with five different ways of getting into the city.”

The repaving issue is already being addressed, says Lyons. A road levy was passed in 2021 and work is underway to provide more than $51 million in paving upgrades throughout the City.

And there are companies relocating to the city as well. Access Envelope and LubriSource are just two of the companies recently moving to Middletown.

“We wanted to be more centrally located to our clients and to be in the hub of manufacturing,” says Angela Morrow, president of LubriSource. “Personally, I like being in Middletown, but it is also strategically located between Dayton and Cincinnati.”

Butler Tech’s Aviation Exploration program introduces high school students to the aviation industry.

Which makes it easy to attend meetings and events from the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association, while also connecting to Cincinnati clients and business partners. Another positive is that the company is able to attract potential hires from a larger geographic radius without encumbering its prospects with a long commute.

For over 20 years, LubriSource has provided automated lubrication equipment, system design and maintenance services to companies spanning steel, pulp and paper, food and beverage, automotive and aerospace industries, which are in abundance in the region. A large portion of LubriSource’s business is providing preventive maintenance services. That includes collecting and testing oil samples, performing gearbox filtration or doing routine maintenance.

“We see the manufacturing ecosystem in Middletown as a vibrant business community that is very embracing and willing to network,” adds Morrow. “Also, we are launching robot greasing services and being right off of 1-75, which is considered ‘robot alley,’ we are looking forward to serving more manufactures that are utilizing robots.”

Those are just two of the newer companies relocating to the area. However, Middletown is also home to several companies and industries with histories that date back more than 100 years.

“We are an older city and we are right off the highway, but the other part of it is that we are also located right off the Great Miami River,” says Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.

Middletown Works steel mill now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs dates back to 1899, when it was founded as American Rolling Mill Company. It was later incorporated in 1909 as Armco and later became AK Steel. The paper industry started in the area before the Civil War.

While it enjoys a rich tradition of manufacturing, Middletown also sits in a corridor with cutting-edge industries including aviation and aerospace, with access to two major international airports as well as being home to Middletown Regional Airport.

“Our Aviation Exploration program is housed at the Middletown Regional Airport,” says AJ Huff, spokesperson for Butler Tech. “The students learn aviation theory, navigation and management, learn principles of meteorology forecasting, and apply knowledge of aircraft ground handling safety procedures to aviation maintenance.

“The program absolutely aids in workforce development and was actually created just a few years ago for the exact purpose of meeting the growing demand in the aviation industry,” Huff adds. “Currently, the industry transports over 10 million passengers and approximately $18 million worth of goods each day—however the number of pilot certificates issues by the FAA has decreased more than 60% since 1980.”

The chamber is also focused on meeting the workforce needs of its members, an issue that is now center stage, especially with the end of the pandemic in sight.

“We are now in our seventh year of working with our members to solve their workforce issues,” says Pearce, whose organization works with four different school districts, including the Middletown City School District. “We’re doing a lot with K-12 schools to get them prepared for life after high school.

“We host a manufacturing month in October where we try to take students out on tours of local manufacturers. During COVID, we had to make those virtual tours, but in a more perfect world, we will get them out to tour the actual facilities. We do the same thing with health care in November. Then, from January to April, we try to get our members into schools to keep that conversation going.”

And the Middletown Schools are an active partner, with a strategic vision called “Passport to Tomorrow. Dream Today. Rise Tomorrow,” that shows students how to translate aspirations into careers, whether it’s work or continuing education.

The chamber also has a new workforce initiative called “Skills2Careers.”

“It’s a ground-breaking technology that matches people with skills to employers that need those skills,” says Pearce. “We are one of only a few organizations piloting this technology, and we have been working on it since July of 2020.

“The workforce challenges we all face are not going away any time soon. People are having less children and a good workforce takes 18 years to develop.”

But with the help of partnerships among schools, the chamber of commerce and private businesses, Middletown is already a step ahead. n