It's an exciting time in the Mahoning Valley and especially Trumbull County.
The housing and auto industries have been showing distinct signs of turnaround. The Lordstown-built Cruze continues to be among General Motors' best selling vehicles locally and nationwide, keeping thousands of local men and women at work on three shifts.
Local jobless numbers have continued to edge downward nearly every month for the past several months, and drilling on the first Utica Shale natural gas well is under way in Trumbull County, with a dozen more expected this year.
No doubt there are the worries of the families of workers laid-off at RG Steel, striking at Phillips Manufacturing and many other companies that have downsized or cut back. The future of these companies is questionable at best.
All in all, though, experts believe workers in the Mahoning Valley are beginning to shake the rust off the rust belt and a turnaround is "On the Horizon."
All these stories and many more, focusing on topics like the business of health care, retail, tourism, finance and more will be the focus of the upcoming annual Tribune Chronicle "Progress" business special section. This year's theme is "On the Horizon," and it is set to publish Feb. 25.
The section will again include photos and profiles of many of our Valley's "movers and shakers" - those who help make business news happen.
We hope readers will look forward to this year's Progress section and be able to take away something positive about our area from each of the stories and business profiles. Hopefully it will help us all to acknowledge that whether times are difficult or looking up, there are people and companies who are willing to step forward and work toward what is on the horizon.