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WARREN -- Business news in 2023 across Trumbull and Mahoning counties was a mix of upbeat and depressing, from a major production milestone at Ultium Cells, where workers also won substantial pay raises, to new multimillion-dollar investments to the end of an era at McDonald Steel and the downward spiral of Lordstown Motors Corp.
So without further delay, here are the top 10 business-related stories this year in the Mahoning Valley:
1. Fueling the future
What a year it was for Ultium Cells in Lordstown.
In July, the factory -- the first operating electric-vehicle battery-cell plant in a joint venture between General Motors and South Korea's LG Energy Solutions -- hit a significant milestone; it had produced 10 million cells.
The achievement, the company stated in a release, marked a "major step forward in Ultium's mission to lead the charge in supporting the transportation industry in its pursuit of an all-electric future."
Around the same time, contract talks between the United Auto Workers union and Detroit's three automakers -- GM, the nation's largest automaker, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis -- were about to begin.
Key among the issues for the UAW was securing a foothold in joint venture EV battery plants, like Ultium Cells.
Ultimately, the UAW went on strike, targeting certain plants. The strike lasted about six weeks, and at the end, all three automakers agreed to allow EV battery plant workers into the master UAW agreements. GM was the first to concede.
UAW workers at GM ratified the deal in November with about 55% approval. Workers at Ultium Cells in Lordstown voted 97% to 3% to approve the contract.
With it, production workers at the factory won an immediate pay increase of $6 to $8 per hour. The wage would be $26.91 per hour and go to $30.88 per hour over the course of the 4 1/2-year deal, according to the UAW.
They also were to receive a $5,000 ratification bonus.
Minimum skilled-trades wages at Ultium Cells would be $31.80 per hour and rise to $36.49 per hour in September 2027, according to the UAW.
In addition, the contract provides a six-month window for former GM Lordstown assembly plant employees working at the plant on Nov. 26, 2018, to apply to work at the battery factory.
They would keep their current wages, benefits and seniority if they transfer to Ultium Cells.
GM closed the plant in March 2019 after more than 50 years of making vehicles there. Doing so, caused scores of workers to find jobs at GM plants in other states.
Employees at Ultium Cells joined the UAW in December 2022, and in August overwhelmingly ratified a separate agreement with the company that increased the average salary by 25%.
Ultium Cells also found itself at the center of investigations around health and safety at the plant.
It was Oct. 12 when it was announced the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the company with 17 serious and two other-than-serious violations, which stemmed from inspections April 24 and May 5. The agency recommended a more than $270,000 fine against the company.
Ultium Cells contested the violations Oct. 26. The cases now rest with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent federal agency that decides contests of citations or penalties issued by OSHA.
2. Powering up
In April, investors in Trumbull Energy Center joined local economic development, village school and elected officials to ceremonially mark the start of construction on the $2.3 billion natural gas-fired power plant.
There were challenges getting to that point, from nearly two years of litigation involving property rights to the COVID-19 pandemic to bickering over whether Warren or the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District would supply water to the facility.
Still, there were more issues.
In July, the village asked the state to suspend a certificate granted in October 2017 that allows the plant's owners -- Mars, Pennsylvania-based Trumbull Asset Management -- to build, operate and maintain the facility. The village also sought an order to require the facility to comply with Lordstown's site plan review and zoning permit processes.
At the heart of the complaint to the Ohio Power Siting Board was that board approval was based on the project site being zoned industrial when much of the site is zoned residential.
Ultimately, the regulatory agency determined there were "no reasonable grounds" to investigate the complaint, and others.
The 950-megawatt plant on state Route 45 near Henn Parkway during construction will provide an average of 400 construction jobs and peak at 600. From construction through its 40 years of operation, it's estimated to generate about $1.8 billion in economic activity.
Construction should be complete in November 2025, with the plant generating power in January 2026.
The facility will connect with FirstEnergy high-voltage power lines in Lordstown to flow electricity northwest toward Cleveland and southeast toward Pittsburgh.
3. Ready to retail
It was May 16 when the long-awaited Meijer Superstore at the Howland Commons portion of the Eastwood Mall Complex opened to shoppers.
The first talks and on-site meeting with the complex owner / operator, the Cafaro Company, were in 2014. It wasn't until about five years later that Cafaro Company and Meijer, based in Michigan, confirmed a deal for the store at the site of the former Super Kmart.
A fuel station and express mart opened later in April.
The store, which received a warm reception from shoppers, is large at nearly 160,000 square feet, and includes a wide variety of departments, from fresh -- deli, produce, meat, hot foods and bakery -- to general merchandise to home to toys to clothing and health care and beauty.
"So really, when I say one-stop shop, you are getting everything that you need to take care of your family," Patrick Hughes, store director, said then.
But that wasn't all for development at the complex.
In February, the Cafaro Company announced Bass Pro Shops planned a new 63,000-square-foot retail store at the complex, also at Howland Commons.
The store officially opened Nov. 15. Like Meijer, it received a warm reception from the public.
The location in Niles is the company's seventh in Ohio, but the only one within 150 miles of the Mahoning Valley. It's expected the store will draw shoppers from all over Ohio and beyond.
"This is the jewel of the Mahoning Valley, just having a destination retailer that is not just going to pull people from the local community, but from the region, it's just outstanding," Anthony Cafaro Jr., co-president of the Cafaro Company, said.
4. End of an era
It was mid November when McDonald Steel ceased operations of its 14-inch hot rolled steel rolling mill, the last operating mill at the historic facility at the end of Ohio Avenue in McDonald.
The company in a statement called the moment "bittersweet," but the nearly four decades the company operated the facility was a "success." Over that period, the company produced nearly 1 million tons of hot rolled shapes.
"In the process, we paid over $200 million in wages and salaries and invested nearly $40 million in capital improvements and regular maintenance activities," but over the last several years "mill operations had become increasingly problematic," the company stated.
McDonald Steel, which acquired the facility in 1981 after it was closed by U.S. Steel, announced in June it would cease operating the 14-inch rolling mill by the end of the third quarter, and it would exit the special shapes business toward the end of this year.
Changeover times were on the rise, the scrap rate increased because of setup challenges and quality issues, and the mill produced fewer tons of finished product per hour.
About 80 employees were affected.
Union employees at the mill were jointly represented by United Steel Workers Local 1307 and Teamsters Local 377. Leaders with the groups were able to secure the workers a shutdown payment.
Warehouse operations are expected to continue through the first quarter of 2024.
5. Redeveloping Warren's west side
In Warren, West Warren Development LLC, formed by Canfield businessman Chuck George, Wiley Runnestrand of Bazetta and Mike Martof of Kent, broke ground in August on a multimillion-dollar development on Warren's west side suitable for mid-sized modern manufacturing, warehouse / distribution and research and development.
Construction at the site, the former Westlawn neighborhood, is expected to begin in spring 2024.
"You'll probably start seeing a lot of site work and prep for laying the foundation and seeing the walls in early spring of next year," Runnestrand said, putting the project on track to be completed in early 2025.
The first speculative building is planned to be 100,000-square-foot with 32-foot ceilings. The investment is more than $10 million. The site is large enough to accommodate five to seven buildings, depending on size.
The company is working with the Western Reserve Port Authority, which will own the project for a period of time, typically five years, and lease it back to West Warren Development. Doing it this way, the company will gain an exemption on sales tax for construction related materials.
In February, West Warren Development, an affiliate of Warren-based Sapientia Ventures, acquired the land from the port authority, which acted as a conduit to pass it along from Warren and Warren City Schools to the company.
The site is the former Westlawn neighborhood that was built in the 1940s to house workers at the former Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant just west of Newton Falls. By the 1980s and 1990s the area had fallen on hard times, notorious for drugs, crimes and fires.
The area was cleaned up and the homes, mostly if not all multi-family concrete slab units, were demolished in the 1990s.
6. Transformation planned for Trumbull Family Fitness
Trusting Warren and surrounding communities are poised for tremendous economic growth in the future, particularly in electric vehicles, and because of the potential surrounding the former RG Steel property -- perhaps the largest shovel-ready development site in Ohio -- a group of private investors plans to invest millions to transform a historic downtown building into housing to meet demand when the economic development happens.
The announcement that the Trumbull Family Fitness building, the former YMCA of Warren, will be remade into market-rate housing happened Sept. 21.
The $40 million plan then was to have 110 units -- a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments available for lease in early 2026. The building, built in 1928, would be reconfigured and new construction added for the market-rate housing.
Trumbull Family Fitness would continue to operate a fitness center on the first floor, but on a smaller scale. A second-floor gym and the smaller of two pools would remain.
The plan was for the fitness center to remain open for as long as possible during renovations, however, it was announced Nov. 17 it would close during the process.
The reason: "It is simply a matter of fiscal prudence," Trumbull Family Fitness board Chairman Richard Thompson said.
"Continuing to use funds for essential purchases that would soon be rendered moot is not fiscally responsible," Thompson said, citing the need for a new boiler that would serve no use in the improved building but cost upward of $30,000.
7. Skidding out of control
The year was not kind to Lordstown Motors Corp.
Perhaps the lone bright spot was the electric-vehicle company's flagship vehicle, the Endurance pickup truck, placed third in voting for 2023 North American Truck of the Year in January. The rub is there were just three trucks in the truck category and the Endurance received only 17 votes.
It seemed all downhill from there.
In February, the company announced it stopped production of the truck and issued a voluntary recall due to a supplier parts quality issue. A second recall followed in March, for the same reason, and a third happened in April because of a software malfunction.
The company resumed production in April, but that was to be short-lived.
The same month, Lordstown Motors received notice from Nasdaq that the exchange planned to remove its Class A common stock from trading for violating market rules, because its closing bid price had fallen below $1 per share for 30 days in a row.
Shareholders in May voted to approve a reverse stock split, a maneuver to pump up the company's deflated stock.
Doing so put the company back into compliance with Nasdaq rules, and was hoped to save a $170 million equity investment agreement with Foxconn, the Taiwanese technology giant that acquired the former General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown from Lordstown Motors and contract manufacturer for the Endurance.
Foxconn believed Lordstown Motors, because of the notification from Nasdaq, had breached the investment agreement.
Lordstown Motors disagreed and threatened to sue Foxconn, which it did June 27, the same day Lordstown Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The company is making its way through bankruptcy. During the course of the proceedings, Lordstown Motors settled a nearly $1 billion lawsuit against it by California-based Karma Automotive LLC, which accused Lordstown Motors of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees. The settlement was for $40 million.
Also, Lordstown Motors agreed to sell certain of its assets needed to design, produce and sell light-duty electric vehicles for $10.2 million to a company formed by Steve Burns, founder of Lordstown Motors and its former chief executive.
8. Wanna bet?
When the clock struck 12 a.m. Jan. 1, the new year brought with it legalized sports betting to Ohio.
A year prior, Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation allowing sports gambling, a move made possible by a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a federal ban on states legalizing sports wagering. Ohio joined more than 30 other states where fans can bet on sports.
The legislation created three types of licenses that will be overseen by the state's Casino Control Commission. Those licenses govern mobile wagering such as on a phone app; gambling in sportsbooks run by casinos, racinos and professional sport teams; and bars, restaurants and other retail sites with self-service gaming kiosks.
The state's Legislative Service Commission has estimated that sports betting eventually will become a multibillion-dollar industry in Ohio.
Through October, the total taxable revenue for mobile and in-person wagering was $447.7 million, according to the casino control commission.
The Ohio Lottery Commission oversees the rules and operation of the kiosks, which are limited to specific wagers like point spreads, money lines, parlays and over-under.
Sales topped $10.7 million through October, according to numbers from the lottery commission. Gross gaming revenue came in at $1.09 million through the same period.
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown, part of PENN Entertainment Inc., opened its in-person sports betting at the facility, operated by Barstool Sportsbook, on Jan. 1.
Meanwhile in May, the casino control commission approved a request from Phantom Fireworks for a Type-B gaming proprietor license, which allows the holder to offer sports wagering at a qualified gaming facility.
"The family business is interested in sports, but more importantly, they are interested in the community of Mahoning County and we see this as an interesting opportunity to bring a business to downtown Youngstown," Michael Podolsky, deputy general counsel for the national consumer fireworks retailer, said then. "The location of the sports book would be in conjunction with the Covelli Centre, which is an arena that has a hockey team that plays there, which we are involved in."
9. Foxconn settles in
It was in early April when representatives of Foxconn and Monarch Tractor debuted the first production models of the California-based company's MK-V Series tractors, a battery-powered driver-optional tractor at Foxconn's EV assembly plant in Lordstown.
The event marked the launch of production and was meant to show off the first five built at the plant under a contract manufacturing agreement that has Foxconn producing the next-gen agricultural implement and battery packs.
In June, however, Foxconn found itself defending against a lawsuit filed by former business partner Lordstown Motors Corp. over an investment deal gone sour.
Lordstown Motors claimed fraud and bad faith on Foxconn's part led to Lordstown Motors filing for bankruptcy protection. Foxconn has denied the claims. The case is pending.
In October, news came out that a company that had a relationship with Foxconn, Southern California-based EV startup INDI EV Inc., had filed bankruptcy.
Foxconn, however, said the move won't affect its "business and manufacturing operations in Ohio," nor will it impact Foxconn's "continued efforts to find additional customers."
It was in October 2022 that INDI EV and Foxconn jointly debuted INDI EV's first offering, the INDI One -- billed as a car capable of high-speed online gaming and streaming through a super-powered vehicle-integrated computer -- during an event at Foxconn's EV assembly plant in Lordstown.
The reveal followed an announcement a week earlier the companies had an agreement for Foxconn to produce prototypes of the INDI One in Lordstown while they worked to secure a contract manufacturing agreement.
Meanwhile, Fisker Inc., also based in California, plans to have its PEAR (Personal Electric Automotive Revolution) sporty crossover made in Lordstown. Fisker Inc. and Foxconn, however, do not have a formal manufacturing contract agreement in place.
In November, Fisker Inc.'s top executive, Henrik Fisker, said talks are progressing toward finalizing an agreement.
He added the target is to start producing vehicles in 2025, "as fast as we can make them." A release from the company earlier this year stated production of the PEAR was expected to begin in July 2025.
10. Health care deal sealed
The lingering contract dispute between Bon Secours Mercy Health and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Ohio was settled in September.
The disagreement, however, spanned several months.
At first, it involved managed Medicaid beneficiaries. When new contract talks stalled, Mercy Health became out of network for those patients with Anthem Ohio on July 1.
Mercy Health argued it needed higher rates because it has experienced inflationary, labor and supply cost increases.
Anthem, however, said Mercy Health's desired rate was more than double the rate of hospital inflation and accused Mercy Health of trying to leverage higher rates from non-Medicaid members by terminating Medicaid members.
In August, Mercy Health announced there were continuing talks over Anthem reimbursements regarding Medicare Advantage patients and set Oct. 1 as the date when Mercy Health hospitals and physicians would be out of network.
Similarly, Mercy Health argued the payments had not kept up with inflation and labor and supply cost challenges.
Anthem said Mercy Health terminated its contract, which would have expired Jan. 1, with Anthem Medicaid and Medicare Advantage early to try to force a mid-contract cost increase for its members covered by the employer or the Affordable Care Act.
On Sept. 29, it was announced there was a settlement on an agreement through 2028 that allows Anthem enrollees to continue to get care at Mercy Health hospitals, outpatient care centers and by their doctors.