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A specialty glass company headquartered in a former Warren bowling alley is building on its international presence.
A combination of factors -- a one-of-a-kind industrial glass coating, additional equipment and a new building -- are spotlighting the efforts of MacPherson Industries Inc. and MacPherson Engineering.
On Monday, the Ohio Department of Development state announced the release of $250,000 as part of the agency's Regional 166 Direct Loan Program. The low-interest loan effort targets development, job creation and job retention by giving businesses with limited access to adequate capital from private funding sources.
"We make safety glass and safety windows," said Jane L. MacPherson, company CEO, speaking Tuesday from a conference in Florida. "We are known internationally as the safety experts.
"We just had (an Italian business) call us a couple weeks ago to consult on making a product they're doing safer. So we're internationally known already for the last probably 30 to 40 years."
The business moved in 2020 to the former Laurel Lanes, 2809 Mahoning Ave. NW, on the city's north side.
The loan involves two MacPherson entities -- MacPherson Industries and MacPherson Engineering. Jane MacPherson owns the Mahoning Avenue property, which is under the direction of MacPherson Industries. The company CEO and family members operate MacPherson Engineering and its MacPherson Glass operation.
Together, they will receive $250,000 to assist in financing the construction of a 100-by-40-by-16 foot metal, standalone safety glass manufacturing facility. The project, estimated to cost $340,795.72, will create three new full-time-equivalent jobs and retain 25 jobs, according to the state's news release.
MacPherson said the funds will go toward constructing a second structure on the site.
"We have a bowling alley converted into an industrial building," she said. "The ceilings are 12-foot high. To run some of the new equipment, we're going to need 14-foot high ceilings.
"The new building is going to just be a standalone storage room building that will handle 16-foot high ceilings."
MacPherson services the steel industry and its offshoots. Its customer base includes Vallourec, Nucor, Gerdau Steel, Steel Dynamics and TMS International. TMS, a slag processor with sites in Youngstown and Cleveland, is its No. 1 customer.
"Well, we've always been (an international player)," MacPherson said. "Probably one-fifth of the sales that we had from last year went to Australia."
She said that in 2023 the company has been developing a new chemical process to apply to specialty glass tied to the steel industry.
"So we will now be the only coaters of that specialty glass in North America, and we'll have international customers off of this," MacPherson said.
In addition to the new building, the company spent $100,000 on new equipment to perform the specialized coating. That purchase was completed without outside assistance, the CEO said.
MacPherson touted the labor pool the company employs.
"We came to Warren in 2020, and we brought all skilled labor jobs," she said. "They're all high-paying jobs. Three new jobs will all be (skilled labor).
"Everybody is highly skilled because they all know that worth."