Presidential Introduction
Moving On Up
The Regional Growth Partnership’s annual meeting offers us the opportunity to recognize the previous year’s successes across Northwest Ohio as well as to look ahead at new initiatives in 2025, presenting possibilities to further elevate the region. And that’s certainly the case again this year.
We celebrate the new jobs and investment created by businesses across the 17-county region. And we celebrate in collaboration with our economic development partners in Northwest Ohio and across the state – all of them critical to our regional accomplishments.
Our preparation for tomorrow and beyond allows us to realize, welcome and embrace new opportunities, with a prioritized effort to attract technology and white-collar jobs. We continue to develop and nurture a growing, innovative community of tech-minded entrepreneurs and professionals, committed to fostering innovation and collaboration.
The RGP will also continue focusing on our historic strengths – our core industries where we have competitive advantages. And we know that new technologies and innovations will only improve our position within these industries – and we confidently anticipate ongoing success.
Our plan is to position this region where we enthusiastically embrace new strategic initiatives, build on our current professional ecosystem, and draw targeted businesses to Northwest Ohio.
PRESIDENT & CEOREGIONAL GROWTH PARTNERSHIP
Just the Facts
- The State of Ohio awarded the region more than $31 million to accelerate innovation and job growth within the glass and solar industries. The award was made to the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium (NOIC) to create the Glass Innovation Hub.
- Continued strategic focus on attracting technology-related businesses and jobs to Northwest Ohio.
- Seven communities within the 17-county Northwest Ohio footprint were ranked among the best nationally based on number of business development projects by Site Selection magazine.
- With a reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy supply, we are positioning this region as a prime location for AI, cybersecurity, and other tech-driven industries.
- Capitalizing on inherent strengths in traditional sectors such as manufacturing, the RGP and Northwest Ohio are building new opportunities through advancements, research and development in the automotive industry including electric vehicles, improving CAFÉ standards, lightweighting of vehicles and connectivity.
“Our ultimate mission is to grow the economy. We do that by helping existing companies grow and by attracting new companies to the region, all in collaboration with our local, regional and state partners.”
- Dean Monske, President & CEO, RGP
Metric Overview
A Winning Formula
The Regional Growth Partnership is the lead economic development organization representing 17 counties in Northwest Ohio. As a 100% privately funded corporation, the RGP is committed to attracting new investment, new business and new high-quality jobs to the region.
Those efforts are accomplished through:
- Proactive outreach and engagement with companies and site consultants
- An aggressive, robust and targeted marketing strategy
- Effective Business Retention & Expansion Program
- Targeted efforts to drive workforce development
The RGP also serves as Northwest Ohio’s Regional Network Partner for JobsOhio to facilitate economic development efforts as well as manage the incentive process.
In collaboration with our local, regional and state economic development partners, the RGP reports the following results generated by companies across Northwest Ohio for 2024:
2,468
New Jobs
14,539
Retained Jobs
$5B
Capital Investment
125
Projects
Business Development
Developing A Case
The role of Business Development at the Regional Growth Partnership is critical to the mission of the organization. Business Development helps attract outside investment and jobs to Northwest Ohio as we look to identify and target companies that can benefit from the business assets, enhancing growth opportunities to expand the regional economic development pie. This is a primary objective for the RGP and a cornerstone of our organization’s efforts.
The Right Targets
- Generated 48 site selection leads for the region.
- Traveled to 22 cities in North America for conferences and meetings with consultants, industry executives and C-level, site location decision makers. Some of these locations included Miami, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
- Worked with the RGP Research team, HWA Analytics and Center to Advanced Manufacturing to create an automotive opportunity list of 405 companies in the region and 120 attraction targets.
- Hosted annual FAM Tour with 10 national site consultants.
- Met with 28 site consultants individually throughout the year.
“One of the more exciting initiatives we are undertaking is the attraction of technology-based, white-collar jobs to our region. We feel we have the assets that companies and talent want and can benefit from, making us very bullish on the technology future for Northwest Ohio.”
- Gary Thompson, Executive Vice President, Business Development
Business Development Highlight
Trust the Process
Traditionally, the primary mission for the Regional Growth Partnership has been attracting new business and investment to Northwest Ohio as well as helping existing businesses with their expansion projects. While that certainly remains true, Northwest Ohio’s lead economic development organization is also expanding its services to assist local partners in their planning efforts.
The RGP’s Gary Thompson describes this undertaking as a customized process designed to prepare communities to win welcomed investment and job creation.
Thompson, who leads business development at the RGP, has been helping communities better prepare for development opportunities. In meeting with jurisdictional leaders, Thompson is getting officials to ask what type of development do they and their community want. Do they understand the benefits and downsides of the different types? Do they even want development? Once those initial questions are answered, the RGP then helps drive communities toward preparing and ultimately attracting such investment.
Thompson emphasizes it’s not just having a site. The process includes land control, pricing, utilities, appropriate zoning to meet desired development – all necessary considerations which must be addressed. “Once you have all that, now you have a site to market,” Thompson said.
Communities able to assemble large acreages of land will give themselves even greater opportunities for unique and rewarding developments in such industries as data centers and advanced manufacturing as well as future tech-growth industries like chip manufacturing and quantum computing centers.
“But you have to be ready to win now,” Thompson tells communities. “You can’t say we’ll have that assembled in a year. That won’t work. Companies will go to the next location.”
Northwest Ohio presents many advantages to businesses seeking new locations, including transportation infrastructure, workforce, proximity to market, energy infrastructure and capacity. Thompson said this process he brings is designed to help identify where those capacities line up with available land.
International Development
International Relations
With excellent research and educational facilities, multiple funding sources, every form of transportation, lower operating costs and a strong, experienced workforce, the Toledo/Northwest Ohio region has become a premier location for international investment. In addition, billions of dollars of goods are exported annually from Northwest Ohio. The Regional Growth Partnership is the lead organization for Northwest Ohio in developing new international investment and trade opportunities.
A Global Game
- 455 new jobs in 2024, $2.8 billion investment
- Partner in Italian Bowl, including Business Forums where RGP presented to more than 100 companies in Italy
- With Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, ODOD and U.S. Commercial Service, led 11th annual award-winning Export Success program which helps companies develop and execute export plans
- Major investments from such companies as Cenovus, North Star Bluescope Steel and Norplas/Magna
“More than $5 billion worth of goods are exported every year from the Toledo Metro area, and that’s responsible for over 11,000 jobs.”
- Paul Zito, Vice President International Development
International Development Highlight
Regional Growth Partnership Presented with President’s “E” Award in Washington D.C. Ceremony
The Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) received the coveted President’s “E” Award for excellence in export service in 2024, recognizing the organization’s achievement in making significant contributions to an increase in U.S. exports. The award was made at a ceremony May 14 at the Herbert C. Hoover Building of the Department of Commerce.
The RGP’s vice president of international development Paul Zito accepted the award in Washington, D.C., noting the significance for all of Northwest Ohio.
“This is a great honor to be recognized for what we’ve done in helping local companies with pressing export issues and guiding many with export strategies. This demonstrates to businesses this region has the expertise and resources to assist on the international front.”
– Paul Zito, VP of International Development, Regional Growth Partnership
Winners of the “E” and “E Star” Awards are authorized to fly the blue and white banner, to display the accompanying certificate of commendation, which is signed by the Secretary of Commerce in the name and by the authority of the President, to wear and issue to employees an “E” or “E Star” lapel pin, and to refer to the award in their advertising.
“The Regional Growth Partnership has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion,” said Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “The “E” Awards Committee recognizes the Regional Growth Partnership’s collaborative work with state and Federal partners to provide exporting resources to Toledo area companies. The quantifiable export growth for companies participating in its Export Success exporter education program was also notable.”
Marketing
Shining the Spotlight on Northwest Ohio
The primary objective for Marketing at the Regional Growth Partnership is promoting and communicating the business assets and opportunities of Northwest Ohio to targeted audiences across the country. Marketing prioritizes the continuous development of valuable content which is then incorporated into dynamic programs, distributed through a variety of channels to best deliver the messaging in an effective and efficient manner.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
- The RGP’s marketing programs generated a record 253 leads in 2024. These leads came through digital advertising, trade media lead-gen programs and email marketing, among other strategies. Leads consisted of form fills, phone calls, brochure downloads and newsletter signups.
- Enhanced digital advertising efforts significantly boosted website traffic and engagement, with paid search and display ads driving strong performance across key conversion actions.
- Marketing’s video content program produced 14 videos highlighting businesses and programs across Northwest Ohio. The creative department also shot video/drone footage of various sites and buildings for the site marketing program.
- Social media strategy exceeded traffic goals and delivered strong engagement, especially on LinkedIn, where targeted content and visuals resonated well with audiences.
- RGP Marketing worked to elevate communications with local and regional media in 2024. Proactive efforts led to interviews with print, electronic and broadcast media. The interviews highlighted the RGP’s economic development mission and partnership with JobsOhio.
“The RGP has consistently invested great resources into the development of creative, meaningful content, one example being the use of video. Our innovative and bold use of video has allowed us to build one of the most dynamic content programs among economic development groups across the country.”
- John Gibney, Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing Highlight
Content is King
For the Regional Growth Partnership to most effectively reach and communicate to our target audiences, we need to create and deliver fresh content – significant, valuable information that spurs our audiences to engage. Without that, our messaging will have difficulty breaking through the noise of our competitors.
RGP Marketing has consistently invested great effort into content generation. We strive and focus to give our audiences significant information – information they want to see, hear, read and learn about.
Examples of that content includes video and drone. Last year, Marketing produced 14 videos, many of those case studies of business executives talking about why they chose to expand or locate operations in Northwest Ohio. We used drone footage primarily for our Sites Marketing program. Another example of content development is maintaining and updating our website with timely, accurate information. To that, we regularly revise and create new content for our website including updates for one of our most important pages – Sites & Buildings.
Marketing incorporates its creative content into multiple strategies, such as email marketing, digital advertising, social media, public relations and search engine marketing. Reviewing metrics for our email marketing efforts demonstrates the effectiveness of our content development strategy.
For the RGP’s site marketing email campaign in 2024:
- Average unique open rate 37%
- Average unique click through rate 8%
For the RGP’s industry email campaigns in 2024:
- Average unique open rate 32%
- Average unique click through rate 4.3%
All of these efforts, strategies and content are designed to put forth a well-rounded marketing program to best represent and communicate the RGP, the regional business assets, Northwest Ohio, and the successes to the intended targeted audiences.
Sites & Buildings
It Matters Where You Locate
The Sites & Buildings team at the Regional Growth Partnership serves as Northwest Ohio’s lead entity managing the property database for the 17 counties. In addition, the team manages site requests from prospective businesses, assists local partners with site development, and markets/manages JobsOhio’s sites programs.
The Right Site
- The RGP has worked with JobsOhio in securing nearly $16 million of assistance through the Ohio Sites Inventory Program (OSIP), which has led to total investment of more than $165 million. The 12 OSIP projects have brought 2 million square feet of space to the market.
- The RGP put forth 12 sites for Wave 5 of the SiteOhio Authentication program, most in the state. Ten of those sites are moving forward. The Authentication program is designed to vet sites and ensure they are construction ready on day one.
- The RGP team handled 88 sites searches in 2024 (35 for open land and 53 for existing buildings). The average building search was for 223,000 square feet and the average land search was for 101 acres.
- The RGP team enhanced its process in providing beneficial feedback and best practices to local partners following site visits.
- As communities recognize that product inventory and development is paramount to ongoing success, the RGP worked closely with LEDOs to assist with new site development and land assembly.
“The breadth of this region – we have everything companies want in seeking a new site, whether it’s locating in rural, suburban or urban areas.”
- Matt Davis, Vice President Real Estate
Sites & Buildings Highlight
Inventory Management
Development of a prime 20-acre site in Allen County has been a long-standing goal for officials in the Northwest Ohio region. The site in Lima’s Gateway Commerce Park offers immediate access to I-75 with all utilities in place.
Ohio Logistics, one of the fastest growing and most dynamic companies in the Midwest, had been looking to expand its development presence in the Lima region. The Findlay-based company worked with the Allen Economic Development Group with a plan to construct two 100,000 square-foot spec buildings on that 20-acre site.
The sites team at the Regional Growth Partnership works with communities, economic development practitioners, and the public and private sectors in identifying, and preparing sites for development. Both the RGP and JobsOhio understand the significance of site development as a critical factor in attracting new investment.
To that, the Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) was established to create inventory within the state that has not being organically developed by the market. The primary goal of the JobsOhio OSIP program is to fill gaps in Ohio’s real estate inventory with real estate targeting near-term sector wins to ensure our state is more competitive for reactive site selection projects.
Through OSIP, Ohio Logistics secured a crucial grant for construction of the two buildings, with the ultimate end goal of attracting high-end manufacturing to the Allen County community.
Project Management
Guiding the Way to Success
The Regional Growth Partnership project management team identifies opportunities with businesses that are looking to expand their regional operations or locate new facilities into Northwest Ohio. The team then works with the company in managing the site search process, as well as incentive packaging, project planning and development – in essence facilitating a project from beginning to end.
Building Blocks
- Project Management helped execute 36 JobsOhio Small Business Grants in 2024.
- Directed Regional JobsOhio Network meetings communicating metrics, BR&E updates, site and building leads and educational topics to economic development partners across the 17 counties.
- Average quarterly pipeline in 2024 of 18 projects with $973 million capital investment. The pipeline average was 133% higher than the previous year.
- Completed 15 multiplier meetings with businesses which are designed to generate leads for the RGP and also provide program updates that companies can share with clients.
“Success in Project Management means we receive a lead from a variety of sources, we work on it as a project, and then it ultimately becomes a win for the company - meaning the company creates the jobs and the capital investment in Northwest Ohio.”
- Chase Eikenbary, Vice President of Project Management
Project Management Highlight
Building From Within
Paramount to the success and continued growth of Northwest Ohio is the expansion of existing businesses. Right near the top of the Regional Growth Partnership’s strategic focus is the organization’s Business Retention & Expansion program. We understand our current businesses are responsible for the majority of our region’s growth. Because of that, the RGP has prioritized efforts toward continued, ongoing engagement with our Northwest Ohio companies.
The majority of the RGP’s visits with companies are performed in collaboration with the local economic development organizations, and sometimes JobsOhio.
In 2024, the RGP conducted 454 BR&E visits, which exceeded the annual goal by 51%. This placed the RGP No. 1 among statewide Network partners. And the significance of these visits can be demonstrated through the results. The visits led to 45 project wins for the RGP and Northwest Ohio, producing 2,908 new jobs. These projects generated $1.2 billion of investment with $243 million in new payroll.
“Ninety percent of the projects JobsOhio supported in 2024 were to help grow existing companies, due in part to the RGP’s state-leading efforts in business retention and expansion conversations."
– J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO, JobsOhio.
These BR&E visits allow the RGP to connect directly with companies, uncover growth, hiring and investment opportunities, and also learn about potential concerns where the RGP can address and offer feasible solutions. This latter item allows the RGP to establish itself as a valuable entity able to show enhanced worth.
Talent Acquisition Services
A Talented Solution
Talent Acquisition Services at the Regional Growth Partnership helps identify a company’s talent challenges and builds sustainable strategies that support every stage of the candidate journey. The RGP team partners with companies to navigate the workforce ecosystem and deliver customized talent solutions that lead to long-term success. The goal is to equip companies with a talent attraction, development, and retention strategy that can be used for current and future workforce needs.
A Skillful Display of Workmanship
- Talent Acquisition Services (TAS) continues to support projects outside of direct engagement by leveraging local workforce/talent resources in the region.
- TAS will be providing full support to Intraplas, a Portuguese-based company which recently announced plans to hire 60 people at a brand new manufacturing facility in Van Wert.
- TAS will be working with First Quality Tissue to support the company’s hiring needs. The company is a leading manufacturer of paper and packaging products and will be investing $984 million and hiring 400 people for its new facility in Defiance County.
- The region’s workforce Macro-Coalition is expanding throughout the region with quarterly networking events.
“A great value the RGP brings to workforce in Northwest Ohio is the ability to work with a number of different partners and really script out the best solutions for the company.”
- Jeff Sprague, Regional Talent Manager
Talent Acquisition Services Highlight
Takin’ Care of Business
The Procter & Gamble Company is a global leader of consumer goods, personal care and household products. With operations in Allen County, the company announced a $501 million expansion of its manufacturing and warehousing space to meet growing demand of its laundry and detergent products.
Procter & Gamble began operations in Allen County over 50 years ago and has expanded multiple times. It currently has 749 full-time employees and about 600 contract employees at the local operation. Its headquarters is located in Cincinnati and the company has 11,000 employees in Ohio.
Talent Acquisition Services at the RGP has been charged with supporting P&G’s talent strategy and recruiting efforts to identify and hire 135 new employees. The goal is to build a sustainable talent plan for the company to utilize both today and into the future. Specifically, the RGP will assist P&G in the training and upskilling of manufacturing talent to support the new “Beads” product line expansion.
Strategies include:
- Partnering with Apollo Career Center to build a customized rapid training program to train and upskill operator and technician talent
- Deploying a strategic job board campaign to help drive volume and attract the right talent and provide access to sourcing tools
- Targeting occupations including operators and technicians
Success Stories
Louis Dreyfus Company
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods, will invest approximately $500 million to construct the new plant in Wyandot County, bolstering the region’s economic growth in the critical food and agriculture sector.
- More than 100 new jobs
- New facility will have annual soy crushing capacity of 1,500,000 MT
- More than $1.6 billion invested in Northwest Ohio food/ag sector last 5 years
“(Northwest Ohio) makes sense because the soybeans are grown here. There’s also a lot of feed demand. Eighty percent of the soybean is made up of feed for animals. The other 20 percent is oil we make in the food. There’s a significant amount of feed mills right in this area.”
– Jeremy Mullins, Commercial Manager, LDC
Success Stories
Nelson Manufacturing
A leader in specialty semi-trailers and crane attachments has announced plans for a significant expansion at its Northwest Ohio facility. Nelson Manufacturing, located in Ottawa (Putnam County), will undertake a multi-million investment for a new facility designed to enhance productivity, capabilities and efficiencies.
- New 73,000 SF facility
- 18 new jobs
- Skilled workforce critical factor in expansion decision
“The workforce here – they want to be here, they want to build something great. They want to build something they’re proud of. And they’re willing to put the work in, and they’re smart enough and perfectly capable of doing it.”
– Tony Niese, President, Nelson Manufacturing
Success Stories
Vibrant Communities Program
Community leaders in Ottawa (Putnam County) celebrated investments more than $4 million to launch the Main Street Corridor Project to restore a group of historic buildings downtown, creating new professional offices, overnight lodging, co-working, and hospitality and dining spaces.
- Supported with the JobsOhio Vibrant Communities Program grant.
- Redeveloping multiple historic buildings, including The DuMont building and The DeFord block of buildings.
- Main Street Corridor Project is the result of strong, local partnerships and a shared vision for revitalization in the community.
“This is a dynamic economic development project in that it preserves historic buildings, retains businesses and creates space for new businesses, and blends the community’s GO Ottawa strategic growth plan with local investment to bring more jobs, services and people to downtown.”
– Amy Sealts, Director, Putnam County Community Improvement Corporation
Success Stories
Small Business Grant
Londell Smith Associates is a janitorial cleaning, sanitizing and supply company based in Lima. In order to meet an increase in customer growth and new business contracts in the 11 Northwest Ohio cities it serves, the company needed funding to help purchase new equipment as well as hire and train new employees.
- $16,000 investment
- Supported with a JobsOhio Small Business Grant
- Program provides financial support for small businesses located in distressed zip codes and/or owned by minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities
“The small business development program is critical because a lot of businesses that fall into those categories often get overlooked. All they need is a shot in the arm, a chance, somebody to believe in them. This infusion of capital can help take companies to the next level.”
– Londell Smith, President, Londell Smith & Associates
Success Stories
TekniPlex
TekniPlex Consumer Products, a global leader in the healthcare and consumer products markets, recently recently opened a new 200,000 square-foot facility in Northwest Ohio. The dedicated specialty molded fiber solutions facility will further expand the company’s capacity and capabilities with a variety of products, including egg cartons. The new Van Wert project is part of the company’s $350 million investment in specialty fiber throughout the Americas.
- $40 million investment
- 100+ new jobs
- Company cited the significance of being located within one of the largest egg-farming states in the nation
“When we went through the buildup economically on where our choice would be we started with 11 sites. We kept working through (the site selection process) and Van Wert kept coming up when it came to electricity, gas and taxes.”
– Michael Deitz, Vice President, Capital & Corporate Project Management, TekniPlex
Success Stories
CIFT
For more than 25 years, Toledo, Ohio-based CIFT has focused on its mission of driving competitiveness for food processors, manufacturers and agribusiness by providing a unique blend of business solutions, innovation and technical expertise. Charged with enhancing overall economic performances, CIFT can assist companies just starting their product or those with hundreds of employees on the production floor.
- National recognition as a leader in supporting innovation through its services and vast resources
- Operates the Northwest Ohio Cooperative Kitchen created to support food entrepreneurs
- Services focused in food processing, process engineering, food safety and smart food manufacturing
“To my knowledge there is no other organization such as ours. We represent the food and ag sector across Northwest Ohio and are a technical service provider across the state and beyond.”
– Rebecca Singer, President & CEO, CIFT
Investing in Our Region’s Future
85
Investors & Supporters
100%
Privately Funded
- Investors help drive Northwest Ohio’s economic development strategy
- Investors are afforded greater opportunities for engagement in business development activity
For more information about supporting economic development in Northwest Ohio, contact:
Tom Hamway
419-356-3536
hamway@rgp.org
RGP Staff
Dean Monske
President and CEO
Meg Adams
Business Development Manager
Morgan Bowers
Research Analyst
Bill Burkett
Senior Project Manager
Matt Davis
Vice President, Real Estate
Chase Eikenbary
Vice President of Project Management
John Gibney
Chief Marketing Officer
Tom Hamway
RGP Foundation President
Patrice James
Vice President, Marketing & Research
Colleen McCray
Administrative Program Coordinator
Sarah Perrigo
Real Estate Coordinator
Jessica Sattler
Senior Project Manager
Kevin Schuster
Manager of Information Technology
Jeff Sprague
Regional Talent Manager
Karin Stever
Administrative Assistant
Gary Thompson
Executive Vice President - COO
Tim Wisnewski
Chief Financial Officer
Paul Zito
Vice President, International Development
Contact Us
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Contact Info
Regional Growth Partnership
Two Maritime Plaza
Toledo, OH 43604
Phone: 419-252-2700
rgp.org