SIDNEY – Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst hand-delivered proclamations to company officials at several local manufacturing firms on National Manufacturing Day.
National Manufacturing Day is traditionally celebrated on the first Friday in October of each year.
Barhorst was accompanied by a delegation that included City Manager Mark Cundiff, Sidney-Shelby Economic Partnership Executive Director Jim Hill and Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Raible. The group visited Aunt Millie’s; Edgewell Personal Care; Lochard, Inc.; Polyfill; Shaffer Metal Fab and Victory Machine
“Sidney has more manufacturing jobs per capita than any other municipality in Ohio,” Barhorst said as he visited with employees. “In fact, every day, Sidney has a net inflow of more than 5,000 people who come into Sidney to work – it’s almost as if the entire population of a city like Saint Clairsville, Ohio, or Lawrenceburg, Indiana, moves into Sidney each day.”
“Many residents don’t realize it, but Shelby County is the home of two of the top three manufacturing employers in the Dayton region,” Hill added. “Manufacturing has a larger multiplier effect than any other major economic activity. Every $1 spent in manufacturing generates $1.33 in additional economic activity in the community.”
“Each visit was a bit different,” Barhorst said. “We met with the management team at Aunt Millie’s Bakery to discuss the future of the Sidney bakery, met with groups of employees at Edgewell and Victory Machine and took plant tours at each location this year. It was a good opportunity to discuss the overall business climate, the role that tariffs have played and what they see ahead in the new year.”
“In fact, the employers we visited were very positive,” Raible said. “Despite the difficulty of finding qualified employees to fill current vacancies, the executives with whom we visited were bullish about their futures in Sidney.”
“Aunt Millie’s recently added additional production space,” Cundiff said, “and three of the companies we visited discussed the need for additional space. We are blessed with wonderful companies who see their futures as being bright in Sidney.”
“Last year, we visited A&B Machine, Everyday Technologies, LaserFab Technologies, Industrial Recyclers, and Ross Casting and Innovation. We hope to eventually visit every one of our manufacturers as we annually celebrate National Manufacturing Day,” Barhorst said.
“We are home to the largest soybean processing plant this side of the Mississippi River, the largest manufacturer of air conditioning compressors and America’s No. 1 refrigerated pizza. Half of the refrigerators that are in recreational vehicles are manufactured in Sidney. We make things in Sidney and are proud of that long tradition,” Barhorst concluded.
National Manufacturing Day is observed annually on the first Friday in October. It is the opportunity for the country to celebrate those who make the products manufactured in America. Americans continue to develop products and unlock new technologies that grow the economy. It is promoted by the National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association International.
