Ottawa celebrates Whirlpool Corp. freezer plant's rebirth

OTTAWA, Ohio - In an era when it's far more common to see manufacturing plants close or move, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and employees and officials of Whirlpool Corp. yesterday celebrated one factory that's been reborn.

The former W.C. Wood Corp. Inc. plant in Ottawa, which employed as many as 215 workers making stand-up and chest freezers under contract for Whirlpool, closed last year after its Canadian owners declared bankruptcy.

However, the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company bought the plant a few weeks later, called back some workers, and after what company officials called an "intensive internal study," decided Ottawa was the best place for it to continue to make Whirlpool, Maytag, and Amana-brand freezers.

"This is a great day in Putnam County as we watch the doors open once again on this facility," Governor Strickland said. "Whirlpool has recognized something we've known for a long time - that there's no place better than Ohio, no work force better than Ohio's, for making high-quality product."

Jeff Noel, Whirlpool vice president for communications and public affairs, credited the company's $7.2 million investment in the 500,000-square-foot plant to its work force and to the community.

"The state, and the community, and the work force earned the right to keep this plant going," Mr. Noel said after the ceremony yesterday afternoon. "You can't believe how supportive this community was after we went through the review process."

The plant currently has 190 employees, but "is not at full capac-ity," plant manager Dale Rampe said.

The company refused to discuss its plans, but Ohio economic development officials said the plant could employ as many as 324 by the end of 2011. The state provided a job tax credit worth $821,000 over seven years for the project.

The company is expected next week to receive a $250,000 state grant to help pay for the machinery and equipment it has bought.

Whirlpool and state officials previously put the cost of the project at $4.4 million, but said the additional $2.8 million was spent revitalizing the plant once it was purchased from W.C. Wood.

41.01916 -84.04803

Enlarge

In an era when it's far more common to see manufacturing plants close or move, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and employees and officials of Whirlpool Corp. yesterday celebrated one factory that's been reborn.