(L to R) Connie LaFayette, with NSG Group; Doris Herringshaw, President-Wood County Commissioner; Glenn Richardson, JobsOhio; Congressman Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green; Dean Monske, president of the Regional Growth Partnership; and Dick Altman, NSG Group regional director architectural and solar
The following are members of the key team that helped bring NSG to the conclusion that their new float glass manufacturing plant, the first they have built-in nearly 40 years, should be placed in Wood County, Luckey, Ohio
The site will be the future home of a 500,000 square foot float glass plant that is part of a $350 million-dollar investment for NSG. This plant will be dedicated to making TCO which is transparent conductive oxide glass that is an important part of the solar glass panels to be fabricated in the nearby First Solar plant on Tracy road in Wood County.
Wood County Port Authority, represented by Cheryl Johnson, its current Chairperson, Rex Huffman, its Executive Director, along with Milton F Knight, founding chairperson of the Port Authority attended the groundbreaking. The Wood County Port Authority played an important role in bringing together its portfolio of financing, and along with coordinating other State Funding programs to make sure that NSG found it attractive to build its plant in Wood County.
(L to R) Todd Huffman, with NSG Group overall project manager; Christa Luttmann, Governor’s Regional Liason; Dr Ted Bowlus, Wood County Commissioner; Cayla Shreffler, Staff Assistant to Senator Rob Portman; Cheryl Johnson, Chairman of Wood County Port Authority; and Shaun Allen, NSG.
Dan Knecht, the Luckey NSG Plant manager, praised the cooperative effort of all the parties at the groundbreaking. He spoke about the history of NSG and its long-term connection to Libbey Owens Ford following World War II, and how Libbey Owens Ford Glass production was sold to Pilkington. Dan spoke about NSG’s, Pilkington’s and LOF’s long history in Northwest Ohio and how NSG is excited about the facility being built on Pemberville Road in Luckey, Ohio.
pictured in the photo is (L to R) is Todd Huffman, NSG Group Overall Project Manager; Dan Knecht, Luckey NSG Plant Manager; Bob Latta, Congressman and Doris Herringshaw, President of Wood County Commissioners.
The project got its first news coverage when the Troy Township Trustees approved an agreement for Tax abatement on the new plant. Based upon how tax abatement agreements work, the grantee of the abatement contracts to pay to the local school district funds which would have otherwise been abated. Thus, the Agreement will provide $343,000 to the Eastwood Local Schools over the next 15 years, as well as $44,000 to the Penta County Career Center.
(L to R) Stephen Weidner, NSG, Milton Ford Knight (Tony), WCPA Board Member and descendant of Edward Ford, Dick Altman and Todd Huffman, NSG
A day later, the Wood County Commissioners (Ted Bowlus, Craig LaHote and Doris Herringshaw) approved an Enterprise Agreement with NSG North American to build the 500,000 square foot plant in Troy Township that will employ 150 well-paying jobs.
The new plant will involve new technology for Coating surfaces for the collection of solar energy. NSG and First Solar are part of a coordinated joint effort to create clean energy for the future.
