ALLIANCE − In a region that prioritizes education in the skilled trades, Ohio Gratings' expansion into the Alliance area is a welcome investment.
The Canton-based manufacturer of industrial and commercial grating supplies is hiring for about 100 positions across its Alliance and Canton operations.
It plans to move into a facility on Armour Street NE in Lexington Township, just outside the Carnation City limits.
Rick Baxter, president of Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce, said the company is well-known for helping trade school students with "real life experience in their facilities" and looks to hire after they graduate.
"This will be a great opportunity for our local schools," Baxter said.
The region includes Alliance City, Louisville City, Marlington Local, Sebring Local, West Branch Local and Minerva Local schools. Several of the districts offer large trades programs in such areas as welding, horticulture and construction.
In an Aug. 27 news release, Ohio Gratings Chief Business Officer Shaun Eller said the Alliance facility will help the company grow and create more local career opportunities.
"We're excited to become part of the Alliance community and connect more people with careers in manufacturing," Eller said.
The Alliance facility will be the company's fourth manufacturing site, joining locations in Canton, Houston and Fort Payne, Alabama. Daily operations are set to begin this month.
The company has more than 680 employees nationwide − about 620 in Canton.
The Alliance location will support cutting operations, welding and light-duty fabrication and material storage.
John Bartley, the company's president and chief executive officer, told The Canton Repository that the Alliance facility provides more space for different projects. His family founded the company in 1970, making steel, aluminum and stainless steel bar grating products.
"Bar grating is a big and bulky product. It's not a skid," Bartley said. "It's 20-by-24-foot long material and to move that around it takes a lot of space. We needed more elbow room. Moving portions of the business to Alliance will give us that elbow room."
Bartley said about 50 jobs will be available initially at the Alliance facility.
The positions include material handlers, MIG welders, fabricators, production assistants and CNC cutting-table operators, on both first and second shifts. Bartley said he hopes the facility will draw more employees from the Alliance area because it will be closer to them.
"These are opportunities here for people at different stages of their careers," Amanda Piccari, vice president of human resources, said in the news release. "We need people with skilled manufacturing experience, but we also have opportunities for those who are ready to learn, build their skills and start a career."
Shawn Jackson, assistant superintendent of the Alliance City Schools District, said Ohio Gratings has been a valued partner for the district and its Career Tech programs − particularly, welding. He said several students later went to work for the company.
"Their expansion into Alliance will create even more opportunities for our students to gain experience and build careers right here in their own community," he said. "We're grateful for their continued investment in our students and excited about what their presence in Alliance will mean for our Career Tech students and graduates."
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or [email protected].
Ohio Gratings Inc., based in Canton, has expanded four times since it opened in 1970. Here are the locations:
Ridgeland, South Carolina: 2003-2023; now closed
Fort Payne, Alabama: 2025-present
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Ohio Gratings expanding to Alliance area helps career tech students