MAC Trailer Marks 1-Year Anniversary in Kent

State tax credit, development dollars made Kent move possible

A little more than one year ago the MAC Liquid Tank Trailer complex on Fairchild Avenue was just another vacant, former manufacturing facility in Northeast Ohio. Today, the liquid trank trailer division and subsidiary of the Alliance, OH based firm MAC Trailer is humming along with the sights and sounds of welders, grinders and crane operators building trailers used mostly in the gas and oil drilling business. MAC LTT moved in to the former Fontaine trailer site in the fall of 2011 thanks to $5.7 million in state development dollars and tax credits. The Kent location is one of three plants associated with MAC Trailer, which already has plants in Salem and Alliance Ohio. Since moving in, the employees at MAC LTT have built 374 units. The …

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Hit-Skip Driver Leads Police on 4-mile Chase

Driver works at Kent trailer manufacturer

A Kent welder is in jail today after leading police on a nearly 4 mile chase after crashing into a car and speeding away. Perry L. Bivins, 47, of Ravenna, faces numerous charges, including drunk driving, after an early morning crash near the intersection of S.R. 261 and South Water Street. Bivins crashed into the back of a car driven by Tina M. Scherer, a Brimfield resident, just after midnight on March 3, according to Portage County court records. "After that, he took off," Kent Police Lt. Paul Canfield said. "There was a short chase." Police followed Bivins east on S.R. 261 until he turned onto S.R. 59 and started driving towards Ravenna. Police stopped Bivins almost four miles from the crash near 2301 S.R. 59 in Franklin Township, …

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VIDEO: Gov. John Kasich Visits Kent Trailer Manufacturer

MAC Trailer expanded to Kent thanks to $5.7 million in state support

Ohio Gov. John Kasich traveled to Kent Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of MAC Liquid Tank Trailer and the creation of 250 new jobs thanks largely to $5.7 million in state development dollars. MAC LTT is a division of MAC Trailer, which already has plants in Salem and Alliance. The Kent expansion is expected to bring 250 total new jobs to the city within the next 18 to 24 months. Kasich said the state’s support of MAC’s Kent move was one of 191 projects the Ohio Department of Development has been directly involved in in the past eight to nine months. “We’ve created 14,526 new jobs, and we have saved 28,892 jobs, for a total of 43,418 jobs saved or jobs created in the state of Ohio in the period of the last eight or nine months,” …

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amydiehl

5:32 pm on Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanks for the laugh, pac!   more ›

Snapshot: First Unit at MAC Trailer's Kent Shop

The trailer company expanded into Kent this summer

The first trailer built in Kent by MAC Trailer rolled off the line Friday morning and was a cause for celebration by the plant's employees. The company expects to employ about 250 people at the Kent location within 18 to 24 months. They already build trailers in Salem and Alliance. The company made the Kent expansion thanks to $5.7 million in state support. Dan Smith, Kent's economic development director, said in an email the firm's investment represents the largest new industry move to Kent since Land O' Lakes moved to town in 1983. If you're looking for a job and can handle a welder, contact MAC Trailer.

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MAC Trailer Gets State Cash for Kent Move

State Controlling Board signs off on $5.7 million in support for firm's Kent expansion

Relief Over MAC Trailer Move to Kent

Trailer manufacturer's plans to move to Kent are final after weeks of negotiating

Officials with both the city of Kent and MAC Trailer can breathe a sigh of relief today now that the deal is closed to bring the company to Kent. Dan Smith, Kent's Economic Development Director, said the firm finalized the deal on Friday to expand into the former Fontaine Trailer facility at 1400 Fairchild Ave. "It feels great to see MAC Trailer setting up operations with plans to hire 200-plus local workers with good-paying jobs," Smith said. "All too often we hear the opposite happening. Jim Maiorana and the entire Mac Trailer team are to be credited with their successful business practices and vision that have enabled them to make this type of investment possible." Maiorana, MAC's executive vice president, said they had been considering…

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Jon Ridinger

1:49 pm on Monday, September 5, 2011

Well for one, employee income taxes. People are quick to remember property taxes, but the city only gets a small percentage of the property tax; the vast majority of it goes to the schools. The majority of the city's budget comes from a 2.0% personal income tax on everyone who works in the city or in the JEDD with Franklin Township. There is mention of state tax credit program (which has been …   more ›

UPDATE: MAC Trailer Hiring Now for Kent Plant

The Alliance-based truck trailer manufacturer needs to hire 50 people right away for various positions at their Fairchild Avenue facility

Need a job? Then MAC Trailer needs you. The Alliance-based truck trailer manufacturer signed a deal this month to buy the former Fontaine Trailer plant at 1400 Fairchild Ave., and the firm is looking to hire people in Kent right away. Jim Maiorana, executive vice president for MAC Trailer, said in an interview this morning that operations have already started at the facility. "We’re in there now setting up and cleaning, and we’ll be building trailers here within a week," Maiorana said. "We’re basically looking for, at the moment, to bring on about 50 people as fast as we can." The company, which builds pneumatic tank trailers, dump trailers and flatbed trailers at locations in Alliance and Salem, is looking for a broad range of employees …

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Update: MAC Trailer May Open Kent Facility

Much has to happen before Alliance truck trailer manufacturer can open Kent facility

An Alliance truck trailer manufacturer's goal to expand into Kent is "not a done deal," but city officials remain hopeful. MAC Trailer, a dump, flatbed and transfer trailer builder based in Alliance, is considering expanding into a now-vacant former trailer facility on Fairchild Avenue. But a lot of stars need to align to make the move happen. Jim Maiorana, executive vice president for MAC, said they have been considering moving into Kent for about four weeks. "As of this moment, nothing is happening," Maiorana said "There is no firm commitment." He declined to comment further. City officials, however, remain optimistic that as many as 163 jobs — and a $6 million payroll — could be in Kent by MAC's second year in business here. "At this …

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