Harmon Business Park of Defiance Brings Jobs and Investment to Northwest Ohio

The Harmon Business Park of Defiance was planned and developed as a partnership between the City of Defiance and the NAI Harmon Group based out of Toledo, Ohio. The site is a 100,000-square-foot speculative building with available space for manufacturing companies. It welcomed its first tenant, APG Packaging, in 2022 and is expected to finish site development by the end of 2023.  

Recognizing an overall lack of sites for manufacturers in Northwest Ohio, the NAI Harmon Group partnered with the City of Defiance to develop a business park to support both industrial and light manufacturing companies. The Harmon Business Park of Defiance helps to position Northwest Ohio as a strong option for manufacturers bringing new jobs and investment to the area. The business park's first manufacturing tenant, APG Packaging, is expected to create 135 jobs in Defiance.

Defiance is a transportation hub rich with opportunity. The Harmon Group invested in a business park here because of the city’s access to talent, resources, and its central location to major cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Detroit.

JobsOhio supported The Harmon Group with a $2.6 million loan and a $565,000 grant to assist in the development of the speculative building through the Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP), a program that offers grants and low-interest loans to support speculative, job-ready sites.

Showcasing the site’s readiness and attraction, APG Packaging, an international leader in cosmetic packaging, selected the business park as the location for its largest and newest manufacturing facility in the U.S. With facilities in the U.S. and Asia, APG has a global footprint and ultimately chose Ohio for their expansion. APG cited the area’s location and strong community support as reasons for announcing their expansion to the Business Park of Defiance.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine talked about APG’s decision to build its facility and what it meant for jobs in Ohio. “APG Packaging could have chosen to put this factory anywhere in the world, but they chose Ohio,” said DeWine. “This facility will on-shore manufacturing from China to Defiance, serving as an example to the world of the competitive advantages of moving operations from overseas to Ohio.”

President and CEO of JobsOhio, J.P. Nauseef discussed the Business Park and APG’s decision to move there as another step for Ohio’s drive to increase job creation. “APG Packaging’s decision to establish its first manufacturing facility in Ohio is an example of the momentum Ohio is building to attract new businesses,” said Nauseef. “We look forward to working with APG Packaging as it on-shores 135 high-paying jobs to Defiance.”

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