Leadership Clinton recently had a busy day learning about economic development in Clinton County.
The class started at Ferno Washington, an international company headquartered here in Wilmington. Eric Salyers and Zane Hartsell provided an overview of the company and the products and services it provides.
“Ferno is proud to be one of the oldest companies in the Wilmington area,” said Hartsell. “The work we do and the products that we make help save lives and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
The duo also led a tour of the manufacturing facility so class members were able to see production in action.
After that, the class went to the Wilmington Air Park, home of the Clinton County Port Authority. There, the class got a history lesson from LC Alum Beth Huber about the Air Park, the many challenges it has faced, and the opportunities that have led to its current success.
“Wilmington Air Park is the highest volume cargo airport in Ohio,” Huber pointed out. “The Air Park was also named the Best Airport in Ohio in 2020 and 2021 by Ohio Magazine. The Port Authority is very proud of both of those things.”
The class then had a robust discussion about Economic Development in Clinton County, led by class member Jennifer Klus Ekey and Clinton County Port Authority Executive Director (and LC Alum) Dan Evers.
The class also had a lively discussion about Main Street Wilmington, led by the Port Authority’s own — and Main Street Board Member — Ruth Brindle, about the importance of downtown revitalization.
Following the discussion and lunch, Kym Parks, Director of Marketing for ATSG (also LC Alum) took the class on a fascinating tour of AMES and one of the maintenance hangars, discussing facets of the operation.
Leadership Clinton wrapped up the day at AZEK/TimberTech as class members Brittany Green and Shelia Riddle hosted the class for an in-depth tour of the plant.
Class members learned about the company, including how they source post-consumer and post-industrial plastics before transferring those materials to their state-of-the-art recycling facilities.
“That’s when the magic happens,” said Riddle, “where our team of expert engineers, researchers, and innovators transform these recycled materials into the highest-quality outdoor living products.”
Sustainability was a theme of the tour, with Green and Riddle sharing that the company’s processes saved 3 million trees since 2001, diverted 500 million pounds of scrap and waste from landfills in 2021, and annually recycle up to 97% of the used water in a closed-loop water filtration system. AZEK strives to use 1 billion pounds of recycled material annually.
To learn more about the Clinton County Leadership Institute and the work that the Leadership Clinton Class of 2021-22 is doing, please visit www.leadershipclinton.org .
