The county wants to create a logistics “ecosystem” that provides industry employers with the resources they need to succeed, including relevant support services and a qualified labor pool, said Erik Collins, the county’s director of community and economic development.
“This will help our existing companies build that workforce pipeline,” Collins said. “We will be actively pursuing companies to come to the Dayton region as well.”
Montgomery County commissioners on Tuesday voted to accept a $121,500 state grant to help pay for several initiatives, including a business plan detailing how to develop a new logistics training facility.
The county has been awarded a grant in the same amount for a second phase of the project.
County officials envision developing a facility that would provide hands-on training in relevant work activities, such as forklift driving.
Officials said they want a facility that is sustainable and possibly similar to the Vincennes University Logistics Training and Education Center near Indianapolis. The center offers 40,000 square feet of classrooms, cutting-edge training equipment and flexible lab space.
County officials said the facility could operate using a combination of public and private funding sources.
County staff met with leaders from local logistics companies to find out what they would want out of a training facility. Staff then met with local leaders from local educational institutions, including Sinclair Community College, about what they could provide.
The first phase of grant funding will pay to create curriculum based on industry standards and is expected to be completed by June. In addition, the county plans to raise awareness about careers in logistics through community outreach.
During the second phase of the grant, the county will continue promoting logistics careers. That phase is expected to be completed by the end of June 2016. The county said it will add logistics classes at Miami Valley Career Technology Center and Upper Valley Career Center.
The county is focused on employer retention, because 80 percent of new jobs come from growth by existing companies, Collins said.
But the county intends to pursue companies that strengthen the logistics ecosystem, such as truck stops, warehouse sanitation services and cardboard manufacturers, Collins said.
“If you have a distribution company like Caterpillar, P&G or Payless, they are going to need pallets, containers to put the products in and they are going to need proximity to maybe flat-bed trucks and trailers that they can put the equipment on to ship to their customers,” Collins said.
The county has identified about 50 logistics companies it wants to pursue, based on a study released last year by St. Onge Co., a York., Pa.-based supply chain consultant, said Commissioner Dan Foley.
An analysis of shipping data identified companies that could benefit from having a distribution center in the Dayton area, he said.
Companies will be more likely to relocate to the county if it has training programs in place that can provide them with a skilled workforce, he said.
“We’re going to be playing some offense and saying to them, ‘Here’s why you need to set up a distribution center in Dayton,’” Foley said. “In the next two years, we’re going to be putting teams together and going after them to explain why Dayton, Ohio, is the best place to be.”
The county earlier this year launched a website, daytonlogistics.com, where employers can post jobs and people can learn about the industry, the composition of the local labor force and the area’s characteristics, such as traffic conditions and proximity to major population centers.
Beginning next year, county staff members will engage in “targeted prospecting,” meaning they will research companies outside of the region and visit them and develop relationships that could result in local investment, Collins said.
The county also will invite representatives of site-selection companies to visit this area to learn about what it has to offer their clients, officials said.
“When you get a company to come here and just take a look around, they are just always so impressed, we’re just such a hidden gem,” said Commissioner Judy Dodge.
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