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Humtown Product’s leases remaining Cherry Fork space from port authority

LISBON — Humtown Product’s growing need for more space is paying dividends for the Columbiana County Port Authority.

The port authority board on Monday agreed to lease the remaining 15,637 square feet in manufacturing space at its Cherry Fork building in Leetonia to Humtown, which occupies the other portion of the building for the company’s 3-D printing component of its business. The payment will be $2,778 per month.

“Mark has really been growing the business as you well know,” so much so that Humtown is in the process of adding a third 3-D printer at a cost of $700,000, port authority Director Penny Traina told the board. She was referring to Humtown President Mark Lamoncha.

Humtown moved its expanded industrial production 3-D printing operations to the port authority’s industrial park in Leetonia, also known as the World Trade Park, in 2016 as part of joint classroom venture with Youngstown State University. The port authority sold the building last year as part of the Haltec Inc. relocation project, with Humtown moving across town to the Cherry Fork location, where it took over 68,000 square feet of space formerly leased by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of American.

The additional space leased to Humtown, which will be used for storage, was leased for years from the port authority by Dilworth Manufacturing, but the company moved out several years ago. Traina said this means the entire building is once again being used.

As for Humtown, she told the board the company may need a rail spur. “He’s growing so fast he is using one rail car of sand a month,” Traina said of Lamoncha.

In other news, Traina reported a group of area businesses, associations and trade organizations have joined together to form the Ohio River Coalition of Ohio (ORCO) to promote commerce along the river. As part of those efforts, the 18-member ORCO met with representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Rail Development Commission, state Rep. Tim Ginter, R-Columbiana County and other state legislators who serve on related committees.

“As you well know, we’ve been working hard to market Ohio … and this bring ups a little closer to achieving that goal,” she said.

Besides the port authority, other members include Cincinnati Barge and Rail Terminals, Central Ohio River Business Association, Cincinnati Bulk Terminals, Benchmark River and Rail Terminals (Cincinnati) Parsons Terminal, Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, Seaforth Minerals, Lawrence County Economic Development, S.H. Bell Co., Wellsville Terminals, Running Rivers, Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, Buckeye Hills Regional Council, NAI Ohio River Corridor and Pier 48 Stevedoring.

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