Soraya Bowman, a doorman at Chick Master, is building a door for the incubators that are built at the business at 945 Lafayette Road, Medina. Chick Master was one of 19 stops on the Made in Medina County tour Friday.
U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, middle, R-Wadsworth, made a visit to Rico Manufacturing, 691 W. Liberty St., Medina, Friday as part of the Made in Medina County event. From left: Doug Willse, Jennfer Gray, Dave Mueller, Kimberly Marshall, city of Medina's Economic Development, Adam Wirkiowski, Brian Parsons and Beth Kereszturi. All but Renacci and Marshall are employees at Rico.
MEDINA — Visitors to the Chick Master Incubator Co. Friday morning who hoped to see tiny chicks running aimlessly throughout the facility were quickly disappointed upon seeing the sprawling operation.
The $50 million-a-year business operates sans chickens and their offspring, but is nothing short of impressive. Situated at 945 Lafayette Road in Medina, Chick Master employs about 70 people and supplies incubation and ventilation equipment for the poultry industry.
"We sell products all around the world in every continent but Africa," said Chick Master's Marketing Manager Milcia Collado.
The visit was one of 19 plant and manufacturing facility tours that took place throughout the day as part of the Made in Medina County Day. Organized by the Medina County Economic Development Corp. to showcase the products and processors at work daily in the county, and an estimated 420 people took part in manufacturing visits throughout the day.
At 13 of the stops, elected officials visited and worked at stations within the manufacturing plants, walking away with a greater knowledge of the work taking place in the county.
Most of the incubation equipment at Chick Master is designed for chickens, but plant officials said the equipment is also used for turkeys, quail, ducks and an occasional ostrich.
Chick Master Assistant Plant Manager David Haas said many developing nations are improving their eating habits and eating more chicken.
"We procure worldwide," Haas said.
Chick Master's plant is 86,000 square feet, but there is room to grow. Haas said the plant is running only one shift of workers and is in need of more employees.
On Friday, the company had orders waiting to be shipped to Mexico, Thailand, Peru and Ethiopia.
When incubators are shipped overseas, installers sometimes go with them to assemble the units.
The business originated in Cleveland in 1948 before relocating its headquarters in 1976 to its present factory in Medina, according to a company history.
Haas said if consumers see a Tyson Foods or Perdue chicken in grocery stores, or even a McDonald's Chicken McNugget, those chickens probably were hatched in incubators made by Chick Master.
He said one incubation unit costs about $60,000.
Chick Master also supplies aftermarket parts, a $12 million-a-year business.
Haas said the company will continue to grow.
"We have the mojo and the leadership to keep this going," he said.
Another successful business in Medina, Rico Manufacturing Inc., hosted Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, on Friday.
Rico, at 691 W. Liberty St., has been designing and manufacturing specialized lift trucks for industries around the globe — as well as the U.S. Army and Navy — for more than 30 years.
"Any time it's made in America or made local, it's always positive," Renacci said. "The answer is how we get that accomplished more in this country. How do we get Made in Medina (County) more than just a slogan, but an opportunity for this to happen?
Renacci, a Republican, is running against incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, in the Nov. 6 general election.
The former Wadsworth mayor said he loves making visits like Friday's at Rico, which he said started from scratch and has been built into a successful business. Renacci said he was a businessman for almost 30 years in financial consulting, motorcycle and automobile dealerships, real estate and nursing homes.
Rico CEO Dave Mueller said he loves everything about Made in Medina County Day.
"It's an opportunity to promote what we do," he said.
Like many businesses, Rico is looking to add to its workforce.
Mueller said not all kids coming out of high school are qualified for college.
He said some can go into manufacturing and "surpass their peers in earning potential" and not have $100,000 in student loan debt.
At a reception after the plant tours, the Economic Development Corp. announced that actor John Ratzenberger will serve as the keynote speaker for next year's Manufacturing Expo, set for Oct. 4, 2019.
"John is not only an actor of 'Cheers' and Pixar fame, but he has become a true advocate for manufacturing and workforce training," said Bethany Dentler, executive director of the Medina County Economic Development Corp.
He has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor's Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion.
Kathy Breitenbucher, economic developer for the Economic Development Corp., put together the Made in Medina County event, along with Dentler.
"Made in Medina County Day was created to continue the dialog about manufacturing in Medina County," Breitenbucher said. "Twenty-nine percent of our economic output and over $400 million in payroll is generated by the manufacturing industry in our county, and that's very important because you can grow a manufacturing economy much further than a service-based one.
For more information about the Economic Development Corp., visit medinacounty.org.