Could Southwest Ohio win 4,000-job Toyota-Mazda plant?

Officially, Ohio isn’t saying whether it’s trying to land Toyota and Mazda's new U.S. plant.

States are falling over each other to win the Japanese companies' new factory, with its 4,000 assembly jobs and work for thousands more at parts suppliers and logistics firms. Those jobs would sure help boost the sluggish economy in Ohio, where, if workers know how to do anything, it's build cars. Ohio ranks second in auto manufacturing states, after Michigan.

“We do not share whether or not we are in project discussions with companies,” said Matt Englehart, a spokesman for JobsOhio, the state’s privatized economic development arm.

Despite the “no comment,” JobsOhio provided The Enquirer with a list of the state’s top selling points to an auto manufacturer who might want to consider Ohio for its next new factory. Just in case, you know.

A couple of factors even point to Southwest Ohio.

1. If you build it...

Ohio boasts several sites of more than 1,000 acres, an ideal size for auto manufacturing.

One of those sites: a tract of 1,043 acres in Mount Orab. Kelly Cole, the Brown County economic development director, wouldn't say whether the site is being pitched to Toyota and Mazda. She confirmed the location already has all utilities in place – which would make the start of construction even faster.

Toyota and Mazda want to open their new plant by 2021.

2. Home away from home

Toyota already has factories in neighboring Indiana and Kentucky and engineering operations in Erlanger, Kentucky, and in Michigan. The part of Ohio that would keep the Toyota-Mazda plant closest to most of those locations: Southwest Ohio, of course.

Locating Toyota's next plant near existing factories also would keep it close to its parts suppliers, saving shipping time and money.

Of course, unlike Ohio, neighboring states have right-to-work laws that could appeal to Toyota and Mazda. Even with Ohio's pro-union laws, some factories in the state – such as Honda's – are free of collective bargaining. 

3. We have these friends in Southwest Ohio...

A new Toyota parts supplier is already setting up shop in the Dayton area.

Montgomery County broke ground in June on a factory that will supply Toyota, among other automakers, with vehicle parts. Hematite International, a Canadian company, recycles plastic and turns it into linings and insulation to minimize noise and deflect water from a vehicle.

Plus, every chance he gets, Gov. John Kasich mentions Ohio’s success in landing Chinese auto glass manufacturer Fuyao in an old General Motors truck plant outside of Dayton.

Bringing a new Japanese auto plant to Ohio, perhaps even near Fuyao in Southwest Ohio, would create quite the chest-thumping victory for American manufacturing – especially since the Toyota Corolla, set to be built at the new plant, originally was scheduled for a factory in Mexico.

4. High-tech hub

Ohio has already become a national leader in the effort to roll out more connected and electric vehicles, the kind of cars Toyota and Mazda plan to make part of their collaboration. Columbus last year beat out tech hubs such as Austin, Pittsburgh and San Francisco for a federal self-driving vehicle grant – part of $400 million the Columbus area has compiled to set up for connected and electric vehicles.

A test track 50 miles outside of downtown Columbus is building the industry’s largest high-speed intersection, where connected vehicles can approach at full speed while relying on technology to allow them to pass within seconds.

Thanks to fiber optic cables and sensors, highways around Columbus and across the northern part of the state already are testing grounds for self-driving or platooning vehicles. Platooning happens when trucks drive close to each other at efficient, high speeds, using technology to brake simultaneously.

More:With code name, how Toyota-Mazda set off secret race for 4,000-job plant

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Correction: Due to incorrect information provided by JobsOhio, previous versions of this story misstated how many large manufacturing sites in Ohio have utilities in place. The state has several large sites suitable for auto plants, including one site in Brown County with its utilities in place.