The Dispatch recently highlighted Honda’s announcement to build the NSX sports car right here in Ohio:

State development officials work hard to convince companies to come to Ohio. Nothing, though, could be a greater testament to Ohio’s business-friendly environment than Honda’s announcement last week that it will build its much-anticipated Acura NSX sports car near Marysville, where the Japanese company has had operations for 34 years.

Hidenobu Iwata, president and CEO of Honda of America Manufacturing, said the biggest factor in the decision to build the high-end car in central Ohio wasn’t tax breaks or other public incentives — it was the quality of its workers.

“It’s about people,” Iwata said at Tuesday’s press event. “The location of this facility is in the midst of one of the greatest collections of engineering talent in the world.”

Honda already has about 13,700 employees in Ohio — more than any other car company. The NSX will be built next door to the plant that builds the Accord, Honda’s flagship vehicle and long one of the bestselling cars in America.

That’s already a great feather in Ohio’s cap, but getting the NSX is particularly sweet. Gov. John Kasich commented that the NSX looks like the kind of car James Bond would drive; the NSX will be exclusive, powerful and sexy, with a price tag to match (exact pricing hasn’t been announced, but those who have to ask, probably can’t afford it).

It will give the Buckeye state particular bragging rights when these cars start hitting the streets to be able to say: That car is made in Ohio. This is another win for both Ohio and Honda.

You can read the original story here.

In this short editorial, the Marietta Times praises Gov. Kasich’s fiscal stewardship with Ohio’s state budget and encourages the preservation of our rainy day fund:

My, how far the state has come.

When the Ohio legislature approves the next two-year state budget, whether it’s Gov. John Kasich’s proposal, the Ohio House version, an Ohio Senate version or, what’s most likely going to be a blend of all, it will start the biennium with $482 million in the rainy day fund.

Two years ago the state projected an $8 billion budget deficit and had 89 cents in the rainy day fund. Kasich’s proposed budget would swell the fund to $1.4 billion, the threshold necessary to trigger tax breaks for all Ohioans, by the end of the year.

It’s important for legislators to avoid the temptation to spend the rainy day fund on local governments. It’s tempting because delivering money to local communities buys a lot of votes.

But offering tax breaks to Ohio residents is more important, which is why the automatic trigger was written into law many years ago. It’s also important that local governments have a consistent revenue stream rather than one with unsettling ups and downs, including mid-budget cuts that lead to layoffs and disruptions in services.

You can read the original editorial here.

Governor Kasich joined Honda for a special announcement earlier this week at their new plant in Marysville. Business First has more below:

Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. will build the Acura NSX sports car at a new plant in Marysville, near its main U.S. production site where it established its foothold in North America three decades ago.

It will become Honda Motor Co.’s third assembly plant in Central Ohio, joining ones in Marysville and East Liberty where the Japanese automaker turns out Honda Accords, CR-Vs and Crosstours and Acura TL sedans and RDX sport-utility vehicles.

Executives from Honda said Tuesday that the company will renovate its former North American logistics center into a 184,000-square-foot, $70 million plant dedicated solely to the NSX, the top-of-line model from Honda’s luxury division. The car will make a return to the market after a hiatus of several years.

The plant will employ about 100 workers, who will be transferred from other Honda operations. Honda employs more than 13,000 workers in the state, including 7,000 in the Columbus region.

The NSX is being designed and engineered primarily in the U.S. at Honda R&D Americas Inc., which is has operations near the main Marysville plant and in Los Angeles.

“Thirty years ago, building cars in America was a big dream. Working together, here in Ohio and across North America we turned this dream into reality,” Honda of America CEO Hidenobu Iwata said in a press release. “The location of this facility is in the midst of one of the greatest collections of engineering and production talent in the world. So it makes sense that we will renew the dream and build this high-tech, supercar in Marysville, Ohio.”

You can read the original article here.

In this editorial, the Vindicator joins Gov. Kasich in welcoming Exterran’s expanded operations and investment in the Mahoning Valley:

The official opening of Exterran Energy Solutions’ $13 million 65,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing plant on Youngstown’s West Side last week injects premium fuel into the Mahoning Valley’s retooled economic engine. It also illustrates the potential for additional and accelerated investment in our region.

We join Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Exterran President and CEO Brad Childers in welcoming Exterran to the Valley’s expanding manufacturing matrix and wish the prestigious, world-class company success and growth in Youngstown.

The governor and the CEO traveled to the city last week to cut the ribbon on Exterran’s plant in the Salt Springs Road Industrial Park. Exterran, which employs 10,000 in 30 countries across the world, stands out as a big-boy player in the energy-equipment production sector.

It ranks among the Top 10 manufacturers of energy equipment on the Fortune 500. Its growth is skyrocketing; its revenue in the first quarter of 2013 zoomed 30 percent above that of last year’s.

In Youngstown, Exterran will manufacture production equipment used to treat and process oil and gas after they are extracted from the ground. Exterran strengthens the already solid foothold of Youngstown and the Valley in the national and regional shale boom.

Already, Childers envisions growth and heightened employment at the plant as the Valley moves closer to increased drilling and production of those key natural resources.

And why shouldn’t he? A report released last week from Chief Executive magazine named Ohio as the most-improved business climate in the nation. Also last week, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council reported that while overall U.S. employment declined by 3.7 percent from 2005 to 2010, jobs grew by 27.6 percent in the oil- and gas- extraction sector.

That growth translates into stability and security for workers and communities. Exterran, for example, estimates that its new Youngstown plant will create $4.9 million in new payroll and will benefit the Valley economy by nearly $500 million in coming years.

And

Kasich, always the energetic cheerleader for the Mahoning Valley, said at the ribbon cutting that the sun is rising on Youngstown. “It seems like no matter how many times people get knocked down here, we just get back on our feet. It just makes such a difference, and now you’re seeing this whole Valley beginning to regenerate itself.”

Valley leaders should waste no time in capitalizing on the Exterran investment and in replicating that success.

You can read the entire editorial here.

In this editorial, the Dispatch highlights the significance of Ohio’s recognition in a recent survey as the state with the most improved business-friendly climate in the country. We still have a lot more work to do but we’re seeing positive signs of recovery:

In the latest sign that word is getting out about Ohio’s business-friendly makeover, the Buckeye State is the biggest gainer in Chief Executive magazine’s 2013 ranking of Best States for Business.

Ohio advanced an impressive 13 spots from last year, by far the biggest gain of any state, on the list based on responses from more than 700 CEOs around the country.

Ohio landed at No. 22 after CEOs ranked states on factors including taxation and regulation, work-force quality and quality of life.

In addition to its impressive one-year gain, Ohio had the third-largest four-year gain among states, rising from a dismal No. 45 in 2009.

State tax reforms signed into law by former Gov. Bob Taft and phased in over several years have had a major impact on Ohio’s reputation as a good place for business.

Gov. John Kasich has taken the foundation of Ohio’s diverse economy and continued to build Ohio’s reputation for business-friendliness.

A state can’t promote itself as business-friendly if it can’t get its own house in order. Kasich quickly closed Ohio’s $8 billion budget gap, has overseen the addition of 115,000 new jobs since taking office and just announced refunds to employers from the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which is running a surplus.

And

Those states have in common high-tax, high-regulation policies that a majority of CEOs say are crippling the growth those states desperately need to prop up their unsustainable entitlements and public-pension obligations.

By contrast, low-tax, low-regulation states have solidified their grip on the list’s top spots: Texas, Florida and North Carolina remained unchanged on this year’s list at Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

CEOs say that, in contrast to Washington, D.C., the states are adopting pro-growth policies by reducing business taxes and streamlining regulations, among other things.

And

One ranking isn’t the be-all, end-all for a state, and there is still room for improvement on lists such as the Chief Executive one.

Though higher-ranked than most neighboring states, Ohio still lags Indiana, which maintained its No. 5 position. But clearly, momentum continues to build under Kasich’s stewardship and his championing of the Ohio story in national and international settings.

You can read the entire article here.