A third-party logistics provider is taking aggressive steps to attract new business to Northwest Ohio. Keller Logistics has confirmed plans to construct two spec buildings in neighboring counties, with visions of drawing heavy job-creating opportunities tied to advanced manufacturing.

Keller Logistics will soon begin constructing a 70,000 square-foot spec building in Defiance. It is expected to be completed by February. The other planned structure, a 150,000-square-foot building in Napoleon is scheduled for completion in April.

Both spec buildings are being supported through the Ohio Site Inventory Program, an innovative initiative created by JobsOhio to boost competitiveness of the state in competing for economic development projects. The $50 million program offers grants and low-interest loans to support speculative site and building development projects.

Bryan Keller, CEO of Keller Logistics Group, credited the JobsOhio program as a key advantage for developers and communities across the state.

“This gives Northwest Ohio a tremendous opportunity to create new assets which will ultimately attract new businesses,” said Keller, whose Defiance-based logistics company also works in real estate development. “This program mitigates risk and allows us to offer more competitive rates to end users.”

Keller’s team has already found success when the first spec building it constructed several years ago in Defiance attracted Decked, a manufacturer of truck bed storage systems. In addition, Keller Logistics also has plans to develop two more regional spec buildings in 2023.

“With all the assets here in Northwest Ohio, we have confidence a new building will attract a solid company,” Keller said.

Moving forward, Northwest Ohio currently has a robust pipeline of potential projects through OSIP, bringing an additional 1 million square feet of new inventory. To learn more on Northwest Ohio’s top sites and available buildings, visit the Regional Growth Partnership website at https://rgp.org/sites-buildings/.