Business Infrastructure

Overview

Bowling Green Ohio is the county seat of Wood County, a university town, and a great place to do business.

  • Located on Interstate-75 (Runs from Michigan to Florida)
  • 12 miles from Interstate-80 / 90 (A major East / West corridor)
  • Within one day's drive of 70% of the North American consumables market

We're a growing, bustling can-do kind of place, drawing our inspiration and appeal from a diverse mix of residents. Our past is reflected in our carefully preserved downtown, oil boom mansions, and cultural diversity and our future is driven by an aggressive, thriving business community supported by a strong local economy. Bowling Green is a partnership dedicated to careful growth and an outstanding quality of life.

From our unique vantage point along the I-75 corridor, you can virtually hear the Great Lakes freighters in Toledo hauling their cargoes of steel for England, lumber for Japan, grain for Russia, and coal for River Rouge.

A little further to the north - about ninety truck minutes - is Detroit, manufacturing new cars, van, and trucks... many with parts made right here in Bowling Green by firms such as Vehtek and GKN Driveline.

Served by road and rail, Bowling Green's northwest Ohio location translates into fast deliveries and lower freight costs. For faster service, use our Wood County Airport which also accepts corporate jets. Just 30 minutes to the north is Toledo Express Airport, with national and international passenger connections, plus world-wide freight capacity.

We may be surrounded by farms and fields, but with connections to the rest of the world, Bowling Green is never far from what you need to do business.

Utilities

Electric Power

Cut Utility Costs. . .with low rates. Bowling Green maintains its own power distribution facilities-- and, as a municipally owned supplier, we buy electricity wholesale and pass on the savings to your company! The city is part of AMP-Ohio Inc. (www.amp-ohio.org), a member operated organization, which purchases the electric power for its members. The city maintains a diversified portfolio of sources for their power including, hydro, nuclear, wind and coal. We provide a clean uninterrupted power supply at an affordable price to our customers and assist them with their electrical needs.

Natural Gas

Columbia Gas of Ohio, Inc. and Suburban Gas serve the Bowling Green area with competitively priced natural gas supply and transportation services. The customer may choose from a variety of marketers to purchase their gas supply.

Water Treatment

Bowling Green's water is supplied by the municipal water plant. The untreated water is drawn from the Maumee River and stored in an upground reservoir. It is purified, softened and stored in a clear well and two towers. Peak daily use is 5.0 million gallons with a plant capacity of 7.2 million gallons per day.

Wastewater Control

Bowling Green processes around 2.3 billion gallons of wastewater and combined stormwater a year. The average daily flow is 6.3 million gallons. With the addition of two aeration tanks in 2005, the Wastewater Treatment Plant is designed to handle an average of 10 million gallons a day.

Telecommunications

The City of Bowling Green is surrounded by a municipal fiber network that can be accessed by industry. Verizon provides landline services, DSL and broadband. There are several local Internet Providers including the following: Dacor , Internet Direct, Time-Warner & WCNet.

Transportation

Cut Transportation and Travel Time. . . .with a superior location along the I-75 Corridor, minutes from I-80/90. Add to that CSXT Rail Service; local, national and international airports within an easy drive; and Great Lakes shipping through the Port of Toledo.

Railroad

Bowling Green is served by CSX Transportation, which provides a full range of rail freight services to major north-south markets and to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Several local industries have taken advantage of easy access to the rail by locating along the CSX line. In addition, a unique Bowling Green community rail siding serves Owens-Illinois and has the capacity to expand for service to other local industries which are not sited directly on the rail.

Water Port

Thirty minutes north of Bowling Green is the Port of Toledo, the third largest deep water port on the Great Lakes. Handling an average of 10-15 millions tons of cargo annually, the port transports the greatest amount of international tonnage in Ohio. Grain exports have ranked Toledo among the top of the Great Lake ports for international cargo.

Toledo Express Airport

Only 23 miles north of Bowling Green, Toledo Express Airport offers both convenient general and commercial aviation services. Commercial airlines operating out of Toledo provide nonstop and connecting service to major hub cities throughout the country.

The Toledo Express Airport is also the major international air cargo hub for BAX Global. Through its extensive global network, BAX offers overnight and second day freight service worldwide. Toledo Express ranks second only to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for cities on the Great Lakes cities for handling air cargo.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport (International)

For international and additional domestic air service, Bowling Green residents are only an hour and a half drive away from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. One of the busiest airports in the nation, Detroit Metro offers direct passenger service to many international locations including: Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Mexico City, Montreal, Nagoya, Osaka, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Toronto.

Wood County Regional Airport

Located in Bowling Green, Wood County Regional Airport is home base to many general aviation aircraft as well as a destination for corporate aircraft doing business in the region. Ground transportation is available via courtesy car and taxi service.

The airport also is home to the Bowling Green State University Aviation Studies.

Trucking Industry

The excellent interstate highway network in Northwest Ohio has established the area as a center for the trucking industry. Within an hour's radius of Bowling Green over 100 truck lines give shippers access to every metropolitan area in the United States and many areas of Canada.

Roadway Express, Consolidated Freightways, Yellow, and Carolina and many more have operations within a short distance of Bowling Green's manufacturing community. USF Holland has recently built a terminal north of Bowling Green with quick access to I-75.

Local carriers include the following: USF Holland (419) 354-6633 Trans Tech Logistics (419) 352-3500 Vail Logistics (419) 353-5125 Roadlink USA (419) 686-2113

Incentive Programs

Cut Start-up, Expansion or Relocation Costs. . . The City of Bowling Green and the State of Ohio offer competitive incentive programs to companies looking to locate or expand their operations here. The programs vary from tax credits to tax abatements to training grants and finance assistance. The programs are listed below however if you have additional questions please contact us at:

Bowling Green Community Development Foundation

121 East Wooster Street

Bowling Green, OH 43402

419-353-3591

bgcdf@bowlinggreen-oh.com

Local Incentive Programs

Bowling Green Enterprise Zone

Bowling Green’s Enterprise Zone program is to encourage economic development by utilizing real and personal property tax abatement. The entire city is designated an Enterprise Zone. Tax incentives will be offered provided program guidelines are met and a substantial investment is made. Only businesses engaged in manufacturing, research and development, warehousing and distribution, and corporate headquarters will be eligible to apply for the incentive.

Community Reinvestment Areas

Community Reinvestment areas are specific areas of land in which property owners can receive tax abatement for investing in real property improvements. The CRA program is a direct incentive tax exemption benefiting property owners to renovate existing or construct new buildings.

Bowling Green Revolving Loan Fund

The City of Bowling Green offers low interest loans to businesses located within the city limits. One job for each $15,000 of money borrowed must be created or retained within a three year period. 51% of these jobs must be filled by persons from economically disadvantaged families. CDBG guidelines must be adhered to with these loans.

Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund

The Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (EERLF) is a collaboration of the Bowling Green Board of Public Utilities and the Bowling Green Community Development Foundation (CDF.) This program allocates capital to local projects dedicated to more effectively utilizing electricity. The program's goal is to successfully motivate local business and industry to upgrade or replace equipment and/or fixtures that will reduce their electric consumption. The EERLF program is limited to any business or industry in the Bowling Green community which is served by Bowling Green Municipal Utilities.

Community Development Foundation Revolving Loan Fund

The Community Development Foundation offers a revolving loan fund to manufacturers in the municipal electric service area. These loans are below prime interest rate and are not tied to job creation.

Uniform Tap Fees

The city has a credit system against tap charges for existing water and sanitary sewer lines for development on currently undeveloped property. This credit is applied when the proposed development creates new permanent jobs. The credit will be calculated on the annual payroll of the new or expanded business. The credit is ˝ of one percent (1/2%) of the annual payroll, up to the cost of the tap for the first five years.

State of Ohio Development Incentives

The City of Bowling Green works directly with the State of Ohio to provide development incentives to qualified companies. To learn more about what incentives the State has available, click on this link Ohio Department of Development Incentives.