Another Midwestern state benefiting from its central location is Ohio, as more logistics users vote with their feet to set up operations along major thoroughfares in the Buckeye State.
      A case in point is Continental General Tire, which announced on Aug. 6 that it will build a 766,571-sq.-ft. (71,291-sq.-m.) distribution center in Obetz, a suburb of Columbus. The facility will cost an estimated $21 million.
      Scheduled for completion in March 2002, the facility is being developed by the Columbus-based Pizzuti Companies. Continental, a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental AG of Hanover, Germany, makes tires for cars, motorcycles, tractors, construction equipment and tractor-trailers.
      Another Columbus area expansion involves Autover, an automobile window importer, which just opened a 120,000-sq.-ft. (11,160-sq.-m.) distribution center in the Rickenbacker Foreign Trade Zone in Franklin County. Autover, a division of Saint-Gobain, a worldwide glass production company, imports and distributes glass for the automobile aftermarket and serves models such as BMW, Mercedes and Porsche.
      Autover "chose the Rickenbacker location because we needed a larger facility," notes Dennis Warlick, vice president and general manager of the firm. "Being able to have our tax abated is a benefit, and the location is terrific for its access to freeways and trucking."
      At least two other major logistics companies established operations in Rickenbacker this year: cereal maker Malt-O-Meal, which opened a 200,000-sq.-ft. (18,600-sq.-m.) distribution center; and Medline, the country's largest manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, which opened a 160,000-sq.-ft. (14,880-sq.-m.) distribution facility.