Medina is the fastest growing county in Northeast Ohio, and one of the fastest growing in the state. Thus, it may be somewhat of a surprise to learn that the rapidly urbanizing county is still a good bet for agribusiness.

It's true the county no longer houses the vast farms of the past. With manufacturing now the major source of employment, the greenfields of Medina seem more likely to serve as sites for potential new industries. Yet, an estimated 115,000 acres are available for agribusiness. Medina still supports this strong base and is targeting more businesses in the field.

A dozen companies employ over 800 in the sector. Among them are Nabisco Specialty Products (dried food products), MTD Co. (lawn and garden products), Barco Greenhouse (a large commercial flower grower), Bil-Jac (a pet food maker), Crop King (a marketer of greenhouses for hydroponically grown food) and Chickmaster (a maker of poultry incubators for domestic and overseas markets).

Bil-Jac headquarters in Medina. The company's emphasis on healthy eating options for pets has made it a leader in the premium dog and cat food market. Bil-Jac uses fresh meat and a low temperature vacuum process that doesn't damage the protein.

A fortuitous phone call about six years ago cemented the company's success. A Hollywood dog trainer who had heard about the product wanted to try it on his trainees. The dogs gave Bil-Jac a paws up, and today it is on the menu for such stars as Dreyfus on Empty Nest, Eddie on Frasier, Petey in the Little Rascals, and several other canine stars of television and movies. All the dogs at Universal Studios in Florida and Hollywood are fed Bil-Jac.

"Dreyfus could afford to eat anything he wanted," says Robert W. Kelly, president. "We're flattered he chooses Bil-Jac."

Though the company began in Medina 50 years ago, Kelly reports the company still applauds Medina's qualities.

"For distribution you can't pick a better location," says Kelly. "We've got I-76, 77, 71, 480 and the Ohio Turnpike. If we were a company coming from outside Ohio this is a place we would look at just for that reason. We can conveniently go in any direction."

Echoing these advantages is Sandridge, a gourmet salad producer. The company's 300 employees at two Medina locations produce over 300 kinds of salads and heat-and-eat items sold at grocery delis and restaurant salad bars.

"You can cover an awful lot of the country out of Medina County," says William G. Franz, executive vice president. "With refrigerated foods we're turning our finished inventory every two days, so just-in-time delivery is critical."

Medina offers substantial support to agribusiness. One example is Crop King, which founded its business in 1981 and has grown steadily over the years. With the help of the Medina County Economic Development Corp., Crop King recently built a 25,418-sq. ft. building and purchased 25 acres, in Seville. The company manufactures the greenhouses and supplies the hydroponic systems -- heaters, fans, poly covers, computerized environmental control systems, nutrient injectors, seed, fertilizer, packaging materials. Crop King's niche is in not only supplying all the systems but also in training the growers.

Crop King President Dan Brentlinger shows off his giant tomatoes. Brentlinger says hydroponically grown vegetables can be a major growth industry for the U.S. Holland, a nation about the size of Connecticut, has about 10,000 acres in greenhouse production, shipping jumbo jets full of tomatoes to U.S. markets. In the U.S. there are less than 600 acres in greenhouses. "Our customers say you can make more money in a quarter-acre greenhouse than with 100 acres of row crops," says Brentlinger.

Sites to serve new enterprises are abundant in Medina County. The county has six existing industrial parks and five new ones in the planning stages. All parks have easy access to the interstate system. Most offer spec buildings suitable for industry, as well as warehousing and distribution.

	Meigs County		Pike County
	Mid-Ohio / Obetz and Gahanna		Mercer and Auglaize Counties
	Hardin County		Marion County
	Village of Leipsic		West Central Ohio
	Medina County		Fostoria