Energy-saving loan sparks Dayton machine shop’s move to Springboro

Tomco move partially funded by clean-energy improvement program.

A long-time Dayton business is moving to Springboro, powered by $990,000 in energy-efficient improvements financed through the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority.

The move of Tomco Machining — owned by Jim and Kathy Tomasiak — has been in the works for more than a decade. It will be partially funded by a business-loan program for property-assessed clean-energy (PACE) improvements.

“It’s going to be an energy-efficient building,” Jim Tomasiak said, indicating he was still learning about the loan program himself. “It’s new for everybody involved.”

The loan is to be repaid in 38 semi-annual payments through a special assessment in addition to standard property tax on tax bills, according to city records and Jerry Brunswick, president and executive director for the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority.

The overall project cost is about $2.5 million, according to Brunswick.

The loan will be funded through bonds sold by the port authority. The business also benefits

from savings on energy costs, Brunswick added.

The money is to pay for a rooftop solar array, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, officials said.

The new building at 10950 Industry Lane, west of Ohio 741 in Springboro, will also house Kathy Tomasiak’s accounting office, according to a sign advertising the construction project.

On Thursday, Springboro City Council set up an energy special improvement district for the project and approved the assessment process for the Tomco project.

“We are very excited for Tomco to become a corporate citizen in the City of Springboro and look forward to working with them going forward,” said Greg Shackelford, assistant city manager in Springboro.

Shackelford told the council the city was able to create the district because the city limits are contiguous with Washington Twp., Montgomery County, where another special district has been established for a PACE project.

Brunswick said the project was the eighth or ninth handled by the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority. The Tomco project is in the Montgomery County portion of Springboro.

“He’s been wanting to move for some time,” Brunswick said.

Tomco, which makes spare parts and assemblies for the aerospace industry, has been based since 2002 in space off Needmore Road, north of the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, rented from Citywide, an economic development non-profit organization in Dayton.

The owners live in Springboro and wanted to move and expand the business closer to home. At the time a handful of businesses were moving or expanding in Springboro.

In March 2011, Springboro City Council voted sell the $2.5 acres for the Tomco project for $75,000. In November 2011, the city sold the land to Kathy Tomasiak, who sold it to Tomco in January 2012, according to Montgomery County property records.

In June 2019, the Springboro Planning Commission approved plans for a 24,000 square foot office and manufacturing building on the south edge of the Austin Center Development District.

This week, Tomasiak said they hoped to move into the Springboro building in late spring.

Contact this reporter at 937225-2261 or email Larry. Budd@cmg.com.