The city is giving $100,000 grants to two companies — one that is opening a business on the East Side and the other that’s increasing its presence at a city-owned downtown building.
The board of control agreed Thursday to the grants to Iron City Wood Products, a pallet-assembly and freight company, to expand to an 18-acre site at Ross Industrial Park on Albert Street, and to Empyra, a computer software development and consulting business at 20 Federal Place, an office building owned by the city.
Iron City is land-locked at its 7-acre facility on Wilson Avenue in Campbell, and wants to spend about $900,000 to expand to Youngstown’s Ross Industrial Park.
The company plans to move 43 workers from its Campbell plant and add 14 workers at the Youngstown location by late fall, said Tom DeAngelo, the city’s economic development coordinator.
Iron City will keep its Campbell headquarters.
Also, the board of control gave $100,000 to Empyra to help offset a portion of the $582,000 it plans to invest to upgrade its software and hire eight new employees over the next three years, DeAngelo said.
Empyra now employs 15 workers, DeAngelo said.
The city gave $37,500 in 2004 to Empyra to help offset the $250,000 it needed for equipment and working capital. The company had six workers when it received the first city grant.
