LISBON — Humtown Products will become the first tenant of the Columbiana County Port Authority’s Global Investment Hub, in a building already housing the company’s 3D printing operations in Leetonia.

“We’re excited that Humtown will become our first tenant of the Global Investment Hub,” CCPA Executive Director/CEO Penny Traina said.

The CCPA Board of Directors approved the lease agreement during its meeting Monday in Lisbon.

Humtown leases about 78 percent of the industrial space at the former NRM (National Rubber Manufacturing) plant on Cherry Fork. Now the company will occupy one of the six fully-furnished private offices in the Global Investment Hub at no cost under a one-year lease starting Feb. 1.

As part of the deal, Humtown is required to employ a Youngstown State University intern for an academic year.

The Global Investment Hub, which was finished in the fall, is a collaborative effort by CCPA and the Ohio Small Business Development Center Export Assistance Network at Youngstown State University to attract international companies to the area, with an ultimate goal of having them relocate operations here.

CCPA owns the Leetonia Industrial building and transformed part of the building into the Global Investment Hub, which features six fully-furnished private offices, three large conference rooms with televisions for video conferencing or Zoom meetings, co-working recreational space known as the great room with comfortable furniture and even a ping pong table, a kitchen area and restrooms.

Traina explained that Humtown, a longtime local manufacturer with its headquarters in Columbiana, has a lot of international partners. YSU has been taking calls from companies showing interest in the Global Investment Hub and Traina said it’s possible a couple more companies may be signed to leases this year.

She said it’s exciting, but another resolution approved by the board excited her even more because the port secured two more Maritime Assistance Program grants, this time for projects to benefit two Wellsville companies along the Ohio River.

Pier 48 Stevedoring LLC, a material handling company which helps move materials from barge to dock to truck or rail, will receive $77,627 towards the replacement of an old pedestrian bridge with a new safer, equipment-friendly bridge which will extend over parts of the Ohio River to the cells or floating docks and be strong enough to support forklifts and skid steer equipment.

Quality Liquid Fuels, a manufacturer of liquid feed supplements for animals, will receive $303,404 for a 65 feet by 40 feet storage tank to store molasses, adding 6,000 tons of additional storage capacity and allowing the company to move and store more molasses and feed plus additional byproduct. Traina noted that the existing storage tanks are more than 20 years old, so this is a big investment for the company’s main product, which is feed for the agriculture industry.

MAP grants cover 50 percent of a project, with the private terminal covering the other 50 percent. The CCPA fronts the money for the grants, then is reimbursed by the state.

“We’ve been successful in every round,” Traina said.

Since the program’s beginning, CCPA has secured $3,219,866 for the private terminals in the area on the Ohio River. She said she appreciates the opportunity to work with the Ohio Department of Transportation and state legislature for their vision to provide this funding to move cargo.

Traina said all the businesses have been great to work with and gave good news about one of those companies, S.H. Bell Company, which is nearly finished with its dock rehabilitation project.

“We’ve done a great job in Columbiana County promoting and bringing more attention to the Ohio River than we have in the history of the county,” she said regarding the work the last several years.

In other business, the board authorized Traina to enter contract negotiations with Woolpert, Inc. to conduct a feasibility study on what route to take to extend the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail from the East Extension Parking Lot on state Route 154 east of Lisbon to the “Point of the Beginning” near East Liverpool along the Ohio River.

This project couldn’t be included in the Appalachian Community Grant program due to the timing, but Traina said the CCPA will use a portion of the technical assistance funds received for the program to pay for the feasibility study.

The board also gave Traina the go-ahead to execute a notice to proceed for the contractor for the speculative building in the World Trade Park in Leetonia, but only once the funding for the project is in place. The project remains in the funding procurement stage.

Traina also advised the board she’ll be serving on a steering committee for an Ohio Maritime Plan conducted by ODOT for the state’s maritime transportation system consisting of the Ohio River and Lake Erie.

The board approved the slate of officers for this year, keeping Charlie Presley as chairman, Keith Chamberlin as vice chairman, Nick Amato as secretary and Tad Herold as fiscal officer.

Future meeting dates for this year include March 25, May 27 (will be rescheduled due to holiday), July 22, Sept. 23 and Nov. 25, with all meetings beginning at 5 p.m. at the CCPA headquarters, Lincole Place, Lisbon.