A long-idle Middletown paper mill is in line for a $155 million second life, as Swiss transformer-insulation maker Weidmann Electrical Technology moves to turn the site into a next-generation Transformerboard plant. Company and public officials say the project would add roughly 105 jobs split between Middletown and nearby Urbana, with the Middletown facility expected to start operations in 2028.
What the company will build
According to a JobsOhio release, the investment will fund a new production line for Transformerboard, the insulating paper used inside power transformers, while also increasing output at Weidmann’s existing Urbana plant to support the new Middletown line. JobsOhio says the project will create about 65 jobs in Middletown and roughly 40 at the Urbana facility, for a total of 105 new positions through 2027. The company is casting the expansion as part of a broader push to strengthen domestic transformer supply chains and U.S. energy resilience.
Site, incentives and local approvals
City documents show Weidmann plans to acquire and renovate a vacant, roughly 350,000-square-foot former paperboard facility at 407 Charles St. in Middletown. The city packet recommends an Enterprise Zone agreement and a Job Creation Incentive Grant to help secure the deal, and the staff report outlines proposed property tax abatement and income-tax rebate terms tied to the project. Those details are spelled out in the City of Middletown staff report and related agenda materials.
Brownfield revival and community impact
State and local officials say the site, roughly 16 acres of former industrial land, has been vacant for more than a year and will be remediated and returned to advanced manufacturing use. Per the JobsOhio release, the Butler County Land Reutilization Corporation helped connect the company with the property and described the redevelopment as a model for turning underused sites into productive community assets.
Why regional developers are cheering
Economic development partners say the project does double duty, boosting local hiring while bolstering parts of the electrical supply chain that are strategically important for utilities and grid reliability. Local reporting has also framed the deal as another win in a broader manufacturing growth streak across the region, with the Dayton Business Journal first to flag the company’s Greater Dayton plans.
City council action on the Enterprise Zone and incentive package is on the municipal calendar, and officials say remediation and construction work will follow as permits and agreements are finalized. Hiring at both locations is expected to ramp through 2027 as Weidmann prepares to bring the Middletown plant online in 2028.
