The Ohio Rail Development Commission, meeting on March 10, will act on a $75,000 grant to Trucent Renewable Chemicals, a company planning a new investment in Van Wert.

The company is located on the Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Eastern Railroad, passing through Ada, which may eventually increase rail traffic here.

The approximately $10 million facility will result in 21 new jobs in Van Wert.

Headquartered in Dexter, Michigan, Trucent is a fluid separation technology company operating in several industries from automotive and heavy equipment manufacturing to solar glass fabrication and aerospace.

Trucent provides services that remove solid and liquid contaminants from industrial fluids, keeping these fluids in service longer and preventing their disposal, a positive result as many of these industrial fluids are hazardous materials.

The new facility to be built in Van Wert will be part of their Renewable Chemicals group, which concentrates on whole cut and distilled fatty acids derived from vegetable oils.

The plant will process corn oil sourced from ethanol plants. The output is used for a variety of other products including personal care products, animal feed, surfactants, paints, coolants and lubricants.

Rail service will be provided by the Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Eastern. The spur in Van Wert is off of its Lima to Chicago line. In November the line announced a $9 million upgrade of its rail yard in Lima.

The Lima to Chicago line is the line that the Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Eastern partnered with ORDC on a successful CRISI grant, the “Linking Lima” project, approved in November 2020. By the ORDC.

Trucent will commit to hiring 21 new employees in Van Wert. Additional assistance is being provided by JobsOhio. The project was developed in conjunction with the Regional Growth Partnership.