Ray Plummer (front row, C) poses with his family on Plummer Drive recently in Defiance, Ohio. Photo provided.

Ray Plummer, of Warsaw, and his late brother, Larry, were honored Aug. 31 at the grand opening of an industrial park in Defiance, Ohio.

A report from The Crescent-News reported that Larry and Ray had a vision for an industrial park on the west side of Defiance that was slow to develop. Larry died on December 18, so he was unable to see the groundbreaking last month at a corporate industrial park site for Tessenderlo Kerley Inc., which will build a fertilizer plant there.

Larry’s memory was “an important part of the festivities when he was honored ahead of the main event with a special ceremony at the Pioneer Lines rail yard on Defiance’s Jackson Avenue,” according to The Crescent-News article. . The railroad will play a role in providing services to TKI and bringing the plant to market, the story says.

Alex Yeros, President and CEO of Pioneer, is quoted in the article as saying: “We are all here today thanks to enterprising businessmen like Larry and Ray – and of course the people of Tessenderlo Kerley – have come together here to build businesses for the community, and our railroad really serves as a route to get goods in and out of the area, so we’re very grateful for the business, we’re very grateful for Larry and Ray, and the vision that you all have had of what can happen in this area and the businesses that can be created, the jobs that can be created, the investment and the tax base that it brings to the community.

The Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. site covers 49,238 acres at 1655 Plummer Drive. The street was recently renamed in honor of the Plummers. According to local officials, the factory is expected to employ 20 to 30 people eventually, the story says.

Full articles on the development and involvement of Plummers are available online at https://www.crescent-news.com/.