Refrigerant plant opens downtown providing 20-50 jobs

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – A new company is planting its flag firmly in the Mahoning Valley, opening up a new facility in downtown Youngstown.

Downtown welcomed Zoetic Global — a company focused on sustainable and renewable energy — as they opened up a new 28,000-square-foot refrigerant plant Wednesday in downtown Youngstown.

The plant will manufacture Zoetic refrigerant, a gas used in air conditioning and refrigeration products.

Chief Global Business Development Officer Tim Ryan says the company will help buildings reduce their energy costs.

“We were producing steel. Our grandparents were producing steel that went to build the skyscrapers in New York City — and now we’re creating a company here that’s going to produce refrigerant that’s going to go to those same buildings to help them reduce their energy costs,” Ryan said.

From data centers to commercial real estate to hospitals — the hotter it is, the more they want this product.

The new plant is on East Federal Street and it’s capable of producing thousands of pounds per day.

“Our refrigerant is the only refrigerant in the world where you take out the old refrigerant and put ours in. We will reduce your electricity costs anywhere from 15 to 30 percent. Sometimes more,” said Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Jerome Ringo.

The cooling industry has been freezing out Freon for years with a ban going into full effect in 2020. Since then companies like Zoetic have been looking for solutions.

Ringo says their product is a non-toxic gas. It’s not flammable and it’s friendly to the environment.

“It is a formula that we add to the existing refrigerant that will reduce the friction and demand less electricity to cool,” Ringo said.

Zoetic will provide between 20 and 50 jobs at the Youngstown location with plenty of room for growth and expansion.

“We’re trying to plug these old communities back in that contributed a lot during the industrial age and have fallen off, but now we’re trying to help them participate in the resurgence,” Ryan said.

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