TRENTON - For people in this northern Butler County city, the Miller Brewing Co. plant on Wayne-Madison Road was worth the wait.

        “They've brought jobs, taxes and community involvement,” said David Daughtery, president of the Mid-Miami Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The company has made a tremendous impact on the community.”

        It took a while. When the company announced plans 20 years ago to build a state-of-the-art plant near here, politicians predicted big things. But after Miller built the plant, a recession hit and the place wasn't opened.

        Finally, 10 years ago, the plant opened at the site in Madison and St. Clair townships, just outside the city. Since then, Trenton has benefited. Its population grew from 6,100 in 1990 to 8,700 in 2000.

        Today, the plant employs 645 people, many of them from around the region. In 2000, Miller paid $57.5 million in wages and fringe benefits — and $39.4 million in total taxes to the state, said Sandra Lewis, a company spokeswoman.

        “We make a substantial contribution,” she said.

        Marcus Banks agrees.

        “The brewery has been good for me,” said Mr. Banks, who 3 1/2 years ago opened New Harvest Deli on Ohio 73, near the plant. “About a year and a half ago, the Miller people started coming into the deli. They said the man who operated the plant's cafeteria was leaving. I took it (the contract) over and, since then, things have happened for me.”

        Bill Whitaker, a regular at New Harvest, said other things have happened, too: “Miller caused a building boom. There are lots of new homes. But property can be costly around here because of the brewery.”

        A number of subdivisions have been built near the plant, making Trenton, once a quiet town on Ohio 73, among the fastest-growing cities in Butler County. Subdivisions and businesses are popping up all around the city.

        In the last 14 years, the Edgewood School District has added 1,000 students — and a special $3 million tax settlement from Miller.

        In addition, Miller has sponsored programs to award hand tools to technical and community college students, underwritten grants to local arts groups, and supported breast cancer research.

        “The company is heavily involved in the community,” Mr. Daughtery said. “They have the resources, manpower and the will to get involved. This really adds something to the quality of life and the work environment.”

        Skip Badonsky, another customer at New Harvest, said the only negative aspect of Miller is that big trucks are more plentiful on area highways. “Wayne-Madison Road is really busy,” he said.

        To relieve traffic congestion in the area, Butler County has proposed a 10-mile extension of Ohio 63 from Monroe to Seven Mile. But this spring, officials said financial problems might delay or stop the project.

        The county had expected to contribute $9 million toward the $79 million project, but now the county's share is estimated at more than $50 million.

        The extension also would help Miller and other industries in the area. City Manager Ron Phelps said his city badly needs the Ohio 63 extension to attract commercial and industrial development and ease residents' taxes.
       @PhCred1:The Cincinnati Enquirer/MICHAEL SNYDER
       @PhCap1:Marcus Banks, owner of New Harvest Deli near the Miller brewery in Trenton, fills out the eatery's menu board. “The brewery has been good for me,” Mr. Banks said.
        Brewery facts
        • Ten years ago, when the Trenton site began shipping beer, it had 175 employees and produced just under 400,000 barrels of beer.
       • The plant today operates the brew house and nine production lines: four each for cans and bottles and one for filling beer kegs. Its products are distributed from New York and Tennessee to parts of Missouri, Illinois and Michigan.
       • Over the last decade the plant has produced more than 2 billion gallons of beer — enough cans and bottles to circle the equator 76 times.

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