By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati USA Partnership Tuesday honored nine local companies for expanding or relocating their operations in the region.

The Partnership, the regional economic development program administered by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, used the luncheon to kick off its five-year program.

Supporters have raised more than $20 million to fund the program, mostly from local corporations, and hope to raise millions more.

During the last five years, the Partnership reported 1,023 new investments in the region, a 70 percent increase in the number of international companies here, and more than 38,000 new jobs.

The awards are part of an effort by economic development professionals to step up their marketing of the region. They also will work to develop an image campaign for Greater Cincinnati, coordinated by an executive on loan from Procter & Gamble Co., Kerri Christian, assistant brand manager for Pampers.

"Cincinnati USA, despite all of our successes of recent years, still lacks the stature we deserve," said Charlotte Otto, global external relations officer at P&G and the Partnership's marketing committee chair.

Award winners made an investment of at least $500,000, created 20 new jobs or grew by 20,000 square feet. They included:

• Takumi Stamping Inc., which expanded its Fairfield plant and will create about 80 new jobs.

• FedEx Ground Package System Inc., which has started work on a distribution center in Boone County that eventually could employ more than 1,900 workers.

• Fisher Design Inc., which spent about $500,000 to renovate and relocate into a Walnut Hills building.

• Seapine Software Inc., which relocated into a Warren County building in a project that could create 45 new jobs.

• Total Quality Logistics, which spent $1.25 million to build new offices in Milford.

• Think3 Inc., which moved its headquarters to downtown Cincinnati from Silicon Valley.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc., which is expanding its Erlanger headquarters.

• Ford Motor Co., which will invest $147 million in its Sharonville transmission plant, maintaining more than 2,200 jobs.

• Ticona, which selected Boone County as its new North American headquarters, a project that will create about 150 new jobs.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com