October 1, 2026
When the GE Lighting facility closed in Logan, Ohio, in 2022, the impact was immediate and far-reaching. The loss of more than 80 jobs disrupted a key source of employment and left behind a vacant industrial site in a community already facing persistent economic challenges.
Today, with key investments made possible by Ohio and Federal New Market Tax Credit programs, that same facility is being reactivated with a clear focus on job creation and long-term economic stability.
Stewart Glass is repurposing the former GE site into a modern manufacturing operation that is already creating new employment opportunities and restoring productive use to a long-idled asset in Hocking County.
Catalyzing Investment Where It’s Needed Most
Projects of this scale in rural, economically distressed communities often face a common barrier: access to flexible, patient capital.
Restarting a shuttered manufacturing facility requires substantial upfront investment, a long timeline and a level of risk tolerance that traditional financing is not always designed to accommodate. In communities like Logan, Ohio, New Markets Tax Credit programs can help overcome those barriers to capital by providing more flexible terms, a longer runway for businesses to get up and running, and early investment that can help attract additional financing.
The Stewart family demonstrated its commitment to revitalizing manufacturing in Appalachian Ohio by investing more than $8 million of its own capital to acquire and redevelop the former GE Lighting plant. Building on that commitment, Advantage Capital provided a $1.5 million early-stage investment through the New Markets Tax Credit program.
Together, those investments helped unlock critical USDA financing and additional partner capital, providing Stewart Glass with the resources needed to modernize and reopen the facility.
Delivering Jobs and Economic Opportunity
The impact of that investment is already visible in the form of new jobs.
Stewart Glass has created nearly 90 jobs and continues to scale toward more than 100 positions. These roles include production workers, maintenance staff, quality-control technicians and engineers, providing a range of career opportunities for local residents.
The company is helping restore manufacturing employment in a region affected by industrial decline, creating stable opportunities close to home for workers and families across Appalachian Ohio.
Positions start at $20 per hour, providing an accessible entry point into a growing manufacturing operation with opportunities for advancement as the company expands.
Ramping Up Production, Strengthening the Domestic Supply Chain
That job growth is tracking alongside a production ramp-up with national significance. Solar glass has long been the missing link in the US solar supply chain, and that’s starting to change. Stewart Glass began production of a 3.2mm front-pane solar glass product in spring 2026, becoming the first fully operational solar glass plant in the United States.
The plant’s second production line is scheduled to come online next year, adding 250 tons of output to the 150 tons already produced by the first line, nearly tripling capacity as the facility ramps toward full production. For a community rebuilding around this site, that scale-up means a growing, higher-capacity employer with staying power, and a Logan-based facility now playing a role in reducing US module manufacturers’ reliance on imported glass.
Long-Term Impact of the New Markets Tax Credit Program
As Stewart Glass continues to ramp up operations, its impact will expand—supporting additional hiring, strengthening regional supply chains and contributing to greater economic stability in Appalachian Ohio.
Advantage Capital has spent more than 30 years bringing businesses, jobs, and capital to communities that traditional investment often overlooks. In Logan, that meant stepping in early: Advantage Capital’s $1.5 million investment through the Ohio and federal NMTC programs helped catalyze the project at a critical stage, unlocking additional USDA financing and partner capital that helped complete the capital stack needed to reopen the facility.
This is what the Ohio NMTC program is designed to do: give investors the flexibility to take on risk conventional lenders won’t, in communities conventional lenders often pass over, and turn that early capital into a facility that’s reopened, jobs that are restored, and a local economy that’s rebuilding.
Building a high-growth business in Ohio? Explore how Advantage Capital supports small businesses to drive growth, expand operations, and create lasting economic impact in their communities here.
Advantage Capital Investment Adviser, LLC (“ACIA”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Advantage Capital, is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Advantage Capital itself is not registered as an investment adviser with the SEC. Any advisory services described in documents directly or indirectly disseminated by Advantage Capital are provided exclusively by ACIA. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Any offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to purchase any security or investment product will be made in compliance with applicable state and federal securities laws pursuant to a definitive confidential offering memorandum and/or similar documentation. Advantage Capital is an equal opportunity provider.
The individual case studies represent a small sample of investments that were selected to illustrate their community impact under state and federal tax credit programs. The profitability of any single investment was not a factor in the selection process. Nothing in this document should be interpreted or construed as performance data of any kind, nor as any implication or statement that investments previously made by Advantage Capital were or are successful, or that past performance is any indication of future performance. All investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.
