GRANITEVILLE --- A graphics and signage company based in Ohio has plans to open a plant in Graniteville.

MCA, which has run a plant in Massillon, Ohio, since 1904, is negotiating loans and tax incentives before finalizing the deal, Chief Financial Officer Gil Greytak said in a phone interview Monday. The business provides custom manufacturing of signage, displays and retail graphics, according to the company Web site.

If the company closes the deal, the plant could open in Aiken County as early as this spring, Mr. Greytak said. Though some current employees might be moved to the Graniteville plant, a "significant number" of locals would be hired if the plan is finalized, Mr. Greytak said.

"We intend to open there, and we would like to," he said. "We expect for the process of negotiating loans to be done by this week."

The company plans to close the plant in Ohio, and move to the Sage Mill Industrial Park located off Bettis Academy Road. The company currently employs about 100 people in Massillon, according to Manta.com, an online small- business directory. According to the Web site, the signage company brings in about $20 million in annual sales.

Graniteville was attractive to the company partially because of the availability of the 259-acre industrial park, Mr. Greytak said.

"It's the availability of the property, the availability of the workforce and the incentives that South Carolina is willing to offer us," he said

The Sage Mill Industrial Park will sell for up to $30,000 per acre, said Fred Humes, the executive director of the Economic Development Partnership. He said he could not confirm whether MCA had plans to open a plant.

Reach Stephanie Toone at (803) 648-1398 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.