TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
The Sherwin-Williams company announced last week that it has decided to continue its relationship with Northeast Ohio, by finalizing plans to build a new global headquarters and research and development center in Cleveland and the surrounding area.
The decision comes after a months-long competitive site selection process.
“Our plans to continue investing in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio build on our 154-year legacy as one of the region’s top employers and drivers of economic activity,” said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John G. Morikis.
|
|
| M.O. Stevens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
|
The Sherwin-Williams company announced last week that it has decided to continue its relationship with Northeast Ohio, by finalizing plans to build a new global headquarters and research and development center in Cleveland and the surrounding area. |
“Driven by our continued need to serve our customers at the highest level and retain and attract top talent, we intend to create a next-generation workplace environment that ignites creativity, collaboration and industry-leading innovation. We currently operate out of a 90-year-old headquarters building that has served us well but is no longer conducive to meeting our future needs. The major planned investment in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio we are announcing today reflects our confidence in the continued strength of the region and its people and our public partners’ ability to deliver on their commitments.”
Backstory
In September 2019, the company announced that it had begun exploring options for a new HQ.
“Given the limitations of our current footprint and driven by the needs of our customers, we are exploring options that will help us to accelerate productivity and efficiency, enhance technology and innovation, enable greater collaboration, support recruitment and retention and reduce maintenance costs over the long term,” Morikis said at the time.
As part of the exploratory process, Sherwin said it was considering multiple potential sites, including locations in Cleveland (where it’s been headquartered since 1930), Northeast Ohio and several other states.
Sherwin currently operates multiple facilities in Northeast Ohio that are home to about 4,400 employees.
The Decision
Preliminary plans call for an investment of at least $600 million to build both facilities. The new HQ is set to be located in downtown Cleveland and be about 1 million square feet. The planned new R&D center would be in Brecksville, a suburb of Cleveland, and would serve as the corporate anchor for a new mixed-use development project and would be approximately 500,000 square feet.
The two facilities are slated to house more than 3,500 employees with room for growth, according to the company. The facilities would add a minimum of 400 jobs over time, an 11% increase to the company’s current workforce.
“Sherwin-Williams has been a part of the fabric of our community for 154 years,” said Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson.
“A new global headquarters in Cleveland lays the foundation for the next chapter for both Sherwin-Williams and our city’s history. Cleveland has two of the largest business districts in Ohio, with world-class health care and arts and entertainment options, all connected to our thriving residential neighborhoods. The robust and vibrant quality of life here attracts the world’s best and brightest talent, as does our proximity to 25 colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio. Sherwin-Williams recognizes these important strengths of Cleveland.”
The transition to the new facilities is not expected until at least 2023, Sherwin noted, and no announcements have been made in terms of construction partners.
Tagged categories: Business matters; Business operations; Good Technical Practice; Research and development; Sherwin-Williams
