Babcock & Wilcox to Relocate Headquarters to Akron, Ohio

Published: October 9, 2018 |

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Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. has reached an agreement with joint venture developers Industrial Commercial Properties LLC (ICP) and Industrial Realty Group, LLC (IRG) to lease new office space in the renovated East End development in Akron, Ohio, and that its Barberton and Copley operations will relocate to this new space in 2019. The lease agreement is for an initial term of 15 years. Additionally, B&W said it is relocating its corporate headquarters to Ohio from Charlotte, N.C.

B&W anticipates its employees will move into the new space when renovations are complete in the third quarter of 2019, while the relocation of its corporate headquarters to Barberton is effective immediately. The company also intends to continue operating a parts warehouse at its Copley facility. B&W will have a continued presence in Charlotte and employees there will continue to serve in various sales, service and corporate administrative functions.

“We’ve maintained offices to support our core power business in northeast Ohio for more than 110 years. Bringing our headquarters here represents our continued commitment to the region,” said B&W President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Kass.

B&W’s Barberton and Copley offices employ approximately 700 people, including engineers, support staff, corporate functions and other highly skilled workers who are primarily focused on designing, engineering and constructing combustion, and emissions control equipment and technologies, as well as providing parts and services to electric utilities and industrial customers in North America and around the world.

“Between our offices in Summit County and in Lancaster, B&W employs more workers in Ohio than in any other location around the world. As we work to serve a transforming global power industry, employees in our Ohio-based headquarters will continue to play a central role in the success of the company,” said Kass.

“The new Akron office will help us reduce our operating costs while also providing a dynamic, vibrant and exciting location for our employees to work and collaborate,” she said. “It will also serve as an attractive location to help recruit new talent in the future,” added Kass.

During the site evaluation process, B&W consulted with City of Barberton officials who presented alternatives for the company’s Barberton campus, which were carefully considered. B&W has agreed to sell its Barberton campus to the East End development team following the move. The developer and B&W have engaged City of Barberton officials to discuss opportunities for redevelopment of the approximately 27-acre site and office buildings.

“We have met with local officials in Barberton, who are dedicated to partnering with us to find the right companies to create jobs and expand the tax base in Barberton. Incentives will be a strong motivator for these companies,” said Stu Lichter, president of IRG and development partner at The East End.

“We are incredibly excited about B&W joining the momentum at The East End and the opportunities redeveloping its former campus will provide the market. Our team has already begun marketing the site to a variety of office and industrial tenants, which are community-minded and would provide excellent job opportunities,” said Chris Semarjian, owner of ICP and development partner at The East End.

Team NEO, JobsOhio, Summit County, the City of Akron, and Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce also provided B&W with incentives, which influenced B&W’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Ohio.

“We’re very appreciative of the efforts of officials from Summit County, City of Akron, the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, Team NEO, and JobsOhio and thank them for their hard work on this deal. One of our key goals when examining our options for our Northeast Ohio office was to reduce the overall cost of our operations. The incentives we received helped make this move possible for us,” concluded Kass.

About B&W
Babcock & Wilcox is a global leader in energy and environmental technologies and services for the power and industrial markets, and has been transforming our world for 151 years.

To stop by B&W’s website, CLICK HERE

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