August 2, 20168 yr Amazon's 1 million-square-foot Rickenbacker/Obetz fulfillment center is now open. The second Amazon fulfillment center in Licking County/Etna Township is said to be 90 percent complete: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2016/08/amazon-opens-fulfillment-center-with-2nd-ready.html
August 31, 20168 yr IBM passes 1,000 jobs at Big Data center in Columbus, gets another year to hit goal IBM Corp. will get another year to hit its goal of adding 500 jobs at its 3-year-old business intelligence campus in northwest Columbus, because it's been harder than expected to find and train Big Data professionals. Franklin County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved extending by one year IBM's $300,000 work force training grant approved in 2012 for the IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics. Grants are paid out as jobs are added, so the company has received $229,000 for creating 76 percent of the pledged jobs. IBM kept 671 jobs at the former Sterling Commerce Inc. campus and reported to Franklin County that it has added 382 jobs as of Dec. 31. Hiring picked up over the last 18 months after a slower first two years, and IBM will hit its goal of totaling nearly 1,170 employees at its Columbus complex in the Tuttle Crossing office park by year's end, said Ron Lovell, an IBM vice president leading the campus. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2016/06/ibm-passes-1-000-jobs-at-big-data-center-in.html
August 31, 20168 yr Drive Capital launches second, $300M fund for Midwest startups Drive Capital LLC has launched a $300 million fund to invest in Midwest startups, surpassing its first fund and catapulting the venture capital firm to more than a half-billion dollars under management. Co-founders Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen, who started the firm in Columbus after leaving Sequoia Partners in Silicon Valley, said their thesis is catching on that the Midwest is fertile territory to build fast-growing tech companies and bet on a billion-dollar breakout. ( . . . ) Drive Capital is close to investing in the first new company from the second fund, Kvamme said, and the startup would likely move to Columbus from outside the Midwest. Drive Capital invested in 19 companies from its first $250 million fund; it's made just 13 of those investments public. Any funds left are reserved for re-investments in that portfolio. Five of the companies are in Chicago, while Kvamme said "four and soon to be five" are in Columbus. Others are in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/08/30/drive-capital-launches-second-300m-fund-for.html
August 31, 20168 yr Rev1 Ventures lands big corporate support in launching $22M fund Rev1 Ventures is launching a $22 million fund to invest in early-stage and growing startups with the first significant participation from Central Ohio corporations. ( . . . ) The fund was seeded with an $8 million Ohio Third Frontier loan, and the nonprofit investment and advising group for technology startups raised $14 million in matching investments, including investing Rev1's own returns from previous funds. Members of the Rev1 management team also personally invested. The fund will invest $250,000 to $1 million in early companies or return investments in fast-growing portfolio companies. Any given round could be much larger with individual or venture capital co-investors. Some of the corporations are interested in "sidecar" direct investments in startups in their industries, Rev1 CEO Tom Walker said. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/08/30/rev1-ventures-lands-big-corporate-support-in.html
September 13, 20168 yr Cologix sets $130M data center expansion in Columbus, tripling capacity at major internet traffic hub By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: September 8, 2016, 9:17am EDT Cologix Inc. is building a $130 million, 160,000-square-foot data center that nearly triples the space at its north Columbus campus – which already is home to a key Midwest traffic hub for the internet. The second structure, built to withstand wind gusts up to 200 mph, is expected to open the middle of 2017 on 2.7 acres the Denver-based company bought in June 2014, expanding the Scherers Court campus to 8 acres. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/07/cologix-sets-130m-data-center-expansion-in.html
September 20, 20168 yr Ohio Supercomputer Center gets super-charged Owens Cluster up and running – PHOTOS By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: September 15, 2016, 2:33pm EDT The Ohio Supercomputer Center has started bringing online its $7 million Owens Cluster, named for Olympian and Ohio State University alum Jesse Owens. It has 25 times the computing power and 450 times the memory of the 8-year-old Glenn Cluster it replaces in the same floor space. And it cost $1 million less. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/15/ohio-supercomputer-gets-super-charged-owens.html
September 23, 20168 yr Central Ohio economy was strongest in state in 2015 By Mark Williams,The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 4:54 AM Central Ohio’s economy was a standout in 2015, outperforming all other metropolitan areas in Ohio and holding its own against most other big cities in the Midwest. The economy of the Columbus region grew 3.3 percent last year, up from 2.3 percent in 2014 and 1.4 percent in 2013, according to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report issued this week. The average U.S. metropolitan area grew by 2.5 percent in 2015. The central Ohio economy stood at $124.4 billion, ranking 30th in the country. Columbus continued to rank No. 3 in Ohio, behind Cleveland and Cincinnati, but it is gaining ground on both. Cleveland’s economy ranked No. 27 and Cincinnati’s 28th. ... Akron had the next-best growth last year among Ohio metropolitan areas at 2.9 percent. Cincinnati’s economy grew 1.8 percent, and Cleveland’s economy increased 1.1 percent. The increase last year in Central Ohio was driven by two categories: One is the finance, insurance, real estate and rental-and-leasing category, and the other is professional and business services. The first category has been helped by the surge in apartments in Central Ohio. The second category benefited from the number of corporate headquarters, said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/09/22/1-central-ohio-economy-strongest-in-ohio-in-2015.html
October 21, 20168 yr Amazon's Central Ohio data center network goes live By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First October 18, 2016, 7:16am EDT Amazon.com Inc.'s three Central Ohio data centers for cloud computing and storage are operational as of this week, the company and state officials said Monday. The Amazon Web Services centers in Dublin, Hilliard and New Albany are among 38 data center campuses consisting of one or more buildings – in 14 geographic regions globally; four more regions are set for launch this year. ... Amazon also plans a wind farm in northwest Ohio to provide renewable energy for the Central Ohio data centers. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/10/18/amazons-central-ohio-data-center-network-goes-live.html
October 27, 20168 yr Fashion Incubator Space Coming Soon to Downtown Columbus By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground October 3, 2016 - 11:20 am The Alternative Fashion Mob wants to take things a bit more mainstream in 2017 with the launch of FABRIC — a multipurpose fashion industry incubation space. The new venue is planned to host a variety of functions that range from co-working spaces for fashion design professionals, a retail store for both raw materials and locally created clothing, and an event space designed to host fashion shows and more. If the idea sounds familiar, it’s because the group has already done it once before. In 2015, FABRIC launched in its first iteration inside the unfinished second floor of the Columbus Idea Foundry in Franklinton. The group had a chance to test pilot the concept there, but lost their space to construction as soon as the Foundry began the build out of their second phase. ( . . . ) While Columbus currently employs more fashion designers than any other U.S. city outside of New York and Los Angeles, the jobs are mostly concentrated at larger firms with corporate headquarters along the outerbelt. The Alternative Fashion Mob sees a growing need to bridge the gap between fashion design students at CCAD, entrepreneurial minded designers, and the larger companies that call Columbus home, and they hope to be able to achieve this with their new space. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/fashion-incubator-space-coming-soon-to-downtown-columbus
October 27, 20168 yr Activist investor taking breakup battle directly to Bob Evans shareholders By Dan Eaton, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: October 6, 2016, 4:17pm EDT An activist investor is recruiting backup in its ongoing battle with Bob Evans Farms. New York-based Sandell Asset Management Corp. said it plans to launch a consent solicitation campaign against the New Albany-based restaurant and food products company. ( . . . ) Thomas Sandell questioned Bob Evans CEO Saed Mohseni on the subject on two of the company’s last three quarterly conference calls with stock analysts. The CEO, also on that call, said Bob Evans has not ruled out a separation of the restaurant and foods businesses, but it wasn’t committing to a timeline. The company declined to comment on Sandell's most recent action. Sandell has been pushing for a separation of the foods business from the 522-unit restaurant chain for some time, arguing that the value of the foods business, which generated $387.6 million in sales in fiscal 2016, could be as much as $1.2 billion in a market where M&A activity in the food products world is high. Total Bob Evans sales were $1.33 billion last year. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/10/06/activist-investor-taking-breakupbattle-directly-to.html
December 2, 20168 yr Well, this is a scary sounding headline. And out of the blue too: Business First: Limited Stores laying off workers amid threat the chain could close
December 2, 20168 yr This one is sounds less scary, but still not great: Columbus Dispatch: Limited Stores to start layoffs as soon as today at headquarters
December 3, 20168 yr Update on the Limited Stores news: Columbus Dispatch: Owner of The Limited store chain looking for buyers
December 3, 20168 yr More about the Limited Stores and the Wexner-owned L Brands -- which apparently are not the same company and haven't been for some time -- from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/12/02/limited-stores-to-start-layoffs-today-at-headquarters.html: The story of how Les Wexner started The Limited is well-known. Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and another $5,000 from a bank to open the first Limited store at Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington in 1963. Wexner decided to call the store 'The Limited' because he intentionally limited its apparel to women. With that opening, Wexner defined the concept of a modern specialty retailing chain. He ultimately dubbed the parent company Limited Brands in 2002 to differentiate it from the original Limited store chain. Since then Limited Brands expanded its company portfolio through the creation of brands such as Limited Express, Limited Too and Bath & Body Works. Limited Brands also expanded through the acquisition of Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, Henri Bendel and Abercrombie & Fitch. Some of these brands are still part of the company, while some of them have been sold off or spun off into separate stand-alone companies. Wexner sold off his original Limited Stores chain to Florida-based Sun Capital Partners in 2007. Wexner is now Chairman and CEO of L Brands - the name Limited Brands changed to in 2013. L Brands posted $10.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and was listed as #258 in the 2013 Fortune 500 list of top companies.
December 15, 20168 yr More bad news for the Limited Stores. As one analyst said in this article, "the party's over": Ailing Limited Stores loses top executive Troubled retailer Limited Stores has lost its interim CEO. John Buell, a 13-year veteran of the central Ohio-based specialty retail chain, has joined Altar’d State, a women’s fashion and home decor brand based in Knoxville, Tenn. His new employers said he will be the chain’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. Buell’s departure follows the announcement last week by the owners of the company that, because of a slump in sales and debt pressures, they would sell or close the chain and that all 248 employees at the corporate offices in New Albany could lose their jobs. Buell was The Limited’s chief financial officer when he was named interim CEO two months ago after the departure of CEO Diane Ellis. She was hired by Chico’s, a specialty retailer of women’s clothing and accessories based in Fort Myers, Fla. The rapid departure of Ellis followed by Buell is an indication that “the party’s over,” said Lee Peterson, an executive vice president at WD Partners, a Dublin retail-consulting company. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/12/14/1-ailing-limited-stores-loses-top-executive.html
December 15, 20168 yr Another article I read said that acceptable professional women's clothing became so casual so quickly that the chain got left in the dust. Even if they began stocking the Han Solo look that took over it was too late for The Limited.
December 27, 20168 yr Yeah, we saw it coming for awhile - layoffs, the huge 70% off EVERYTHING sales, and then finally the "all sales are final" notices. Very Stable Genius
January 11, 20178 yr Article on Columbus' fashion industry: http://www.racked.com/2017/1/10/14214976/columbus-ohio-mall-shopping-limited-abercrombie "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 25, 20178 yr Bob Evans selling restaurant chain to private equity firm for $565 million Bob Evans Farms Inc. is splitting its business, selling its iconic restaurant chain to a private equity company while bolstering its remaining food business with another acquisition. The New Albany-based company disclosed after the markets closed Tuesday that Golden Gate Capital would buy the 523-restaurant chain for $565 million, plus the assumption of some debt. The company expects to net $475 million to $485 million from the sale. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/01/24/bob-evans-sells-restaurant-chain-to-private-equity.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 30, 20178 yr Fast-growing CoverMyMeds to be acquired by McKesson for $1.1B By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: January 25, 2017, 7:39pm EST CoverMyMeds LLC, the fast-growing maker of software to make it easier to fill prescriptions, is to be acquired by health distributor McKesson Corp. for $1.1 billion, according to an agreement announced after the markets closed Wednesday. It's the largest exit yet for a Central Ohio technology startup – the type of deal both investors and entrepreneurs say they've been waiting for to unlock more of the region's startup potential. ( . . . ) Doubling nearly every year since its software launched in 2010, CoverMyMeds automates the process of obtaining prior authorization from insurers for certain prescriptions – eliminating faxes, long waits and multiple attempts that often caused frustrated patients to abandon the prescription. The company had projected topping $100 million in revenue two years ago, but it no longer discloses the size of its top line. ... CoverMyMeds added 200 employees over the past year, for a total of more than 500, and expects more than 300 hires in 2017 across its Columbus and Cleveland offices, plus telecommuters. It is expanding into a fourth floor at the Two Miranova office tower in downtown Columbus. CoverMyMeds retains its brand, culture and offices in the deal, and plans to keep growing here, CEO Matt Scantland said via email. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/01/25/fast-growing-covermymeds-to-be-acquired-by.html
January 30, 20178 yr CoverMyMeds' $1.1 billion exit is a big win for Ohio Third Frontier By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: January 26, 2017, 3:45pm EST The coming $1.1 billion acquisition of CoverMyMeds LLC – Ohio's first tech startup " unicorn" – is a huge win for the Ohio Third Frontier program. McKesson Corp., one of the three biggest U.S. health-care products distributors, announced Wednesday it would acquire the fast-growing Columbus software maker in a deal that could grow to $1.37 billion depending on its financial performance over the next two years. ( . . . ) Ohio created the Third Frontier technology investment program in 2002, and voters approved taxpayer-backed bonds to greatly enlarge it in 2005 and 2010. State officials believe the funds can last through 2019. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/01/26/covermymedss-1-1-billion-exit-is-a-big-win-for.html
March 6, 20178 yr 3D pizza printer moves to Central Ohio after landing $1M investment from Donatos founder A startup making 3D-printed pizza has reincorporated in Ohio because of a $1 million investment led by Donatos Pizzeria LLC and Grote Co. founder Jim Grote. BeeHex LLC is leasing a lab on Grote Co.'s Gahanna campus, where it will spend this year developing commercial production models of its food-assembly robots. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/06/3d-pizza-printer-moves-to-central-ohio-after.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 10, 20178 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/08/aep-changing-its-logo-for-the-1st-time-in-30-years.html If nothing else, American Electric Power's new logo will mean a change at the top of its downtown HQ tower:
March 10, 20178 yr Bob Evans food products thriving with split from restaurants looming By Dan Eaton, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Posted: March 8, 2017, 2:11pm EST Now that sides are the main dish at Bob Evans Farms Inc., attention turns to that future. The New Albany-based company released its third quarter sales Wednesday and held its first quarterly conference call with stock analysts since announcing plans in February to sell the 523-unit Bob Evans restaurant chain to San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital for $565 million. That will leave the packaged food business as the sole business under the publicly traded banner of Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ:BOBE) when the deal closes in April. It was another good quarter for that business as side dish sales were up 13 percent by pounds sold and retail sausage rose 3 percent by pounds sold. Foodservice sales grew 19 percent. Total sales rose 4.6 percent to $112.8 million in the quarter. ( . . . ) Restaurant sales, which are now classified as discontinued operations for the company, were $223.1 million in the quarter ended Jan. 27. That’s down 6.5 percent from third quarter 2016 with the drop attributable to restaurant closings. Sales at restaurants open at least a year were down 2.6 percent in the quarter. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/08/bob-evans-food-products-thriving-with-split-from.html
March 10, 20178 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/08/aep-changing-its-logo-for-the-1st-time-in-30-years.html If nothing else, American Electric Power's new logo will mean a change at the top of its downtown HQ tower: Awwww, how cute are the two box logos of AEP and Nationwide going to look next to each other in the skyline?
March 21, 20178 yr Bibibop going national with 15 leases in Chicago, D.C. and L.A. Bibibop Asian Grill will look to succeed where a Chipotle-owned restaurant chain failed. Columbus-based Bibibop Development LLC, the owner-operator of 12 fast-casual rice bowl eateries, acquired the leases on 15 ShopHouse Asian Kitchen restaurants in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. The move more than doubles the restaurant count for the nearly 4-year-old Bibibop and brings it to its first sites outside Ohio. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/20/bibibop-going-national-with-15-leases-in-chicago-d.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 15, 20178 yr Anchor Hocking parent moving headquarters to Columbus from Lancaster By Dan Gearino, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: April 14, 2017 at 2:09 PM The parent company of Anchor Hocking is relocating its corporate headquarters from Lancaster to Columbus. Oneida Group will move to the former Columbia Gas of Ohio building at 200 S. Civic Center Drive. About 60 employees will move to the Columbus headquarters. The shift will take place this summer, the company said. The move will not affect the flagship glassware plant in Lancaster, which is next door to the current headquarters and has about 800 employees. ( . . . ) Oneida Group, which was known as EveryWare Global until a name change in January, has been taking steps to centralize its operations among several tableware brands. The major brands are Anchor Hocking and Oneida. ... In a related change, the company is closing sales offices in New York, Arkansas and Canada and moving several sales employees from those places to Columbus. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170414/anchor-hocking-parent-moving-headquarters-to-columbus-from-lancaster
April 15, 20178 yr Geez, if Lancaster didn't have too few non-public sector white-collar jobs already. Almost no one works 9-5 there.
April 15, 20178 yr Author Wow, that is crazy. Glad they're filling up more of 200 S. Civic Center, but it is disheartening that it will not longer officially call Lancaster home. Though from some of the quotes in the article, it sounds like the company had disenfranchised itself from Lancaster quite a bit over the past few years - which have been quite rocky for the company. Hopefully this restructuring gets them back on their feet.
April 15, 20178 yr And of course its' "closer to the homes of executives" "hey everyone else move or quit since the boss doesn't want to live near you"
April 16, 20178 yr I thought Oneida was based in upstate NY (in Oneida, New York)--did they merge with a Lancaster company and assume the HQ?
April 25, 20178 yr :clap: Construction firm leaves Polaris area for historic downtown building Gilbane Building Co. is relocating to downtown Columbus. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/04/25/citys-largest-construction-firm-moving-to-historic.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 4, 20178 yr Bob Evans sells restaurant chain, completing split from food business Bob Evans Restaurants is now a private company. The 523-unit chain Monday said its $565 million sale to Golden Gate Capital is completed. The move leaves the food products business as the only operation under the publicly traded Bob Evans Farms Inc. ( . . . ) Despite the separation of the businesses, both will continue to share their New Albany headquarters and the foods operation will continue as a supplier to the restaurants. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/01/bob-evans-sells-restaurant-chain-completing-split.html
May 9, 20178 yr Ohio Quarter Horse Association moving HQ to Columbus By Evan Weese, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First May 5, 2017, 11:48am EDT An equine trade group is moving its headquarters to Columbus. The Ohio Quarter Horse Association will relocate operations to 6325 Zumstein Drive from Richwood, a small town about 30 miles northwest of the city, to be closer to the Ohio Expo Center where the All American Quarter Horse Congress is held. ( . . . ) The association paid $1.15 million for the former Champion furniture showroom along Interstate 71, north of the Route 161 interchange, public records show. It expects to move later this year, following a renovation of the 26,000-square-foot building – a 16,356-square-foot warehouse, 6,300-square-foot showroom and 3,420 square feet of office space. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/05/ohio-quarter-horse-association-moving-hq-to.html
May 15, 20178 yr BMO Harris opens commercial banking office in Arena District BMO Harris Bank has set up a commercial banking office in Columbus, solidifying its presence in the state. ... Columbus is the fifth standalone commercial banking office for BMO Harris, in addition to Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco and Irvine, California. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/15/bmo-harris-opens-commercial-banking-office-in.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 15, 20178 yr Express turning old Weisheimer Vacuum building downtown into offices, photography studio Express Inc. is moving jobs downtown. The Columbus-based retailer will put offices and a photography studio into the 20,000-square-foot building at 235 N. Fourth St., the former Weisheimer Vacuum building just north of Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Co. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/15/express-turning-old-weisheimer-vacuum-building.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 19, 20178 yr I don't know if anyone posted this anywhere else yet (sorry if so), but who knew Columbus figured so prominently in the fashion business?? (let alone Nashville!) An interesting article though. Various comparisons between the cities. According to the reporter, Nashville edges out Col's slighty :| We Settle a Big Fashion Rivalry: Nashville vs. Columbus By STEVEN KURUTZ MAY 17, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/fashion/fashion-rivalry-nashville-vs-columbus.html?_r=0 A hot fashion rivalry is underway thousands of miles from the runways of Milan and Paris. It has nothing to do with couture houses or red carpets. It does not involve a luxury brand poaching the designer du jour from a competitor. The clash arises from recent claims made by boosters for Nashville and Columbus. Each city, it seems, considers itself the fashion capital of the United States, with the very notable exceptions of New York and Los Angeles. Each city, in other words, is vying for third place. “Columbus is ranked the No. 3 largest metro for fashion designers and is rapidly becoming known as the region to live, work and play everything fashion,” goes a line from an email sent by the publicity firm DCI on behalf of Ohio’s most populous city. A similar email from a Nashville publicist that recently popped up in my inbox has it that the country music capital, in Middle Tennessee, “now boasts the largest per capita concentration of fashion companies outside of Los Angeles and New York City.” http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
May 19, 20178 yr ... who knew Columbus figured so prominently in the fashion business?? I can think of a few... Article on Columbus' fashion industry: http://www.racked.com/2017/1/10/14214976/columbus-ohio-mall-shopping-limited-abercrombie
June 8, 20178 yr Worthington Industries makes biggest acquisition in company history By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First Updated: June 2, 2017, 1:37pm EDT Worthington Industries Inc. spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to acquire a manufacturer. It’s the biggest acquisition ever for the Columbus steel and metals processor founded in 1955 and led by Columbus Blue Jackets owner John P. McConnell. The company purchased Amtrol for $283 million. ... Amtrol was founded in 1946 and makes water heaters, pressure boosters, well tanks and chemical containers. It recorded $248 million in sales in 2016 and has its corporate office in Rhode Island, with operations in Kentucky, Portugal and Baltimore, Maryland. The company employs 1,300, including 800 in Portugal. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/06/02/worthington-industries-makes-biggest-acquisition.html
June 9, 20178 yr :-o 700 new jobs coming to Dublin A big health insurer is adding 700 new jobs in Dublin, filling up a vacant office building in the city's core. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) announced Friday that it would add the call center and customer service jobs over two years at 5900 Parkwood Place, which previously had housed a JPMorgan Chase & Co. operation. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/06/09/700-new-jobs-coming-to-dublin.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 16, 20177 yr Lane Bryant parent Ascena shifting 125 jobs to Columbus after closing Catherines HQ in Philadelphia Ascena Retail Group Inc. is bringing the home office of its Catherines chain to Columbus, moving 125 jobs from the Philadelphia area as part of an ongoing cost-cutting move by the struggling retailer. It also eliminated 25 jobs in Central Ohio at its Lane Bryant and Justice chains. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/06/16/lane-bryant-parent-ascena-shifting-125-jobs-to.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 16, 20177 yr Retail decline continues with closure of Lane Bryant, Loft, Ann Taylor and Justice stores CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The company behind popular clothing shops like Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant announced earlier this week that it plans to close hundreds of stores throughout the country, continuing a downward trend that's gripped conventional retailers in the digital age. Ascena Retail Group, which also owns chains like Justice, LOFT, Maurices and Catherines, said Monday that it would close between 250 and 650 stores, although it's unclear if it will shutter any stores in Greater Cleveland. The closures are the result of a revenue slide brought about by online competition, Ascena's CEO said http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/06/retail_decline_continues_with.html
July 3, 20177 yr Bibibop CEO on why he can do better than Chipotle with fast-casual Asian Bibibop Asian Grill is more than doubling in size thanks to the acquisition of 15 ShopHouse Asian Kitchen locations in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. That brand was Chipotle Mexican Grill's attempt at fast-casual Asian-inspired food, so Bibibop CEO Charley Shin will attempt to find success where the fast-casual pioneer failed. He isn’t intimidated. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/03/bibibop-ceo-on-why-he-can-do-better-than-chipotle.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 7, 20177 yr Columbus popsicle and puree maker aspiring to feed everyone else's babies, too Unconvinced most baby food products were free from unhealthy ingredients, Anique Thomas began making her son’s food using a variety of local and market-fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs - and her son loved it. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/07/columbus-popsicle-and-puree-maker-aspiring-to-feed.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 11, 20177 yr Amazon surpasses job creation quota in Etna less than a year after facility opens Business First - July 11, 2017, 10:06am EDT Amazon.com Inc. has cleared a job creation benchmark for its Columbus facilities less than a year after they opened — and it plans to keep hiring. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has so far hired 3,000 full time employees at its 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Etna, a company spokesperson told Business First. Amazon needs to maintain 2,000 jobs between its Etna and Obetz facilities by 2019 to stay eligible for an estimated $17 million state tax credit. The Etna warehouse opened in September 2016. The Etna facility handles small items, while the 1 million-square-foot Obetz warehouse handles larger items. ( . . . ) The new hires bring Amazon’s total employee count in Ohio to 6,000. Those jobs are spread across the fulfillment centers in Columbus, the data centers in Hilliard, Dublin and New Albany, a wind farm in Hardin County and a Prime Now store on Columbus' west side. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/11/amazon-surpasses-job-creation-quota-in-etna-less.html
July 24, 20177 yr There was a question in the Cleveland General Business thread about why Columbus/Central Ohio has had increasing manufacturing numbers in the latest BLS releases: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,15104.msg865850.html#msg865850 I attempted an answer, citing newer "clean manufacturing" or "21st-century manufacturing" jobs as a possible reason for this increase. Longtime R&D giant Battelle and newer New Albany company PharmaForce - which their Linkedin page calls "a pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacturing company specializing in the sterile injectable market" - were two examples I cited.
July 24, 20177 yr ^ Somewhat along those same lines, I just came across a Business First article about a video game development school in Central Ohio called Game-U. Backers have big plans for video game development school Game-U: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/24/backers-have-big-plans-for-video-game-development.html Unfortunately, the full article is only viewable by subscribers. But here's a synopsis: "A national franchise could be taking shape in northwest Columbus. Game-U, a kid-centric video game development academy with six locations in Ohio and New Jersey, is building out a high-tech studio in Dublin, and its lead financial backer said that could be the first step toward something much bigger." "The company currently is teaching some 100 students the ins and outs of video game development at a space in Powell, but soon will move into a studio twice its size in Dublin. ... Chris Volpe, founder of the Ohio Game Developer Association, said his goal is to make Columbus a game development hotspot. ... “I wanted to help establish that education pipeline for the industry,” Volpe said of his involvement in Game-U." "Teaching students the skills needed to make a career in video games might seem trivial to some, but hold on: The global video game industry pulls in more annual revenue than both movies and music by some measures. At the same time, the skills needed to succeed in the video game trade are applicable elsewhere. Coding, in particular, is in high demand." Another thing I found interesting was the 2014 opening of a video game tournament arena by Major League Gaming on the city's northeast side between Easton and John Glenn Airport: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3163.msg727160.html#msg727160 If Game-U's plans pan out, that and MLG would be two local hubs into a global video game industry that some estimate generates $23.5 billion annually in the U.S. alone: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/investing-in-video-games-this-industry-pulls-in-more-revenue-than-movies-music-cm634585
July 28, 20177 yr City council appears to be moving quickly to approve an incentives package assumed to be intended for Foxconn. They are reportedly considering a site near Rickenbacker airport for a major investment/operation... City council crafting incentives for firms with big plans Columbus City Council will consider tax incentive legislation on Monday aimed at attracting large companies that plan to invest heavily in jobs and operations at a time when Columbus is competing to land Asian electronics giant Foxconn. The legislation appeared late Thursday on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, and while city officials weren’t returning calls to explain the incentive, the legislation could be geared toward any company Columbus is pursuing for “new non-retail operations.” Companies seeking the incentive also must create at least 1,000 new, non-retail, full-time positions, with the jobs paying at least $15 an hour, and generate at least $1 million in net-profits tax to the city a year. http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170727/city-council-crafting-incentives-for-firms-with-big-plans
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