Sunstar Engineering Americas (SEA), a member of the Sunstar Group, will invest $18.15 million to expand its operations in Springboro, Ohio with help from the state of Ohio, JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati and the City of Springboro. SEA’s growth includes the creation of 60 new jobs.
“SEA is experiencing double-digit year-on-year growth by delivering innovative, high-quality solutions for our customers,” said Walter Palen, President of SEA. “We continue to ramp up our innovation in the adhesives and sealants space focusing on automotive and recreational vehicle markets. SEA is thrilled to continue to develop our footprint in the Springboro/Franklin area and is on a clear path to creating more high-value jobs and opportunities for our localities and the State of Ohio. We are transforming our business towards mobility and electrification, moving towards a carbon-neutral society. SEA is committed to expanding our presence in the region and consolidating manufacturing in Ohio.”
With five locations across the cities of Springboro and Franklin, SEA serves the automotive and motorcycle industries, providing both chemical and manufacturing services. Through the expansion, SEA will streamline its motorcycle, R&D and warehousing functions, integrate new manufacturing processes, and bring new services in-house.
A variety of positions will be created, including chemical engineers, R&D personnel, supervisors, quality control, operations, sales, back office and a multitude of equipment operators. Most job creation will occur in Springboro but the expansion will also generate a small number of employment opportunities in Franklin.
“Ohio has the third-largest manufacturing workforce in the U.S., and Sunstar Engineering Americas is bolstering that strength by adding 60 jobs in the region,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO. “SEA continues to innovate, invest and expand in Ohio, which will improve manufacturing efficiencies and help the company meet the growing demand from its customers worldwide.”
“The Cincinnati region provides many benefits for businesses operating in the manufacturing industry,” said Kevin Donnelly, vice president of project management for REDI Cincinnati. “Our access to 60% of the U.S. population within a day’s drive, a talented workforce trained by our robust educational ecosystem and a business-friendly environment that includes more than 2,700 manufacturing businesses make this an ideal location for Sunstar Engineering Americas’ continued growth.”
“This is great news for Sunstar, the City of Springboro and the entire region,” said Springboro Mayor John Agenbroad. “We are thrilled that Sunstar is committed to investing additional capital and workforce in Springboro and commend Sunstar’s top-notch management team for this creative way to improve operating efficiencies.”
Google Chooses Central Ohio For New Data Centers
With the addition of new data centers in Columbus and Lancaster, Ohio will be home to three Google data centers including the tech company’s existing facility in New Albany. The latest projects will bring the tech company’s total investment in Ohio to more than $2 billion. Google currently has 24 data centers in 13 states and nine different countries.
“Ohio is a growing technology hub and data center market, and we welcome these two new Google projects in Columbus and Lancaster to complement the one already in New Albany,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “Google joins the growing number of companies that recognize that Ohio is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Google purchased land in Columbus and Lancaster for the data centers in 2021. Construction has begun, but an opening date for the data centers has not been scheduled.
The data centers will help Google’s artificial intelligence efforts, according to Mark Isakowitz, Google’s Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for the U.S. and Canada. “Once completed, these data centers will help power not only AI innovation, but tools you use everyday like search, gmail and maps,” he said.
“Central Ohio is on the rise, with the fastest growing economy in the Midwest,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Google is playing a big part in making the region a hub for cloud computing and priming the region for even more development. The future is very bright in Columbus and Central Ohio.”
“Lancaster is ready for this moment,” said Lancaster Mayor David Scheffler. “We are a pro-business community; we have the infrastructure and we have the people. We are excited to welcome Google to our community.”