By The Numbers
Superior Abrasives will relocate from Harrison Twp. to Vandalia. A look at the deal:
110 - Number of workers, including 85 existing and 25 new over 3 years;
$3 million - payroll expected annually;
84,000 - square feet of new plant to be built in Vandalia.
Source: Superior Abrasives, city of Vandalia.
The president of a local manufacturer estimates that her company will make a $6 million investment by moving operations from Harrison Twp. to the city of Vandalia later this year.
Superior Abrasives plans to move from 4800 Wadsworth Road in Harrison Twp. to the Stonequarry Crossings industrial park in Vandalia. The company has 85 full-time employees now, and President Lynne Henson said she hopes 25 more workers will be added in the next three years.
“This is going to be about a $6 million investment into the building and the equipment,” Henson said. “It also brings $3 million or so in payroll dollars.”
Officials with Superior Abrasives have a purchase agreement with Vandalia for a 12-acre lot at the corner of Peters Pike and Fieldstone Way, where the company would like to build its new 84,000-square-foot manufacturing plant.
Superior Abrasives is the latest industrial park tenant and follows the commercial building opening of Manufactured Assemblies Corporation, Carter Logistics, White Castle and Independent Can.
“We looked out of state and we looked in-state. Vandalia just offered us everything that we were looking for,” Henson said. “So, we’re very excited about moving here.”
Superior Abrasives chose Vandalia over a Wisconsin site, according to Vandalia spokesman Rich Hopkins.
Vandalia officials worked with Montgomery County via the Economic Development and Government Equity fund program, and with Ohio Department of Transportation and JobsOhio through the Dayton Development Coalition, to bring Superior Abrasives to the city, according to Greg Shackelford, Vandalia’s assistant city manager.
Shackelford said the city is seeking a community reinvestment tax abatement for the company.
Construction is scheduled to begin in late March and will take approximately 10 months to complete, according to Hopkins.
Henson added that the company will have to shut down operations at the Wadsworth Road site for a couple of weeks while transitioning to the new building.
The family-owned company makes products that include sand paper, sanding discs, sanding wheels and sanding belts, and it then sells the items to the metal industry.
“Our customer base is domestic, and we do have some international sales,” Henson said.
The company hopes to double its facility in the next 10 years, according to Henson.
“Without question, the potential for growth and expansion played a key role in the company choosing Vandalia,” Shackelford said. “I’m looking forward to watching this company grow and thrive in their new location.”
Two of the attractions about the new Vandalia location are that it’s located near the interchanges of Interstates 75 and 70, and it’s on a bus line, according to Henson.
“We hire most of our key people from a sign in our front yard. We don’t use temp agencies. We don’t use online sourcing. So this sign in our yard is critical to us,” Henson said. “Being right on Peters Pike, we have a residential neighborhood, but we have the land that we need for potential growth.”
The company started as Superior Rotary Tools and was founded by Herbert Cook in 1961 as a specialty abrasive converter, according to the company’s website. It changed its name to Superior Abrasives Inc. in 1987 under the leadership of Paul Cook.
Rueggeberg Group, Germany, acquired the company in 2012, but Superior Abrasives remained an independent entity within that organization.
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