CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams, a global juggernaut in the paint industry and a major player in Northeast Ohio’s workforce and economy, has announced that it plans to keep its new world headquarters in Cleveland.
The company is finalizing plans to build a new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland just west of Public Square between St. Clair and Superior avenues. The new world headquarters will be approximately 1,000,000-square-feet in size.
The planned new R&D Center will be located in Brecksville, located off I-77 at Miller and Brecksville road. The center will serve as the corporate anchor for a new mixed-use development project and would be approximately 500,000-square-feet in size.
“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,” says Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John G. Morikis in a news release. “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.”
The transition to the new faculties is not expected to happen until 2023, the company said.
Preliminary plans shows Sherwin-Williams will invest a minimum of $600 million to build both facilities. The two facilities will house more than 3,500 employees. Sherwin-Williams estimates it would add 400 jobs at the facilities over time.
Cleveland has been home to the Fortune 200 company for more than 150 years.
In September 2019, the company told investors that it was looking for a new world headquarters, but moving to a new location would not occur until at least 2023.
Mayor Frank Jackson applauded the company's decision to stay in Cleveland.
“Sherwin Williams has been a part of the fabric of our community for 154 years. 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 & 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,” said Jackson.
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Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelly and Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack released the following statement regarding Sherwin-Williams' decision.
"The announcement by Sherwin-Williams company that it is planning to build its new world headquarters in downtown Cleveland is exciting and welcomed news. We appreciate this show of confidence in our community and the economic future of our city and region. This decision represents thousands of high paying jobs. In addition to the economic impact of these thousands of employees, this decision also represents an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in construction alone. And it will replace acres of surface parking with innovation and economic activity. We look forward to working closely with the administration and the company during this process and are awaiting legislation to begin our deliberations."
The paint company got its start in the heart of the city in 1866 when Henry Sherwin moved to Cleveland and invested his savings into the Truman Dunham Company of Ohio. They were a distributor of pigments, paint supplies and oils. Four years later, the original partnership ended and Sherwin started a paint business with partners, Edward P. Williams and Alanson T. Osborn.
The three first began selling ingredients that the customer then mixed to make paint, but soon they began developing a reliable ready-mixed paint, which was introduced to the market in 1875. It changed the paint industry and eventually became a standard.
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In 1884, the partnership with Osborn dissolved and Sherwin and Williams incorporated as The Sherwin-Williams Company.
The paint company is now the largest producer of paints, varnishes and coatings in the United States and second in the world.
In the United States, Sherwin-Williams turns out 3,600 different kinds of paint and offers 30,000 products globally.
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