Cleveland Company with $3 Million Payroll Relocating in Stow

A company with a $3 million payroll has struck a deal with the city to relocate and stay in Stow for at least the next eight years.

Ken Trenner, the city's planning director, said April 25 the city will receive 25 percent of Anderson International Corp.'s payroll withholding tax for the next eight consecutive years beginning in 2012. 

"This is a good agreement and a good situation for the city," said Trenner.

Per the agreement, the company must keep a payroll of at least $3 million through 2020. 

"We currently employ about 75 and our payroll is higher than the $3 million in agreement," said Anderson's General Manager Paul Kohntopp. "We are growing and will continue to grow."

Of the 75 jobs, half are machine shop workers and the other half are professional jobs in finance, marketing, engineering and payroll, he added.

The privately-owned company will be moving from its Harvard Avenue location in Cleveland since 1981 to 4545 Boyce Pkwy., near Commerce Drive next year.

The company, which makes large machines to extract oil from seeds and water from synthetic rubber, provides products mainly to the Middle East and South America, said Kohntopp.

"We looked at a lot of buildings, starting last summer," he said. "We looked predominately in Medina, Cleveland and Valley View. We chose the Boyce [Parkway] building because it fits our needs well — there's room for expansion and we're very happy to be here."

Not only did the building suit Anderson's needs, but the location near a highway with access to Cleveland and Akron was ideal.

"We thought we could draw a lot of skilled labor from [Akron] and the universities," said Kohntopp. "The facilities on Boyce will help us to modernize to attract young people from Akron and Cleveland."