Siemens

“The corporation could have chosen to go elsewhere,” Strickland said to an audience of more than 100 people just before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is an example of how working together can result in a common good.” The Norwood facility assembles and tests large electric motors used in industrial and factory automation. The plant has more than 400 employees. Some parts of the plant date to 1898, when the Bullock Electric Co. was built on the Forest Avenue site.

“It has been a significant decision to make this investment - and a successful decision,” said Dennis Sadlowski, president and CEO of Siemens Energy & Automation, which has its U.S. headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. He credited the cooperation of the employees’ union, the experience and skill of the employees, the support of Ohio, Hamilton County and Norwood, and Norwood’s central location with convincing his company to expand the plant.

Siemens spent more than $10 million to expand and renovate the existing buildings and more than $17 million to buy new equipment and machinery. “We are now standing in a world-class facility in a world-class market,” said George Nolen, president and CEO of Siemens Corp. The improved facilities and technology at the Norwood plant will increase production, Sadlowski said. “We’ve already seen quite a bit of an increase,” he said.

“In 2008, we’re looking to increase our output by 20 percent.” The expanded facility has shortened the distance a motor travels in the plant through the manufacturing process from six miles to two miles, Sadlowski said. “That helps us deliver the motors to our customers more quickly,” he said. Siemens, whose global headquarters is in Munich, Germany, employs about 3,500 people in 35 locations in Ohio.