Findlay: Double Success in Distribution

When the north central Ohio city of Findlay snared a major shipping facility for retailer Best Buy in 1995, it wasn't the first time the city of 36,000 had caught the eye of distributors. The year before, clothing retailer Kohl's selected a site in Findlay for a $30 million, 650,000-sq. ft. distribution center.

The facility, which processes merchandise and ships to 49 Kohl's stores, has 12 miles of conveyor belts in a building that is equal in size to 12 football fields,.The company has announced plans to hire an additional 150 workers, bringing the work force to 462. Because of peaks and valleys in the retail business Kohl's has a "flex work force."

Says Mike Morgan, plant manager: "Findlay is a great place for distribution. I've had no problem hiring people -- which can be a big issue -- and I'm really comfortable with this group of employees. It's one of the best groups Kohl's has ever hired."

Following Kohl's success, Minneapolis-based Best Buy opted for a 100-acre site in Findlay for its 780,000-sq. ft. distribution center. Findlay beat out other sites in Ohio and in two adjacent states, largely because of Findlay's willingness to provide a necessary water main and a connecting road that would permit easier interstate access,

Findlay's location on I-75 is an attraction for shippers, of course. So, too, is the availability of developed and well-serviced sites. But the factor that usually clinches the deal in Findlay's favor is its all-out effort to provide full services to prospects and to keep its substantial existing industry -- firms like Whirlpool, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Consolidated Biscuits and home-grown Marathon Oil-- happy.

Findlay fields a broad-based team of political, business and civic leaders. Coached by Findlay-Hancock County Community Development Foundation President John Kovach, the team is a closely knit effort to bring new business and industry to the community.
	Kohl's $30 million distribution center has shown two years of positive growth, now employing 462 associates.

"Take a look at what cooperation has done for Findlay," says Mayor John Stozich. The mayor, former director of industrial relations for Gov. Voinovich and a five-term state legislator, brings clout to the business attraction effort. "In this city, the elected officials and the business community are an unbeatable team," he says.

Mike Morgan of Kohl's agrees. "One of the advantages of a 30,000 population city is that I can pick up the phone and call the mayor whenever I want to."

Findlay's superior quality of life earned the city the No. 1 spot among Ohio's micropolitan communities. Some three million sq. ft. of retail space make the city a shopping magnet. It has the medical infrastructure of a city several times its size. It has a wide range of new housing stock, and it is home to the University of Findlay, an extraordinary school that develops its curricula according to what the market wants.

"Findlay is a great little Midwestern town," says Morgan. "And if you want to visit the big city, it's close to Toledo and Columbus."

Findlay straddles I-75, with four exits leading to the city. As business and industry consume developed space on the city's east side, the community will ready new sites on the west side of the interstate. In the offing are a new sewer line and four-lane access road for sites to be developed to the west of I-75.