Mass. compressor company to create 150 jobs in area | Local News ...
In 1997, Atlas Copco-owned Chicago Pneumatic Tool moved its air-compression tool manufacturing operations from Utica, N. Y. , to Rock Hill, employing more than 200 workers at Waterford Business Park, although about 95 were laid off in 2000. Company spokeswoman Jennifer Tremblay said the air compressor manufacturer, part of the international Atlas Copco Group and a sister company of local tool maker Chicago Pneumatic, will relocate its offices from Westfield, Mass. Atlas Copco Compressors moved its portable compressors and generators manufacturing line in with Chicago Pneumatic in 2004, creating about 60 new jobs. Atlas Copco Compressors will create about 150 local jobs when it moves its headquarters to Rock Hill, the company said Wednesday. "I think this validates that we've established ourselves as a preferred location for headquarters in the Charlotte region," Farris said, noting several com- panies, including 3D Systems and Muzak, have relocated headquarters to the county in... York County Economic Development Director Mark Farris said landing the corporate headquarters is a big win for York County. While manufacturing and distribution plants generally boast plenty of new jobs when they first arrive, Farris said a company's headquarters tends to bring with it a diverse, educated and higher-salaried group of employees. The company's manufacturing operations already are at Waterford, Tremblay said, and the headquarters will be housed in the same facility. Farris said one headquarters tends to attract more, and his office has been busy talking to firms eyeing York County. The senior management, finance, accounting and communications departments among others all will move to Rock Hill, the company said. "Since the production facility was already in Rock Hill, it just made sense to have our other operations here as well," Tremblay said. BeaconMedaes, an Atlas Copco affiliate that makes medical air and vacuum equipment, also will relocate its headquarters to the Waterford location from Lenexa, Kan. Now, the Atlas Copco operations in Rock Hill will employ more than 350 people altogether.