J-B Weld will get approximately $37,900 in economic incentives from Sandy Springs if it completes the planned $5.1 million purchase of a 65,000-square-foot commercial building on Roswell Road and moves its headquarters there.
Sandy Springs Economic Development Director Chris Burnett told the Sandy Springs City Council during its Sept. 2 meeting that J-B Weld plans to move its headquarters from Cobb County. The company will relocate to a building formerly occupied by Newell Brands in the Morgan Falls Office Park at 7840 Roswell Rd. Initially, 23 employees with a $175,000 annual average salary would relocate to Sandy Springs. The company expects to add two to three additional employees annually in future years.
Burnett said the company plans to spend $1 million on building renovations and another $500,000 on furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
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The approximate value of the incentives approved by the city council equals $37,900, according to Burnett. That includes a three-year business and occupation tax waiver, and a building permit fee waiver for J-B Weld’s portion of the building –expected to be one floor of 22,000 square feet – and for future tenants’ buildouts.
The building currently has one tenant, Swan Products Company, a garden hose manufacturer that operates its headquarters in a 4,000-square-foot space in the building.
Burnett said that by creating 23 new jobs in Sandy Springs and adding jobs annually, J-B Weld meets one of the criteria for Tier 2 incentives. Investing $6.6 million in the building purchase and improvements meets another requirement. A seven-year commitment satisfies the final requirement.
If the company does not stay in the building for seven years, or if it does not meet its job creation commitment, Burnett said the city can claw back the incentives.
“We’ve grown the business from the original 16 people, of which none were here in Georgia, to the current 150 people, of which some 30 plus are residents here in Georgia. And I can see it continue to grow,” J-B Weld Chairman and CEO Chip Hanson said.
Burnett said commercial building values often are based on cash flow, with the value of empty buildings dropping because it doesn’t have much cash flow. Higher tax values benefit the community. Employees will spend money in restaurants and retail stores, and could purchase homes or lease apartments within the city.
“I love it when companies buy buildings versus lease buildings. Leases expire, but when you own that building, your roots are much deeper in the ground, which makes me feel very good about J-B Weld coming to our community,” Burnett said.
J-B Weld manufactures and distributes industrial glues, putties, and epoxies to bond metals, plastics, and wood, distributed to retailers like Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. It employs between 150 and 200 employees in its Sulphur Springs, Texas, manufacturing plant. It does $90 million in annual sales, with $5.7 million in Georgia.
