Fairfield lands multi-million-dollar company’s global headquarters

The City of Fairfield will add 123 new high-paying jobs to its tax base, although unfortunately for job-seekers they’re likely already filled.

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Standex Electronics will build a new $3.8 million, 60,000-square-foot facility at 4150 Thunderbird Lane. The facility, which is expected to be completed by March 2019, will serve as the electronics company’s global headquarters. The total payroll of the electronics company is around $6 million, said Ken Hay, Standex Electronics vice president of finance.

The company, which produces switches, sensors, magnetics and relays, will move from its current undersized and antiquated building in Oakley, on Hamilton County’s East Side. The company lacks parking, has inadequate space for logistics and trucking, “and it’s a very dated building,” Hay said.

A tax incentive agreement between Standex Electronics and the city of Fairfield calls for the company to create the equivalent of 10 new full-time jobs within three years.

“We’ve been around that facility for 40 to 50 years,” Hay said, adding that a new building will “address all our current and future facility needs, and we would more or less double in size for our footprint.”

Standex Electronics is one of five divisions of Standex International, which is based in Salem, N.H. Standex Electronics has revenues of about $180 million company worldwide — with offices in Germany, Tokyo, the United Kingdom, Shanghai and Mexico — and the Cincinnati office makes up about $10 million to $12 million of that industry, said Hay.

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The move to Fairfield will also allow for global headquarters office space, as the company continues to grow, Hay said. And growth is mandated by the parent company.

“We’re a high priority of Standex International to grow quite a bit,” Hay said. “And they would like us to grow in particular by probably doubling in the next four to five years.”

Hay said job growth of the company will likely come with acquisitions and organic growth, “and we’ll continue to add people at the different areas — business development, sales and so forth.”

He also said it’s anticipated some of the employees in Oakley won’t make the move to Fairfield due to the extended commute.

The company’s products support a variety of industries, such as transportation, industrial and appliances, but Hay said the company has “a high focus on the military and the aerospace industry.” Business customers include Boeing, Eaton, Hamilton Sundstrand and General Electric, he said.

Standex is the type of business the city is seeking, said Fairfield Mayor Steve Miller.

“We can only thank you for coming to Fairfield,” he said during the Sept. 11 City Council meeting. “You are absolutely the kind of business that we’re looking for, and we’re so glad you chose us to be your home.”

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