Medical device company nearing 250 jobs as it adds shifts, workers (Ohio)

The Dayton Daily News ^ | July 15, 2017 | Nick Blizzard

[2ndDivisionVet]

WEST CARROLLTON — A global medical device company moving from Fairborn to West Carrollton has added shifts and about 150 workers with plans to hire more as part of a $45 million expansion.

NuVasive Inc. officials said the firm now employs about 150 at the West Carrollton site on Liberty Lane and has about 100 workers at its Herald Square location in Fairborn. The company is in the latter part of a transition as part of a late 2015 deal that involved state, county and local incentives.

“The intent is to have everybody (transferred) in the fourth quarter of this year,” said West Carrollton Economic Development Director Michael Lucking. “And that’s the path they’re looking to follow.”

The agreement calls for the San Diego-based manufacturer to have about 300 jobs by 2018 at the West Carrollton facility, the site later this month where top company executives will gather with state, county and local officials.

NuVasive is on an aggressive schedule and should meet those goals, city officials said, but is being challenged by a substandard employment pool.

“The job pool for what they need is a little on the weak side right now,” West Carrollton Mayor Jeff Sanner said.

Among the talents needed, he said, are skilled machinists.

Still, NuVasive is “on track on all of our numbers,” said Stefanie Mazur, the company’s public relations manager of corporate marketing.

“We’re doing so well on our expectations for meeting our plan for our hiring that we’ve added extra shifts,” at the West Carrollton site, including weekend shifts, she said.

NuVasive last week had more than 30 job postings online for its Dayton-area operations. The company is looking to hire for positions ranging from materials handler and associate machinist to senior manufacturing engineer and senior buyer, according to the job postings.

The job postings include all three shifts and can be found at www.nuvasive.com under careers..

When the move was announced in 2015, West Carrollton officials said the positions will have an average annual salary of $48,000, and the operation’s payroll is estimated at $14.2 million upon full employment in 2018.

The pay rate and number of jobs, Sanner said, is one of the reasons the city welcomed the deal.

“It’s definitely going to improve our income tax” revenues,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

NuVasive touts itself as a company focused on “transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally-integrated solutions.” In 2016, revenues totaled $962 million in more than 40 countries where 2,300 employees worked.

To help fill the jobs at the 160,000 square foot site formerly occupied by Motoman Robotics, NuVasive has held sessions for area engineers to share information about the company. It also provides training and offers apprenticeship programs, Mazur said.

The West Carrollton site next week is where NuVasive’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Greg Lucier and its President and Chief Operating Officer Jason Hannon will host representatives from Gov. John Kasich’s office, JobsOhio, Montgomery County, the Dayton Development Coalition and city officials, according to the company.

The company’s move was the result of both state and local aid in 2015. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 65 percent, seven-year job creation tax credit.

Meanwhile, the county recommended the project for $350,000 in funding after Moraine, West Carrollton and Vandalia filed a joint application for aid.

The city’s package included 100 percent property tax abatements for 12 years; a 35 percent rebate of payroll taxes for five years; a $100,000 forgivable loan upon buying the land; $2,500 in property improvement reimbursement grants for exterior improvements; and the waiving of city permit and application fees.

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