ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. will receive at least $56 million in state assistance to keep its headquarters in Northeast Ohio, similar to the deal Ohio gave American Greetings Corp. last month.
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ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. will receive at least $56 million in state assistance to keep its headquarters in Northeast Ohio.GREEN, Ohio -- ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. will receive at least $56 million in state assistance to keep its headquarters in Northeast Ohio, similar to the deal Ohio gave American Greetings Corp. last month.
Diebold today will announce plans to build a $100 million corporate campus and global headquarters in the Akron/Canton region. The company, based in Green, confirmed the deal Monday but would not say where it might build.
Diebold employs 1,900 people at five sites in Summit and Stark counties and 16,000 worldwide. It said it considered moving to North Carolina or Virginia, and at least one of those states made an offer before Ohio officials offered their own "compelling" package, the company said.
Pending approval by state and local governments, Diebold's total incentive package could end up around $100 million, the company says. State officials declined to comment on the specifics in that package.
Gov. John Kasich will come to Green today for Diebold's announcement.
Diebold would receive its deal under the same legislation that provided American Greetings with up to $93.5 million in incentives over 15 years to stay in Ohio instead of moving to the Chicago area.
That legislation created a refundable job retention tax credit for businesses that met specific criteria. Companies had to have at least 1,000 employees, agree to make $25 million in capital improvements over three consecutive years and have received a written offer from another state in 2010.
State officials said last month that American Greetings was not the only company that met all three criteria, but they declined to identify the others.
Diebold said it is looking to build a world-class facility that consolidates its local operations, promotes efficiency and "enhances our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent."
In return, the company would agree to employ about 1,500 people in Ohio for 18 years.
American Greetings Corp. agreed to keep the equivalent of 1,750 full-time positions at its headquarters for 15 years.
Diebold did not offer a timetable for building its headquarters but said it expects to spend $100 million on the project.
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View full sizeDiebold's world headquarters in Green, Ohio.The new campus would consolidate its corporate offices; research and development, hardware and software engineering functions; financial and administrative operations; customer service and monitoring centers; employee training; and sales and marketing for its ATM, security and integrated services businesses.
The company owns two of its facilities, including its current corporate headquarters, and leases the three other buildings.
Diebold said it has explored the idea of a single campus since July 2009, an analysis that included talking to officials in other states. It has been at its current site since 1972.
The 152-year-old company, which traces its roots to a safe-making business founded in North Canton, has an annual payroll in Ohio of $125 million and last year recorded revenues of more than $2.82 billion.
The company raised its dividend for 2011 for the 58th straight year, which it said is unprecedented among major U.S. corporations.
An independent consultant estimated Diebold's annual economic effect on Ohio as about $480 million for each of the next five years.