East Central Ohio Business Park Is Formed; Will Be A Magnet For Jobs, Longaberger Says

NEWARK, Ohio, Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tami Longaberger, President and CEO of The Longaberger Company, announced today the creation of East Central Ohio (ECO) Business Park on a 700-acre tract owned by her company in Muskingum County, Ohio, just east of Columbus.

ECO Business Park will seek to attract businesses from the United States and overseas to operate light manufacturing, assembly or distribution centers on the property. 

"Here in East Central Ohio we have tremendous benefits to offer, including a prime location easily accessible to major population centers, plenty of space, an excellent labor force, and closeness to the resources of Ohio's capital," said Ms. Longaberger in making the announcement. 

"Any company would be wise to consider locating at ECO Business Park because of its amazing combination of attributes.  We're going to actively market it and tell the story of why we're a perfect spot for business relocation or expansion."

"We're excited at the prospect of having new neighbors who will bring additional jobs to our area as we develop the park alongside our company's own operations.  We've said that we want to create more jobs in this area.  ECO Business Park is another way for us to do it, along with expansion of our own company," added Ms. Longaberger.

ECO Business Park is a non-profit Ohio association that will manage the infrastructure of the park, including utilities and an internal service road, for the benefit of the tenants, while seeking to attract additional companies.

On August 27, Fanatics, Inc., one of the world's leading online retailers of officially licensed sports merchandise, announced that it would occupy a half million square feet of space on the site for its distribution center.  Fanatics will move into its facility in 2013 and expects to employ hundreds of full-time employees at its facility, adding thousands of additional part-time hours in the fourth quarter each year.   

ECO Business Park is located one mile east of Frazeysburg in Muskingum County.  A four- lane, divided highway (State Route 16) borders the property to the north with an interchange adjacent. 

There are 1.7 million square feet of industrial space under roof at the park, consisting of five light manufacturing and distribution facilities.  There is an additional 42,000 square feet of administrative and maintenance space and an on-site child care center. 

Longaberger operates its manufacturing and distribution operations on the site, making handcrafted baskets, producing related wood accessories and distributing its products to independent home consultants nationwide.  The park is also home to the Longaberger Homestead, a unique retail, restaurant and entertainment experience which is a destination for over 100,000 visitors each year. 

In addition to the existing manufacturing and distribution buildings in the park, all of which have been built since 1990, there are more than 100 acres of prime development land available for new construction. The Longaberger Company acquired the property in the 1980's.  

SOURCE The Longaberger Company