Educational products distributor School Specialty has been at its Mansfield location for 20 years. Yet, on Thursday morning a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Paragon Parkway. As 25-year School Specialty employee Barb Lambert snipped the blue ribbon, the company celebrated a $7 million investment into the Mansfield location.
Rick Smith, School Specialty’s Director of Operations for the Mansfield location, spoke to a group of approximately 300 employees and local public figures on Thursday to say the company is excited to pause and recognize its accomplishments, as well as take the opportunity to celebrate with the community.
“Today is a recognition of the reinvestment in Mansfield and what this facility will mean to our company in the coming years,” said Smith. “The cash investment and infrastructure conveyors and the material handling equipment is significant because it really makes permanent our place here in the community.”
Smith noted when School Specialty struggled with bankruptcy in the past, the Mansfield distribution center was selected as the facility as the location most viable and with the most potential to support the entire network. The Mansfield location will now serve as the company’s primary warehouse and distribution hub, serving its nationwide customer base.
“We have three goals for School Specialty here in Mansfield,” said Smith. “The first is to create an environment that is a great place to work, which fosters an atmosphere of deep community involvement. The second is to provide extraordinary service to our customers, and the third is to continue on the current path of operating profitably for the future benefit of all School Specialty associates, their families, this tremendous community and the great state of Ohio.”
Jim Henderson, Chairman of School Specialty’s Board of Directors, introduced a number of important guests attending Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, including fellow board members Justin Lu and Madhu Satyanarayana. Henderson also introduced School Specialty’s brand-new CEO Joseph Yorio, who was announced as the new CEO on Wednesday night. Other guests in the audience included Senator Cliff Hite and Shelby Mayor Marilyn John.
Henderson described how the company has been in business for over 60 years, becoming a public company in 1998. School Specialty distributes 20 well-known brands with more than 100,000 products. The company employs between 1,400 and 2,000 employees and sells to 70 percent of school districts in the country.
“We’re a one-stop shop for educators to buy supplies from us,” said Henderson. “We’re making a serious long-term commitment to grow this business and get better each day.”
Henderson stated that his number one concern for the growing School Specialty facility in Mansfield is not having enough people to staff the factory. He said the facility needs approximately 550 more employees in the summer to meet their customers’ demands.
“We need the community’s involvement and help to staff this operation,” he said. “We’re making the investment, we’re bringing the jobs here, and we really need everybody’s help to find people for full-time, seasonal and part-time jobs.”
It’s a concern Bridget McDaniel, Executive Director of the Richland County Development Group (RCDG), is happy to tackle. She stated RCDG looks to School Specialty not only to be a great employer year-round but to help young people get a good job in Richland County and hopefully stay and help grow the county.
“At Richland County Development Group our sole purpose is to improve the economic vitality of Richland County, and what an exciting day for us to see the investment in people and jobs and infrastructure here in our community,” said McDaniel.
“Today is a recognition of the reinvestment in Mansfield and what this facility will mean to our company in the coming years,” said Director of Operations Rick Smith. “The cash investment and infrastructure conveyers and the material handling equipment is significant because it really makes permanent our place here in the community.”
