Sherwin-Williams decision strengthens manufacturing base

Sherwin-Williams' decision to build a paint plant in the Nevada Pacific Industrial Park at Fernley is a big step toward further strengthening of the region's manufacturing sector, executives in the economic development business said last week.

The company will employ about 90 at Fernley when the 200,000-square-foot plant opens in mid-2006.

In an application for state incentives, the Cleveland-based company said wages will average at least $16.90 an hour.

"This is high-level manufacturing," said Patty Wade-Snyder, president ofWade Development Co.,whose company sold the 17 acre site along the south side of Interstate 80 to Sherwin-Williams.

The company hasn't identified the contractor on the facility,where work will begin immediately.

Along with construction costs, Sherwin- Williams projects an investment of $26 million in equipment.

Sherwin-Williams had scouted the area for about two years, said Paul Perkins of Colliers International,who represented the company.

At the same time, the paint manufacturer was looking at locations in California and Utah.

Fernley won the competition because of a combination of its location on transportation routes, its infrastructure and its growing labor force, said Chuck Alvey, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Authority ofWestern Nevada.

Perkins said, for instance, Sherwin- Williams knew precisely how it wanted the new plant to be served by rail.

"They had a very specific vision of the plant layout," he said.

At the same time, Perkins said, the executives of the paint manufacturer liked the idea of locating in a clearly defined community.

That community,Wade-Snyder said, is one that provides a good supply of workers for Sherwin-Williams as well as other manufacturers such as Trex Company and Quebecor World that have moved to the town in recent years.

"The labor force is expanding in numbers as well as skill sets," she said.

Because the company wanted to move quickly once it had settled on a site, businessfriendly Fernley nailed down its position over California locations that require a lengthy regulatory process,Wade-Snyder said.

The plant, which will manufacture only water-based paint,will be managed by Francis Huppmann.

It will serve markets in the West.

Fortune Magazine last month named Sherwin-Williams one of the best 100 companies in the nation to work for.