$2 Million Funding to Defray Relocation Costs of Headquarters Move from suburban Chicago area to Broadview Hts., Ohio

Cleveland, – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish today announced that Sterigenics International, a leading global provider of contract sterilization and lab services for the medical device industry, the world’s leading supplier of Co-60 and a leading supplier of medical isotopes, has relocated its global headquarters to Broadview Heights, Ohio from suburban Chicago.

In response to inquiries in late summer from Sterigenics International CEO Michael Petras about the company’s potential interest in relocating to Northeast Ohio, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and County development officials began working with Team Northeast Ohio/JobsOhio and several municipalities along the I-77 Corridor to understand the specific site and financial needs for assisting such a move to the area in the most effective manner.   Several viable sites for the company headquarters move were presented but it was quickly determined that a sizable package of low cost incentives from the region would be necessary for Mr. Petras to convince the company’s Board of Directors and its equity partner ownership to approve the relocation.  All parties moved quickly over the ensuing 45 days to assemble and officially approve a comprehensive package.

The County is extremely pleased to have been a key player in assisting the entrance of such a world class, large-scale medical high technology corporation into our area,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish.  "This was an incredibly special opportunity to bring the global headquarters to the region, attracting a major cutting-edge provider of health related products and services, including its 30 high-paying jobs, international presence, significant added taxes and economic development spinoff activity to our community,” he added.

Providing mission-critical healthcare services both domestically and internationally, we were attracted to Cleveland because of the strong labor pool, low cost of living and central geographic location,” said Petras. “Our move further validates that the Cleveland metropolitan area is indeed open for business."

The Cuyahoga County Department of Development has offered a one-time $450,000 specialized forgivable pilot loan for major corporate headquarters to the relocation project from its Large Scale Attraction program.  The loan was deemed crucial in mitigating certain components of the company’s substantial moving costs, which  included physical renovations to new office space, moving expenses, fixtures & equipment, leasing costs and recruitment costs for new management and employee positions. Sterigenics is signed to lease space in South Hills Office Park II in Broadview Heights, a Class A building located at I-77/Route 82. The County’s loan will be forgivable only upon the company’s creation of a minimum of 30 jobs having median annual salaries of over $138,000 and maintenance of those jobs within the County over 7 years.  In addition to the County’s assistance, the company will receive a seven-year Job Creation Tax Credit from the State of Ohio valued at $714,000; a $500,000 economic development grant from JobsOhio; a 50%, 7-year job creation grant valued at $400,000 from the City of Broadview Heights – all financial incentives totaling $2.06 million.  

“The Department of Development was pleased to establish this forgivable loan pilot tool and assist in various relocation options which was critical to meeting the company’s needs and meeting its very quick time constraints,” said Ted Carter, Cuyahoga County Chief Economic Development and Business Officer. “We were happy to bring our creativity and expertise to the table and to work with our partners, particularly the Greater Cleveland Partnership who brought this to our attention, to assemble an attractive comprehensive package of assistance,” he added.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) is a membership association of Northeast Ohio companies and organizations and one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the nation with more than 8,500 members.  Its mission is to mobilize private-sector leadership, expertise and resources to create attractive business conditions that create jobs, grow investment and improve the economic prosperity of the region.

“The Greater Cleveland Partnership is thrilled to have been a key facilitator in this collaborative win of bringing Sterigenics International to the Northeast Ohio fold of major corporate headquarters and we are also excited to bring an engaged business leader like Michael Petras back to the region, which is a significant win for the civic agenda,” stated Joe Roman, GCP’s President & CEO.  “We are proud to have led this effort on behalf of our public and private partners and look forward to attracting and capturing many more collective economic opportunities such as this for the region,” he added.

STERIGENICS INTERNATIONAL – Key Facts

• Formerly headquartered in suburban Chicago
• Chief Executive Officer – Michael B. Petras, Jr.
• Global employer of over 2,500. Serves more than 2,500 customers through 49 facilities in 13 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
• A leading global provider of contract sterilization and lab services for the medical device industry, the world’s leading supplier of Co-60 and a leading supplier of medical isotopes. Sterigenics provides contract sterilization and ionization services for the medical device, pharmaceutical, food safety, and high-performance materials industries.
• Through Sterigenics’ Nelson Labs, offers microbiological and analytical testing and consultancy to assist customers in developing and maintaining sterilization solutions in medical devices, tissue/implantable products, and pharmaceuticals and biologics fields.
• Through Sterigenics’ Nordion, positions firm as the world’s largest provider of Cobalt-60 used in the gamma sterilization process as well as medical isotopes used in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and cancers.
• Sterigenics International LLC is owned by private equity firms Warburg Pincus and GTCR.