Company investing $202M in Sandusky

PERKINS TWP.— Local officials involved in a multimillion-dollar project to transform a prominent site in Sandusky recently announced new details of how it'll evolve. Back in August, reports surfaced regarding Aligned Data Centers acquiring an industrial property — formerly known as Delphi, New Departure, New Departure-Hyatt and KBI — at Hayes (Ohio 4) and West Perkins avenues near Sandusky High School. At the time, local officials didn't know any other information. But, this past week, they offered up some additional insight. Among the highlights according to a joint statement from the Greater Sandusky Partnership, Perkins Township and Perkins Schools: • Aligned Data Centers is a leading technology infrastructure company offering innovative, sustainable and adaptive solutions for various projects. Data centers are typically used to house computer systems and associated components. • The company services many customers across North America and South America. • Estimates show the company investing at least $202 million. This would include the $52 million purchase price for this land. • The company intends to create "at least 18 new, well-paying jobs" in the first phase of development. Many other details, including a timeline of construction activities and when it'll open, remain unknown. Speaking up Several local officials taking part in the deal and one person involved with the data center positively spoke about these latest developments. "Perkins Township and the school district have worked closely for several months with Aligned Data Centers concerning their interest and plans to develop a large-scale data center complex in the township. Their proposed development will repurpose an abandoned industrial site into a state-of-the-art technologically advanced campus." — Gary Boyle, Perkins Township administrator "Perkins Schools welcomes Aligned Data Centers to this transformed critical site in Perkins Township." — Ted Kastor, Perkins school board member "The Greater Sandusky Partnership is excited to support this transformative project made possible by the hard work of many local officials and organizations coming together to bring a historic investment to a historic site within our region. We look forward to continued collaboration so our region can continue to do big things that position it for vibrancy for the next 100 years." — Eric Wobser, Greater Sandusky Partnership CEO "The positive impact of Aligned Data Centers will be felt throughout the community. This includes the transformation of a blighted site, the creation of well-paying jobs, increased tax revenue and the skills and knowledge transfer to build a stronger talent ecosystem. This creates the opportunity to attract tech companies and related industries. Companies tend to prefer to locate their operations near data centers to increase data access speeds. This announcement serves as a signal that tech companies can find the tools and resources they need in our region." — Nico Samaniego, Greater Sandusky Partnership business development coordinator "The township welcomes this new company and appreciates the significant investment being made. This project will be one of the largest investments ever in our area and illustrates that our township leadership understands the importance of working together to promote growth in our community and the county." — Jeff Ferrell, Perkins Township trustee "Aligned is excited to join the northeast Ohio community and support the ongoing growth of our customers as well as the business landscape in the new market. The industry has had a significant and positive impact on the U.S. economy over the last few years, including both direct and indirect impacts on job creation, labor income, tax revenue generation and more. We look forward to bringing new economic, environmental and social opportunities to Erie County." — Andrew Schaap, Aligned Data Centers CEO "Aligned Data Centers will be an asset to businesses in northeast Ohio and beyond by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure, cost savings, speed to market and reliability to their customers. Along with our local partners, the Ohio Department of Development and JobsOhio, we welcome Aligned Data Centers to Ohio." — Bill Koehler, Team NEO (Northeast Ohio) chief executive Dismantling history Totaling 1.3 million square feet, razing-related activities continue in hopes of making the property "shovel-ready" for redevelopment by December, Samaniego said. "To best position this site for future development, the building owners felt that demolition was the best way to make it an attractive site," Samaniego said. Demolition, which started in earnest earlier this year, ends a huge chapter in Sandusky's history books, which dates back to the 1940s. This 129-acre property, at 2509 Hayes Ave. employed thousands of local manufacturing workers. The former bearings plant is rooted in the very start of the U.S. automotive industry. KBI opened as New Departure Bearings, a name getting its origins in 1888. New Departure Bell was founded by brothers Albert and Edward Rockwell of Bristol, Connecticut. They formed the company to manufacture a new type of electric doorbell they'd invented. In 1900, the company received a trial order for 120 bearings from the Old Motor Works, the largest automotive manufacturer of the time. But it was more than six decades before New Departure moved to Sandusky, and war factored into the decision. During World War II, New Departure manufactured bearings for the war effort. "Why Sandusky was chosen as the spot for this development is an interesting story in itself. It is sufficient to say that the natural advantages of the city, its shoreline location, its ample supply of water, its east-west transportation facilities and other factors were the determining considerations," an article in the Register Star Journal dated Jan. 30, 1945, states. In addition, the new location in Sandusky lessened vulnerability to enemy attacks. The new bearings plant would be safer in Ohio, a harder target for enemy aircraft to reach than the plants on the East Coast. New Departure in Sandusky opened June 14, 1947, covering 14 acres under a single roof. That same year, the United Auto Workers organized hourly employees, and the first union contract was negotiated and became effective in August 1948. After the war, the plant continued to operate and fully focused on making parts for automobiles, and it prospered considering: • In 1965, General Motors combined New Departure with Hyatt Roller Bearing division to form New Departure Hyatt Bearing Division in Sandusky. The company also brought 450 new families to Sandusky beginning in 1965 as workers transferred from plants in New Jersey and Connecticut. • In 1973, New Departure employed 2,839 people. • In 1974, the plant directly contributed $64 million into the local economy via payroll and local purchases, according to local newspaper articles. • In 1975, stable employment continued with 2,900 people working at the plant. • From the mid-1970s into the 1980s, considered the golden era of this operation, the plant employed about 5,000 people. It was considered the area's largest employer. It happened again in 1989 when New Departure started a process of transferring 112 employees from Bristol to Sandusky when the factory consolidated a spindle-bearing operation. "Some of the workers called Sandusky 'the frontier' because of its lack of shopping and other amenities. They thought it was treeless, wind-swept, flat," one New Departure executive told the Register at the time. The end of bearings manufacturing in Sandusky almost happened in 1986, when New Departure-Hyatt made the decision to leave the commercial ball bearings business, the industry it virtually invented in the 1900s, according to reports published at the time. GM merged Delco Moraine and New Departure-Hyatt into Delco Moraine. The restructuring and changes to survive continued when, in 1995, GM named the division Delphi Automotive. Delphi declared bankruptcy and was purchased by KBI, a subsidiary of HHI Group Holdings Inc. in 2008. Many locals expressed the feeling that the beginning of the end occurred with a judge's 2008 order in the Delphi bankruptcy proceeding. The judge required General Motors to subsidize KBI payroll until 2015. The subsidy meant KBI could not actively seek other contracts for years. Employees and union representatives have said KBI could not be competitive with overseas manufacturers they accused of "dumping" bearings into the U.S. market. In spring 2016, Kyklos Bearing International, or KBI, announced it would cease factory-related operations on Dec. 31 of that year, sending about 300 people into the job market. Up until Aligned purchased this site earlier on in 2023, it had been abandoned since 2017.