Hundreds of existing staff are relocating to the new location and the company anticipates hiring as many as 250 more people between now and 2020.
Design elements
The new facility was designed by Gresham, Smith and Partners. At 173,000 square feet, it “maximizes adjacencies to encourage collaboration between manufacturing employees and office employees. The open layout and neutral palette help to strategically highlight branding elements,” reported Architecture magazine during an earlier phase of the project.
Wellness and productivity features have been built right in for the Schwan employees working in Murfreesboro. “Amenity spaces include a fitness center and locker rooms, café with computer stations and conference rooms,” according to that publication’s description.
The design must accommodate many overlapping objectives and seems to do that: “We believe our team has created a crisp, modern, quality-focused environment that strengthens Schwan’s brand identity and service capabilities without losing focus on the manufacturing need for efficient process-driven design,” said project manager Scott Schulz, senior architect with Gresham, Smith and Partners.
Two-in-one
In the states Schwan has previously operated out of two sites, in Piscataway, New Jersey, and a Cosmolab facility in Lewisburg, Tennessee.
"Schwan's decision to combine two locations and house their North American headquarters speaks volumes for the business climate in Rutherford County," Brian Hercules, vice president of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce told Michelle Willard of The Daily News Journal. A single plant, of course, also allows for efficiencies in communication and workflow.
“Both our New Jersey and Tennessee manufacturing facilities will be consolidated into this…high-tech site,” Barbara Bauer-Kropf, executive vice president of sales for Schwan Cosmetics, said when the decision to relocate to Murfreesboro was announced.
“The new Schwan Cosmetics USA will be a full service private label supplier continuing to build on Schwan Cosmetics’ heritage of developing and introducing innovative, market driven color cosmetics.”