The AES Building at 388 S. Main St. in downtown Akron is getting two new tenants, including a company that is relocating its division headquarters and research and development operations from elsewhere in Northeast Ohio.
Houston-based building materials manufacturer Quanex Building Products is moving its Insulating Glass division headquarters and research and development operations from Solon. Quanex will occupy 39,420 square feet on the seventh floor.
And Ashtabula-based specialty chemical manufacturing company Gabriel Performance Products signed a lease for 6,055 square feet on the third floor.
Quanex IG Systems said it selected the downtown Akron location in part because it is closer to the company’s main manufacturing facility in Cambridge.
Quanex will take up much of the R&D space vacated by Exxon Mobil Chemical, including a large showroom plus office, lab and product testing areas.
Gabriel Chief Executive Officer Seth Tomasch said the AES building offers a “strategic office location and style” along with easy highway access, ample parking and more.
“We expect immediate benefits in regards to employee recruiting and retention, innovation, and accessibility for customers and vendors,” Tomasch said in a statement.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan praised the new additions to the AES building.
“We are excited to have both Quanex Building Materials and Gabriel Performance Products join us as businesses in downtown Akron,” Horrigan said in a news release. “To have both a high-level headquarter operations and a research and development center relocate downtown speaks volumes about how the city of Akron holds great promise for innovative companies.”
Rick Rebadow, executive vice president of the Greater Akron Chamber, said the two new businesses are a “great testimonial to the Greater Akron region’s strength in attracting R&D and related investment opportunities within its globally recognized polymer/chemical industries.”
The AES Building is owned and managed by Akron-based commercial real estate development and management company The Schipper Group. Schipper Group was assisted by the Cleveland offices of JLL, a global professional services and investment management firm that specializes in real estate.