BY LIZ GROMOFSKY
In the coming weeks, Soprema will be building a brand new, bigger building in Wadsworth, Ohio. This will be located next to the other buildings that Soprema works in, which are located on Quadral Drive in Wadsworth.
Michael Snyder is a technical services manager for Soprema. He manages a group of field technicians that span the country and is one of the leads on the new building.
Soprema’s North American Headquarters have been based in Wadsworth since 1992. The headquarters will still be in Wadsworth, but this project is essentially meant to expand the building headquarters.
“We own three buildings on Quadral Drive,” Snyder said. “But based on the number of employees we currently have and the growth expected in the coming years, our goal is to build a building in addition to the existing building office so everyone can be back in one building.”
The new building will use the existing front wall of the office building as an interior wall. At the end of this project, Soprema will have one new building even though it is being built in two different phases.
“The new building will have a much more modern look which is more in line with the other headquarters buildings for Soprema around the world,” Snyder said. “We are renovating our existing building as part of the new construction.”
This new headquarters is a multi-million dollar project.
“Our primary production facility is in Wadsworth and we want to be here as long as possible,” Snyder said. “With the existing headquarters being here and our primary production facility being here for the whole U.S., we decided to stay here instead of trying to move everything to some other place.”
Soprema has staff in three different buildings in Wadsworth, while it is also renting a building from a neighboring company because Soprema has outgrown its office space.
“The goal is to have everyone back in this new building so that as we collaborate on projects, we are not driving to a different building or having to pick up the phone,” Snyder said. “Our owner is very in touch with the earth and has a passion for sustainability and taking care of the planet. One thing we were able to accomplish with the new building is that it is being built to the highest engineering standards of the day and because we are renovating the existing buildings we will be upgrading that facility as well to meet the current energy standards of the day.”
Snyder says the company’s current goal is to become a net zero facility as it pertains to energy usage.
“One of the things we decided when building was that we don’t just want to build for the employees that we have now,” Snyder said. “With a growing company comes new employees, new residents [of Wadsworth] and also new tax revenue for the city.”
Soprema was founded in 1908 in Strasbourg, France and now operates in 19 countries around the globe.
Soprema is a manufacturer and specializes in products for the building envelope.
“If you imagine a building as a block having six sides, we specialize in developing products for all six sides of the building,” Snyder said. “So the roof, the exterior walls, and the waterproofing under the slab of the building.”
Soprema is days away from digging holes for the foundation of the new building.
“In the next 12 months, we will be in various stages of construction with our end goal being in the new building and fully functional by February 2023,” Snyder said.
This construction will be used to bring the headquarters in Wadsworth up to current standards.
