The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) along with the project’s construction workers celebrated a ‘topping-off’ on July 26 with the placement of the final steel beam for the Company’s new Global Research and Development Center located in Brecksville, Ohio. This milestone marks the completion of the construction project’s structural work, a project that began with a groundbreaking ceremony in October of 2021.
The topping-off ceremony, a tradition in the construction industry, celebrates the safe, successful end of steel work and recognizes the accomplishments of the construction crew. The final beam was adorned with an American flag and an evergreen tree, symbolizing good luck for future occupants, new or continued growth in concert with the environment, and a safe job, well done. The beam also bears the signatures of more than 400 constructions workers, supervisors, project architects, engineers and designers, as well as local elected officials, Sherwin-Williams leaders and the Building Our Future project leadership team.
“It is wonderful to see our new Global R&D Center take shape and have the opportunity to thank all of the construction workers involved in bringing us safely and successfully to this significant project milestone,” said John G. Morikis, Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited by the progress being made and are grateful for the ongoing dedication of the crew in getting us that much closer to our ribbon-cutting celebration in late 2024.”
Part of the Building Our Future project, the 600,000 square-foot facility will bring chemists, engineers, technicians and support teams together into a state-of-the-art hub for innovation and development of the Company’s future products and services. The new R&D Center will support product development, coatings research, color technology and process engineering. The R&D center will be home to approximately 900 Sherwin-Williams employees once open.
The Building Our Future project includes both the new R&D Center in Brecksville and a new global headquarters in Downtown Cleveland, which will be approximately 1,000,000 square-feet in size. Sherwin-Williams plans to invest a minimum of $750 million in construction costs to build both the headquarters and R&D facility.
At the ceremony, remarks were made by Sherwin-Williams leaders John Morikis and Heidi Petz, President and Chief Operating Officer. In addition, the audience heard from, Ron Meinhart, Superintendent with Forest City Erectors, a female-owned firm providing the structural steel for the project. Following the remarks, Sherwin-Williams leaders and elected officials signed the steel beam before it was raised by a crane into its final position.