By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A company planning to bring 60 jobs to Bowling Green has purchased the former Wall Street Journal building at 1201 Brim Road.
Two companies – Vital and FHR North America LLC – combined their services and acquired the site from Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, in November 2022.
The combined companies will serve customers in markets such as renewable energy and semiconductors.
According to company officials, the combined Vital/FHR was established in response to customers’ needs to diversify and localize their supply chains in the U.S. Vital Materials is a global leader in specialty materials and processing, while FHR specializes in vacuum coating equipment.
At the Bowling Green site, Vital/FHR will provide production and equipment support for customers in renewable energy, semiconductor, and other high growth markets.
Renovations of the building are currently underway with production planned to start in 2023.
Once the company is operating at full capacity in a few years, it will employ around 60 people, according to Kati Thompson, director of Bowling Green Economic Development.
Vital/FHR is actively seeking individuals with technical backgrounds across a wide spectrum of engineering disciplines and general labor. Job opportunities are posted on Indeed.com.
The opportunity to turn a closed industrial site into a new business is good news for Bowling Green, Thompson said.
“Bowling Green has seen significant reinvestment in older industrial facilities over the past few years,” she said. “Binkelman Corporation is now occupying the former Ishikawa Gasket facility, Ice Industries has started production in the old Lear Corporation facility, and now Vital/FHR is revitalizing the former Wall Street Journal Building. This is good news for Bowling Green and we’re happy to welcome new industries into our community.”
The Wall Street Journal closed its printing and distribution operations in Bowling Green this past February.
The plant, which opened in 1981, printed the edition of the Wall Street Journal distributed in the Midwest.
