Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems is moving its headquarters and about 550 employees from Elyria to Avon.
The company has said for some time it was planning to move into new digs and on Friday, July 24, it announced it would move to Avon, but it has not yet announced an address or plans for its new headquarters. It said it has signed an agreement to purchase a 60-acre site, about 10 miles from its current headquarters at 901 Cleveland St. in Elyria. The company said it will work through state and local approval of its plans before announcing a groundbreaking. Bendix is a leading supplier of active safety and braking-system technologies that are used by major truck and commercial vehicle manufacturers around the world. The company said its move will enable it to expand that business. In addition to its corporate offices, Bendix’s headquarters includes much of its research, development, engineering and marketing functions. “Our new location allows Bendix to continue drawing from the skilled workforce in Northeast Ohio that has contributed so importantly to our success. And the site in Avon will not only allow us to remain in Lorain County, but will accommodate the expanded, updated facility required to maintain — and accelerate — the rapid growth we’ve experienced, particularly over the past dozen years. We remain deeply grateful to Elyria for the support it has shown us over our many decades as a part of the community,” said Bendix chairman Joe McAleese in announcing the move. Bendix has indicated interest in a site on the south side of Chester Road just east of the planned Menards at Avon Crossing West retail center, according to Pam Fechter, Avon planning coordinator. Avon earlier this year prepared an incentive package for Bendix after the company announced it planned to exit Elyria. “We were really worried they might leave Lorain County,” Fechter said. Originally Bendix sought a site of 45 acres but that has expanded to the current 60, she said. That potential site is owned by Westlake-based Richard E. Jacobs Real Estate Services, Fechter said. Jacobs Real Estate has substantial holdings between the Nagel Road interchange with I-90 where several sites are being developed as a mixed-use and health care complex called Avon Place, and west along Chester to its Avon Crossing West big-box center at State Route 83. A spokesman for Jacobs Real Estate declined comment Friday Since 2002, Bendix has been a member of the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse Group, a leading worldwide supplier of pneumatic braking and related safety systems for commercial vehicle and railroad applications. Stan Bullard contributed to this story.