Ohio blender company Vita-Mix to open facility in Strongsville, add 100 jobs

CLEVELAND - The expansion of a family owned company in Cleveland is expected to add 100 new jobs by the end of the year.

Vita-Mix Corp., which makes high-performance kitchen blenders, plans to open a manufacturing facility in Strongsville.

The expansion deepens the local roots of the company, which has been around for 91 years.

"People want to eat healthy, but they don't want to compromise on taste and enjoyment. The Vitamix makes this possible and makes enjoying a healthy cuisine sustainable," said Vita-Mix President and CEO Jodi Berg.

Sales of the high-end blenders have been growing both domestically and internationally, especially in Asia. The company expects to see a 50-percent increase in sales this year.

"It's only been a few short months since we broke ground on a major expansion of our headquarters, and already we're initiating plans for additional space to keep up with growing demand for our products both here in the U.S. and around the world," said company spokeswoman Christy Cote. "Specifically, we need more space for production (manufacturing and assembly), and more warehousing space for raw materials and finished goods."

In 2010, President Barack Obama recognized the company for boosting U.S. exports. Its present workforce in Cleveland is more than 500.

The new facility will be located roughly eight miles from their North Olmsted headquarters at 23221 Morgan Court. The existing building is approximately 175,000 square feet.

The 100 new positions created for 2012 will be filled throughout the year. There is also room to grow at the Strongsville site.

Once the Strongsville location is up and running, Cote said Vita-Mix will have approximately 350 people working out of the location on two different shifts, and about 200-250 working out of the headquarters location.