RELOCATION

to shorter commutes for the many workers who already live in Columbus and likely will lead to a larger pool of qualified candidates for job openings.

“There is more focus today on the part of companies, smartly, in planning for their talent needs and succession needs, with an eye on the next generation of leadership,” said Bill Coleman, president of Coleman Search Consulting, an executive-search firm based in the Polaris area.

At the same time, Oneida Group leaders will need to work hard to make sure they remain in close contact with employees in Lancaster, which remains home of the company’s flagship glassware plant. The previous headquarters was next door to the plant.

“There is a downside, particularly if there is a separation of the corporate office function and the manufacturing functions,” said Rich Grunenwald of Advisory and Consulting Services in Hilliard, a management consultant and executive recruiter. “You don’t want a scenario when it becomes an us-and-them kind of thing.”

About 60 employees made the move from Lancaster to Columbus. Another 10 or so are relocating from other offices in the country. More than 800 employees remain at the Lancaster plant.

Lockwood-Taylor said he is well aware of the pluses and minuses of relocation and will be in constant communication with the plants in Lancaster and a smaller plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania.

When he was hired in May 2016, the company was called EveryWare Global and had gone through a crisis of falling market share and rising debt. EveryWare was the latest iteration of Anchor Hocking, founded in 1904 in Lancaster and decades removed from its glory days.

In January, the company changed its name to Oneida Group, a brand that goes back to 1848 and had the same owner as Anchor Hocking in recent years.

The next big shift was the headquarters. Company leaders chose 200 S. Civic Center Drive along the Scioto Mile. The company has rented all 17,800 square feet of the seventh floor of the building, the former home of Columbia Gas.

The space has been completely remodeled into an open-plan office. On one side is a kitchen for employees that also will be used to demonstrate the company’s dishes and other products.

Immediately, many of of his employees have seen a big decrease in commute times. That is especially true for those who live in Columbus and had gotten used to spending an hour or two in the car each day to get to work.

Lockwood-Taylor, a former executive at Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnatibased maker of many household goods, has hired several people from P&G and has brought some of that company’s focus on brand-building.

Oneida Group is privately held and does not disclose sales figures. Major shareholders include Monomoy Capital Partners, a New York privateequity firm. Lockwood-Taylor said sales are improving across key product lines.

His focus on branding extends to Oneida as an employer. He wants the name to be associated with Columbus and for the location to be a competitive advantage in recruitment.

At a reception held Monday evening, he got a welcome from Don DePerro, president and CEO of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. DePerro said Columbus is “on fire” with a wave of growth and major projects.

Lockwood-Taylor responded: “We’ve only been here two weeks and already this city is on fire,” he said, joking. “What an immediate impact we got.”