Stanley Black & Decker to Spend $12M on Upgrades at Towson Campus

When tool companies Stanley Works and Towson-based Black & Decker merged last year, county officials and business leaders were on pins and needles.

And when the merged company decided to put its headquarters in Connecticut, "What you heard the business community say was, 'Oh my God, we lost Black & Decker,'" said Christian Johansson, Maryland's secretary of business and economic development.

That fear was erased on Tuesday, as Stanley Black & Decker announced a $12 million project to upgrade its Towson campus, which serves as its construction and do-it-yourself headquarters.

Some of its buildings were in need of makeovers—one dates back to the opening of its first Towson factory in 1917. Improvements over the next five years will make the buildings more energy efficient, according to Jeffery D. Ansell, Stanley Black & Decker's senior vice president and group executive of the division based in Towson.

"We'd like to continue that investment into our campus," he said.

The company employs 1,100 in Towson, and its operations there are growing. The 33-acre Towson campus is currently hiring for "more than 50" positions across "all the functions that we have here," said company spokesman Tim Perra. Moving trucks seen in a parking lot on East Joppa Road are moving operations from other parts of the county to Towson.

After the merger, Johannson said, state officials' primary objective was to avoid layoffs or any large moves to the company's New Britain, CT headquarters. Tuesday's announcement went beyond that, he said.

"What you're hearing the leaders here saying is they feel very confident that they're growing," he said.

Stanley Black & Decker is Baltimore County's 14th largest employer and the fourth largest based in Towson, according to the county's Department of Economic Development. The company is also the largest power tool manufacturer in the world.

The state is contributing a $1 million conditional loan to help fund the renovations, and the county is providing a $100,000 loan, in addition to commercial revitalization tax credits.

Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, said the company's continued presence brings prestige and money to Towson's business community.

"It couldn't be any better for us because hopefully other companies will follow suit and they'll realize what a great place Towson is," said Hafford.

The investment announcement is a "clear signal that they want to maintain the operations here and grow the campus," said County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

Kamenetz noted that it's not just the county that benefits from Stanley Black & Decker's presence. The company has a partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and hires some of the school's engineering graduates.

"It's a unique synergy that we can provide here in Baltimore County," he said.