CCH Small Firm Services (SFS), a Wolters Kluwer business, joined Cobb County, the City of Kennesaw and Cobb Chamber economic development officials to announce today that it will bring an additional 200 employees to its Kennesaw office over the next 18 months, increasing its local workforce to more than 600 people.
The additional employees will come from SFS offices in Fort Pierce, FL, and Caribou, ME. Fort Pierce employees will make the transition this spring and Caribou employees will arrive in the spring of 2012.
SFS President Jeff Gramlich briefed city, county, and state economic development officials at a special reception prior to the Cobb Chamber’s First Monday Breakfast and the announcement was made during Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee’s annual State of the County Address.
“CCH Small Firm Services is a valued new member of our community and I am thrilled at their continued business success,” said Tim Lee, Chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners. “Their planned expansion is welcomed news and is a great example of how low taxes, solid infrastructure and a great quality of life keep our county competitive when it comes to growing business.”
SFS opened its corporate headquarters in Chastain Meadows Court last August, centralizing more than 350 employees from offices in Rome, GA and on Busbee Parkway in Kennesaw. The Kennesaw workforce is currently at 400 permanent employees and 200 temporary employees working during tax season.
“By centralizing our workforce in Kennesaw, we’ve provided a world-class environment for our employees and now operate as a more integrated organization to better serve our customers,” Gramlich said.
“Our employees have adapted well to the new location in Kennesaw,” he added. “Many have moved to Kennesaw and surrounding areas and those who are commuting are taking advantage of the incentives offered by the LocalZoom program to carpool. In fact, in September, SFS was named a Silver Level Partner by LocalZOOM because more than 100 of our employees committed to taking a clean commute to work.”
“We are excited to have such a vibrant and growing corporate citizen like CCH Small Firm Services headquartered in Kennesaw,” said Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews. “Seeing companies like SFS continue to grow and expand in Kennesaw and Cobb County is very encouraging given this harsh economy. We welcome their continued growth in our community and are honored that they have chosen us as the location to grow their operations.”
SFS provides tax and accounting software, research and training to more than 45,000 small professional firms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The company also processes its customers’ electronically filed tax returns. Last year the SFS Electronic Filing Center transmitted nearly 20 million federal and state tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service and state revenue agencies.
The company’s state-of-the-art facility houses development, sales, training, customer support and internal operations staff and also includes a television studio equipped with high-definition equipment, shipping and fulfillment operations and employee food, recreation and fitness areas.
“The CCH Small Firm Services story is a case study of the positive impact a relocation and expansion can have in a community,” said Cobb Chamber Chairman Rob Garcia. “Software firms like SFS are exactly the types of companies the Cobb Chamber and our economic development partners at the city, county and state levels will be targeting as we take a more proactive and aggressive strategy in recruiting high-wage jobs to Cobb and helping our existing industry expand.”
The announcement is just the latest of many economic development project wins for Cobb County. According to the Cobb Chamber, 3,349 jobs and more than $350 million in capital investment have been created in Cobb County since January 2009 through relocations and expansions including major projects involving GE’s Smart Grid Center of Excellence, CBeyond, and more.
