New Oakwood business forecasts 90 jobs

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by Emily Canning-Dean

Reporter

Oakwood -- When William Wells, CEO of Viewray, decided to move his expanding, Gainesville, Fla., radiotherapy company, he looked all over the nation for a new home.

"Besides other areas in Florida, we looked in Boston, North Carolina, Atlanta and San Francisco," he said. "Then someone asked me if I had looked at Cleveland. I thought, 'Are you serious?'"

But Wells did look into Cleveland and said he was amazed by the enthusiasm he was greeted with.

"I met with officials from the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals as well as Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher," Wells said. "Then I started looking at individual communities and I was impressed by the enthusiasm from Oakwood."

Oakwood Mayor Gary Gottschalk has no intention of hiding that enthusiasm.

Gottschalk said Viewray, a company that researches new methods of radiation therapy, is constructing a 41,000-square-foot building next to Thermo Fisher Scientific on Broadway Avenue between Golden Oak Parkway and Richmond Road.

"This is a win, not only for Oakwood, but for the entire area," Gottschalk said. "Oakwood has proven that we can put a plug in the 'brain drain' in Ohio by offering high tech jobs that will keep Ohio's college students from leaving the state when they graduate."

Wells said he hopes to be moved into the building by this summer. He said he will start with 25 employees, but is committed to increasing the staff to 90 in the next three years.

Gottschalk said Viewray's payroll is estimated at $6 million annually, which means $120,000 each year in income tax revenue for the village.

Gottschalk said the village is offering Viewray a tax incentive agreement for six years.

He said the village would pay Viewray half the value of its income taxes for six years, which would be a total of $360,000.

Gottschalk added that if the company leaves Oakwood before the six years is up, Viewray would be required to reimburse the money to the village.

E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3166