A public company plans HQ move to Raleigh. A small portion of its workers will follow.
A spin-out from the Washington state-based industrial company Fortive is putting its new headquarters in Raleigh — though the number of jobs the company brings here will be relatively small.
The new company, called Vontier, will operate in the transportation and mobility markets and have products related to fueling technology, fleet management data and traffic solutions, according to a release sent out by Fortive. Brands owned by the company include, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Matco Tools and Teletrac Navman.
The company will have around 8,400 employees worldwide, Fortive said.
However, the actual headcount in Raleigh will be much smaller — just around 100 executives and members of the management team, a spokeswoman for Vontier told The News & Observer.
“We anticipate approximately 100 executive, professional, and administrative corporate employees will be located in Vontier’s Raleigh headquarters,” Sabrina Kropp, vice president of communications at Vontier, said in an email.
That’s one of the few details the company has given out, choosing to remain tight-lipped while its separation from Fortive is finalized. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, Fortive said earlier this month. Already, the company has posted several Raleigh-based job openings on its website.
Last week, Vontier officially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with hopes of raising $100 million. The company’s shares would trade under the symbol “VNT” on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company revealed in the filing that its address will be 5420 Wade Park Blvd. in Raleigh. That would put its headquarters in the Wade Office Park development near PNC Arena.
Vontier was not recruited to the state. Officials from both the state’s Commerce Department and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina said they did not work with the company on selecting Raleigh for its headquarters.
The company will be led by Mark D. Morelli, the former CEO of Columbus McKinnon Corp., which builds motion control products.
Everett, Wash.-based Fortive announced last September that it would split into two separate publicly traded companies.
James A. Lico, the CEO of Fortive, said at the time the two companies would benefit from the separation.
“We are confident this will create additional opportunities and enhanced value for our employees, customers and other stakeholders,” Lico said in a statement. “While the two companies created by this transaction will pursue independent futures, they will carry forward a culture centered around the principles of the Fortive Business System, and the commitment to continuous improvement that remains the cornerstone of our long-term success.”
Fortive said last year that Vontier would have around $2.8 billion in revenue as a standalone company.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 10:52 AM.
