Jacob and Levi’s first opened its doors in 2003 as Walnut Creek Wood Design, with an original focus on residential furniture. In 2009, they began manufacturing high quality furniture products for the commercial and hospitality industries. This included hotels, restaurants, offices, retirement centers, and more. In 2014, the company took on the name of Jacob and Levi’s and has been producing commercial furniture nearly exclusively ever since.
In 2015, Jacob and Levi’s acquired a company with facilities in Holmesville, Ohio and soon realized the difficulties of running businesses 45 minutes apart. Discussions began shortly after to find a property in eastern Holmes County where they would be able to relocate both businesses together. Owner Scott Troyer recognized the potential efficiencies that would be gained and the cost savings he would then be able to pass along to customers. Construction began in July on a 24,000-square foot manufacturing facility located on State Route 39 in between Walnut Creek and Sugarcreek.
In 2016, Jacob and Levi’s moved both of their shops into their brand-new facility and immediately started to experience the advantages of having everything under one roof. Currently, Jacob and Levi’s is working on an in-house finish shop which will grant them full control over the entire production process from raw materials to finished goods, without ever leaving the building. Through all this, HCEDC has been a constant ally and has been “thorough and very easy to work with,” says Scott. “They walked us through the process and paperwork of getting tax abatements for the new building and even though we didn’t receive them on the main building (because we had to get started), the process served as a good test run for applying for the abatement on the finish shop as well as future expansions.”
Relocating to Holmes County has been a positive experience for Jacob and Levi’s. Their new location grants greater accessibility to their customers and to a large, very skilled and hardworking labor force. The move and the role the HCEDC played in it – have been very beneficial.