By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — A city that prides itself on being friendly to small businesses has just landed a big one. Two rolled into one, in fact.

Providence-based Visual Creations, the makers of store fixtures and point-of-purchase displays, and a sister company called Providence Wire Creations, will soon be moving into a former Honeywell building at 500 Narragansett Park Dr. The relocation will bring 125 permanent jobs and will mean the expansion of up to 75 temporary jobs during the firm's busy season.
At a press conference held at City Hall on Thursday, Mayor James Doyle hailed the move as being an economic boost for the city as a whole, and a particularly welcome addition to the other businesses in the Darlington area. He noted that Visual Creations designs and produces state-of-the-art store fixtures and point-of-purchase displays that are sold nationally and its customers include such retail giants as WalMart, CVS, Sears, K-Mart and Kohl's.
In addition, Visual Creations serves such local companies as Foster Grant, Speidel and Marzetti Foods.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Visual Creations to Pawtucket and I thank their management team for deciding to relocate here,” Doyle stated. He noted that the influx of new employees is “good news for the other local businesses on Newport Avenue” because it will mean more consumers for the retail stores, gas stations and restaurants.
Jay Long, president and CEO of Visual Creations, said “We're looking forward to the move to Pawtucket for several reasons, and we're looking forward to becoming part of the community.” He added that he expects the company to occupy its new building by May 1.
Long noted that the property, which was purchased for $2.35 million, includes 21 acres of land, so there is room for expansion. “We hope to continue to grow in the city,” he added.
Long said that he and partner Doug Robertson, who is executive vice president, have worked in the display industry for 30 years. The two started their own company, Visual Creations, four years ago, and have been operating out of leased space in a mill building at 60 King St. in Olneyville. “It was a small company, but it exploded immediately,” said Long. “We were operating in  60,000 square-feet of space and by the next year, we had upped that to 120,000 square-feet.”
In 2009, Long, Robertson, and managing partner Allan Stewart purchased Providence Wire Creations to expand into the wire and metal display rack category. The new company was in a separate location in the city. With a four-year lease on the Olneyville mill set to expire, the partners began looking for a new location where both companies could be together under one roof.
Long said that the partners wanted to stay within a reasonable commuting distance of its Providence location out of deference to its workforce. They looked at buildings throughout metro Rhode Island and in nearby Massachusetts. When they saw the 161,000-square-foot Honeywell facility, with its wide open space and high ceilings, they knew it was suitable. “We needed a building to be 150,000 square-feet and to be set up like a football field,” said Long.
Long said that the price of the Pawtucket property was also favorable when compared with some of the other sites they considered. He added that by purchasing the building, instead of leasing, the company will have lower occupancy costs than what they were experiencing by paying rent in multiple locations.

In addition to the building itself, however, it was the personalized attention given by the city's Planning and Redevelopment Agency, and in particular, Economic and Cultural Affairs Officer Herb Weiss, who sealed the deal, said Long. He said that the company needed to do a $1 million re-build to the facility and that Weiss has gone to great lengths to help with the process. “I think, almost literally, we bought the building on a Friday and that Monday morning he (Weiss) had the fire chief, the building inspector, all of the inspectors there waiting in the lot and ready  to work with us as a team,” said Long.

Herb Weiss, the city's Economic and Cultural Affairs Officer, said, “Pawtucket has always worked hard to cultivate and support its small business community. We're a city of small businesses. Having a company of over 100 employees coming in to the city doesn't happen everyday.”  He added, “We will work hard to make it happen more often.
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