Forsee Power, a French battery company that specializes in designing and manufacturing smart battery systems, held the inauguration of its industrial site and North American headquarters Thursday afternoon on Lyman Drive.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Christophe Gurtner, Forsee Chairman and CEO, JobsOhio representatives, and other local dignitaries were on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony and a tour of the site.
“Hilliard is on the move and part of the future of the state,” DeWine said. “We’re seeing companies come in here, they’re welcome here, and it’s the culture that companies are really looking for. It’s good for the citizens of Hilliard and good for the citizens of the state of Ohio.”
Forsee Power will lease the property at 4555 Lyman Drive, a site formerly operated by Highlights for Children, Inc. The company has committed to hiring 150 employees with more than $9 million in payroll. The site will host corporate office space, manufacturing operations, and research and development capabilities.
“Our plan based on what we’re setting up here today is to build up 150 jobs in this factory in the coming three years,” Gurtner said.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Jay Deis, President of Forsee Power North America. “We chose this location as a commitment that’s demonstrated by our $14.5 million investment into the building and our equipment. We’re here, we’re stable, and we’re ready to be successful for the next many years.”
Forsee Power designs, assembles, and supplies energy management systems based on the most robust cells available on the market, as well as provides installation, commissioning, and on-site or remote maintenance. Their applications are used in autonomous vehicles/robotics, light urban utility vehicles, bus, truck, rail and marine. The company aims to target the growing commercial vehicle market — primarily buses, school buses, trains, and off-highway vehicles.
Bricks & Minifigs Hilliard is your one-stop LEGO shop for buying, selling, or trading sets and mini-figurines. The Hilliard store is celebrating its six-month anniversary today after opening in March.
Check out this episode of the Hilliard Business 60 and learn more here.
Did you know the shark fin antennas on top of your car are made here in Hilliard?
That’s right, Yokowo Manufacturing of America on Leap Road supplies automotive antennas for Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, and General Motors.
The Hilliard location employs 53 people, where final assembly and testing takes place before the antennas are shipped to customers daily across the United States. The team assembles and ships out between 1,000 and 2,000 custom antennas per day, with a variety of technologies inside including GPS, satellite radio, AM/FM, and more.
Learn more in this episode of the Hilliard Business 60!
We are pleased to announce Hilliard has been selected as one of the Best Hometowns by Ohio Magazine!
Each year, the publication recognizes places that make our state a great place to live, work and visit. The magazine selected Hilliard for three main reasons:
🔷Our preservation of local history. 🔷Our development of spaces the entire community can enjoy. 🔷Our support for small businesses in the city.
Hilliard will be one of five communities featured in the Nov./Dec. 2024 and July/Aug. 2025 issues of Ohio Magazine, and online at ohiomagazine.com. Other communities recognized include Bryan, McConnelsville, Millersburg and Urbana.
To determine the honorees, Ohio Magazine solicited nominations and conducted site visits across the state in the spring and summer. The editors evaluated the nominees in six categories — Community Spirit, Education, Entertainment, Health and Safety, Business Environment and Culture and Heritage — to help finalize their selections.
Tasty bagels and bold flavors served with a smile.
It’s no wonder Bears Bagels is quickly making a name for itself in Downtown Hilliard!
The popular breakfast-lunch spot opened their first brick-and-mortar location last month at 4142 Main Street, Hilliard. Husband-wife duo Charis and Lo Yost own and operate Bears Bagels, and pride themselves on making bagels the “real way”, by boiling then baking them in-house.
Hear their story on this episode of the Hilliard Business 60.
The City of Hilliard has been named one of the world’s top seven intelligent communities in the world for the second year in a row.
Hilliard was one of seven communities – and one of only two in the United States – to receive this honor for 2024 from the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). The program recognizes communities that demonstrate best practices in broadband connectivity, workforce development, digital inclusion, innovation, community engagement, and sustainability.
“The Top7 always include cities and regions that are new to the Awards program and ones that have been honored in the past,” said ICF co-founder John Jung. “The Intelligent Community journey is not completed in a day or a year but builds from strategies and small triumphs to much greater accomplishment by people and organizations across the community. Intelligent Communities balance continuity and innovation, digital connectivity and the person-to-person kind, the economy of today and the emerging economy of tomorrow. We are proud to honor all the Top7 for what they have accomplished and will achieve in the future.”
Hilliard received this same recognition in 2023. Other cities earning this designation for 2024 were Assaí, Brazil; Coral Gables, Florida; Curitiba, Brazil; Durham Region in Ontario, Canada; Fredericton in New Brunswick, Canada; and Yunlin County, Taiwan. One of these seven finalists will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in November in Barcelona, Spain.
According to ICF, Hilliard rose to the top of candidates because “in just a few years, its municipal dark-fiber network has attracted many service providers, while connecting companies, schools and city buildings, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Its partnership with Amazon Web Services brings technology and business education into schools, while the city and its partners have launched more than a dozen apprenticeship programs in technology, healthcare and IT.”
ICF also highlighted the exciting progress being made locally through the Hilliard City Lab initiative.
“The Hilliard City Lab is guiding high-tech companies to prototype new technologies, including an automated drone network to support first responders, which NASA, the US Air Force and other government agencies expect to become a national template,” an ICF statement says. “In May, the City opened an A.I. Sandbox, allowing Hilliard businesses to test artificial intelligence concepts and products without exhausting their budgets.”
City Manager Michelle Crandall said the recognition shows the international tech community sees significant value in Hilliard’s continued efforts to work with local partners and the business community to develop a skilled workforce, promote economic development, and lay a foundation for long-term prosperity, social transformation, and sustainability for our community.
“The award recognizes that we are employing best practices that will attract and train a workforce that prepares Hilliard for future economic growth,” Crandall added. “We are building and using the kind of broadband infrastructure and digital tools that make us attractive to high-tech companies. And we are providing amenities that promote a high quality of life for current and future residents who will call our community home.”
The solar eclipse lived up to the hype in Downtown Hilliard on Monday, April 8.
Relive the energy and anticipation of the first total solar eclipse to cross Ohio in more than 200 years.
Several thousand people witnessed history as part of the City of Hilliard’s Total Eclipse in the Park event Monday afternoon at Hilliard’s Station Park.
Once again, thank you to our event sponsors: Bone Dry Roofing, ACC Rental, Amazon Web Services, Destination Hilliard, Japanese Automotive Service, Renewal by Andersen, Franklin County Fair Grounds
The State of the City is strong and Hilliard is “On The Move”!
City Manager Michelle Crandall delivered our annual State of the City presentation in front of a packed house Wednesday evening at Crooked Can Brewing Company in Downtown Hilliard. Crandall described all the ways our community is “On The Move” into a promising and sustainable future.
Here are three big takeaways from the presentation:
The Hilliard business community continues to demonstrate innovation, progress, and significant economic growth.
Major public and private projects are in the works that will enhance our residents’ already great quality of life.
Hilliard is being recognized more and more frequently as a leading player in Central Ohio, the state, this nation, and around the world.
Thank you to everyone who attended and made this great event possible. We’re looking forward to another exciting year ahead!
The growth and development of modern-day Hilliard would not be possible without the leadership and vision of Roger A. Reynolds.
To the younger generation, the name likely sounds familiar as the namesake to Municipal Park. Fittingly, the growth of Hilliard recreation and parks remains one of his proudest achievements.
Reynolds turned 90 last September, and while his step may have slowed he remains sharp as a tack and one of the community’s biggest supporters. In many ways, he served as one of the founding fathers of Hilliard’s City government.
Reynolds said his path to being elected as Hilliard’s first full-time mayor in 1975 was an unusual one.
For the first half of his professional life, Reynolds worked as an accountant for Jeffrey Mining Machinery company in Columbus. In 1958, he and his wife, Phyllis, moved to Hilliard when it was still a village of less than 5,000 people.
His first appointed position came thanks to his desire to have sidewalks installed for children to walk safely to school. Reynolds showed up to a parent-teacher organization meeting one evening and was named president of the J.W. Reason Elementary PTO.
“Believe it or not, that one opportunity started my career in public service,” Reynolds said. “Hilliard’s superintendent later asked me to run for Hilliard City Council, and after I got elected in 1971 things really took off.”
Reynolds quickly earned a reputation as a smart and trustworthy advocate for the Hilliard community. In 1972, he was granted a leave of absence from his employer to serve as Hilliard’s Director of Service, Director of Safety, and Director of Recreation and Parks.
A few years later, the City created a paid position for a full-time mayor, and the rest was history. In total, Reynolds was elected to six terms as Hilliard mayor from 1975 until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1998.
“I’m so proud of everything we were able to accomplish, especially when it comes to recreation, the roads, and our relationship with the Hilliard City School District,” Reynolds said. “My legacy is probably ‘growth,’ because I was very active in annexations to keep Hilliard as our own unique city. Over 24 years, we were able to secure land and form a master plan that’s now benefiting the next generation.”
In the early 2000s, the City officially dedicated Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park, which serves as the home of the Recreation and Parks Department. The park’s 130 acres of amenities includes the Hilliard Family Aquatic Center, ball fields, a disc golf course, sledding hill, pickleball courts, and more. It also serves as home to Hilliard’s signature event, Freedom Fest.
The future of Hilliard recreation sits just west of this location, with the addition of the 125-acre Hilliard Recreation and Wellness Campus opening in mid-2025.
“The Well is going to be a fantastic facility and something our community has been (desiring) for a long time,” Reynolds said. “Our plan was to always expand Municipal Park, and it wouldn’t be possible without the business growth and the income tax to support these amenities.”
Reynolds’ charisma and likeable personality made him a natural negotiator in landing business deals to further Hilliard’s growth. During his tenure as mayor, the City’s tax evaluation increased more than 20-fold, with an operating budget that started at $1.8 million in 1975 and grew to about $12 million in 1998. In that time span, Hilliard’s population growth also increased from 8,000 to 21,000.
“Although we’re several decades apart, City Manager Michelle Crandall and I hold many of the same beliefs and philosophies, and I think she’s doing a phenomenal job,” Reynolds said. “She understands the importance of commercial and industrial growth and is really moving the city in the right direction.”
Reynolds still lives in Hilliard with his wife. They both remain active in the community they love dearly.
“I’ve always said, there’s a place for everybody here in Hilliard. In fact, that was one of our mottos,” said Reynolds. “Hilliard is truly a unique, friendly community with such a bright future. I’m just glad I was able to play a small part in what it is today.”
