From Staff Reports

NASHVILLE -- Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty along with Schwan Cosmetics USA officials announced this week the company will consolidate its U.S. operations by building a new facility in Murfreesboro. The Middle Tennessee plant will merge Schwan Cosmetics' Cosmolab facility in Lewisburg and its Schwan Cosmetics USA facility in Piscataway, N.J. The announcement represents an investment of $38 million and will create 250 new jobs over the next five years. Total employment will reach 450 as more than 200 jobs will transfer from the Lewisburg facility.

Lewisburg Director of Economic Development Greg Lowe called this news, "Disappointing, very disappointing.

"We were given the opportunity to present alternatives," Lowe wrote in an email. "A new building for them, enhancements to their existing building -- we did not win out. They had concerns about our distance from the Nashville airport and the lack of more metro amenities for their cosmetic clients from Europe and New York."

Bad news for Lewisburg, and for Cosmolab employees who may not want to commute to Murfreesboro, is good news for the state as a whole.

"International companies like Schwan Cosmetics understand the advantages of doing business in Tennessee with our receptive international climate, ideal location, and superior transportation infrastructure," Hagerty said. "I appreciate Schwan Cosmetics' decision to grow in Tennessee and thank the company for its continued investment in our state and its quality workforce."

"Schwan Cosmetics, the leading private-label manufacturer of cos

metic pencils and products worldwide, is very pleased to announce our investment in a state-of-the-art facility in Murfreesboro," said Barbara Bauer-Kropf, executive vice president of sales for Schwan Cosmetics. "Both our New Jersey and Tennessee manufacturing facilities will be consolidated into this 173,000 square foot high-tech site. The new Schwan Cosmetics USA will be a full-service private-label supplier continuing to build on Schwan Cosmetics' heritage of developing and introducing innovative, market-driven color cosmetics. Our plan is to open the new campus during the first half of 2015."

Founded in 1855, the Schwan-STABILO group is a family-owned company with more than 4,400 employees worldwide with headquarters in Heroldsberg, Germany. In addition to the cosmetic division, the Schwan-STABILO group is a manufacturer of writing instruments and special outdoor equipment. Schwan Cosmetics counts internationally-renowned cosmetics companies among its customers.