MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A global company is expanding its corporate roots in Memphis.
Sylvamo, known as the world’s paper company, showed off its new worldwide headquarters in East Memphis on Wednesday.
At the Sylvamo corporation, not even the rain could put a damper on the company’s grand opening of its new world headquarters on Primacy Parkway.
“They chose this great space. They renovated it. They’re just setting roots down in our community. We’re really happy,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
Sylvamo used to be a part of International Paper before the two corporations split into two. Last year, the Memphis-based Slyvamo corporation had net sales of more than $2.8 billion.
“So, we worked really hard with EDGE board, the Chamber to keep them here and their corporate leadership. We celebrated that last year. It’s important to have corporate headquarters based here in Memphis for the jobs they create and the involvement in the community,” Strickland said.
The company has mills in Europe, Latin America, and North America, employing more than 6,000 people worldwide. 350 of those employees are in Memphis.
“We are thrilled with the fact that you’re having another property in Memphis, an office building come back to life and have new investment and have a new tenant who obviously is growing and has more options to grow,” said Ted Townsend, President and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.
Slyvamo’s newly renovated headquarters makes up three floors that have been transformed to include more natural light, private rooms, work areas, and more than 60 collaboration spaces.
“We’ve done a lot of work around the new design of the new headquarters today,” said Sylvamo CEO Jean-Michel Ribieras. “We looked at offices and locations also. We thought this was the best office. That’s what drove our decision in the end. There was not ‘we want to be downtown, Germantown, or Collierville.’ It was the space.”
An office space turned into more corporate headquarters in Memphis.
“Our strategy is to continue to recruit even more headquarters here because tech centers, headquarters they can operate and thrive and bring incredible jobs to Memphians,” Townsend said.