NORTH JACKSON – Information should be forthcoming in a month or so regarding FlexRack by Qcells’ plans for the former Things Remembered fulfillment center in North Jackson.
Formerly a subsidiary of Northern States Metals in Youngstown, the company known previously as Solar FlexRack, received a 1.698%, eight-year job creation tax credit last year to support its expansion in the village of Highland Hills, a suburb of Cleveland.
Things Remembered, which sold personalized and specialty gifts for home and office, closed its fulfillment center at 500 S. Bailey Road in 2023.
In response to a request for comment, Staci Sikora, marketing manager for Qcells’ FlexRack division, said in an email that she could not say much about its Bailey Road operations but would be putting out a news release in the next month or so.
Also contacted for comment, Sarah Boyarko, vice president of economic development for Lake to River Economic Development, said she could not comment on the company plans.”
FlexRack produces custom designed, fixed tilt ground mount and single axis solar tracking systems for the commercial and utility-scale solar mounting industries. The company in October partnered with Alltrade Industrial Contractors Inc. to develop the largest, behind-the-meter solar project in Canada, according to its website.
The job search website Indeed shows Qcells hiring for several positions in North Jackson, including quality technician, production scheduler/planner (steel tube mill), tube mill production technician, tube mill maintenance technician, tube mill lead operator and tube mill technician.
WFMJ first reported May 22 that the company plans to return to the Mahoning Valley, though it will maintain its headquarters in Highland Hills, citing a source within the company.
Qcells, founded in Germany in 1999, makes solar panels, home energy storage systems and energy management systems. In 2019, the company opened the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere – a 300,000 square-foot plant in Dalton, Ga.
The company has two headquarters – a technology and innovation center in Germany and a global executive headquarters in South Korea, according to its website. As of now, Qcells has four manufacturing sites in the U.S., South Korea, Malaysia and China.
Pictured at top: FlexRack has mounted its sign on a building on South Bailey Road.