Ashland has offered more details on moving its headquarters to Wilmington in early 2020.
The company announced this week it will relocate the general offices to its current facility west of Wilmington.
Spokesman Gary Rhodes said the company has ample office and research space at the site that currently employs about 235.
The current headquarters in the Cincinnati suburb of Covington, KY employs about 60. A small staff will remain in Covington. However, an office in Lexington, KY will close.
According to Rhodes, it is too early to determine how many Ashland employees may be moving to Wilmington, as the number depends on how many of the people who were offered relocation actually accept an offer.
Ashland had preliminary discussions with the State of Delaware, which often offers incentives to companies that relocate or expand operations, Rhodes confirmed.
The Delaware Prosperity Partnership and Director Kurt Foreman worked with Ashland on the relocation, which is expected to become effective on Jan 1, 2020.
Payback from incentives can be relatively rapid, given the relatively small number of employees and bigger paychecks from headquarters operations that generate income tax revenues.
Ashland vacated space in the Hercules Plaza building a few years ago.
The company acquired Hercules Incorporated about a decade ago and later sold its water, paper, and adhesives chemical operation now known as Solenis. Solenis operates its headquarters in north Wilmington.
