By 1808Delaware
A familiar name in paint has added a new kind of presence in Delaware County. Sherwin Williams Commercial & Industrial Sales has opened at 7719 Graphics Way, Suite D, in Lewis Center, expanding the company’s reach with a location geared specifically toward commercial customers and contractors.
The Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce marked the opening with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, July 29 at 11:00 AM. Sherwin-Williams also included the Lewis Center operation among a group of new locations participating in a companywide grand-opening promotion July 29 and 30.
More Than A Traditional Paint Store
The new operation, officially identified by Sherwin-Williams as Lewis Center Commercial Store #721182, differs from the company’s more familiar retail stores serving homeowners and do-it-yourself projects. Sherwin-Williams describes positions at the Lewis Center location as working directly with commercial paint customers, helping them select products and solutions for their particular needs. The company has recruited wholesale product specialists for the branch as well as delivery personnel to move products directly to customers.
That commercial emphasis puts the new store in a different niche from the company’s existing traditional paint stores in the area.
Sherwin-Williams already operates consumer-oriented locations elsewhere in Lewis Center as well as at 27 W. William St. in Delaware. The Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce directory lists the new Graphics Way operation separately as Sherwin Williams Commercial & Industrial Sales.
A Location Built Around Business
The choice of Graphics Way reflects the operation’s business-to-business focus, as the property sits in an established industrial and commercial area of Orange Township. The building at 7719 Graphics Way is a roughly 73,000-square-foot industrial facility constructed in 2000, with warehouse space, loading facilities and Planned Industrial zoning.
Sherwin-Williams’ plans for the site had been visible locally well before the doors opened. Township records show the company was preparing for the location late last year, with a zoning variance application scheduled for consideration in January involving a proposed wall sign at Suite D. The application identified Sherwin-Williams as the applicant and the 6.775-acre property as being in Orange Township’s Planned Industrial District.
The company’s own grand-opening materials list the new Lewis Center branch at 7719 Graphics Way, Suite D, with a telephone number of 740-909-7069.
Serving A Growing Commercial Market
The arrival also reflects the expanding commercial market surrounding Lewis Center and southern Delaware County. Instead of being designed principally around homeowners choosing colors for a bedroom or tackling a weekend project, the Graphics Way location is positioned around repeat commercial customers, contractors and businesses that may need larger quantities, specialized products and delivery service.
Sherwin-Williams says its commercial customer specialists are expected to determine customer needs, answer product questions and recommend appropriate solutions. A delivery position associated with the new store calls for transporting orders to customers using company vans or pickup trucks.
For Delaware County, it amounts to something more than another retail storefront. It is a new business operation aimed directly at the contractors and commercial activity accompanying the county’s continued growth, and another addition to the increasingly busy employment and industrial corridor around Lewis Center.
Image by martynaszulist from Pixabay
