Hilliard-based Advanced Drainage Systems is to start construction on a $65-million, 110,000-square-foot office, warehouse and laboratory on 17 acres at Davidson Road and Lyman Drive, on the west side of Interstate 270.

“Now is the right time. This investment will allow for us to grow, get our engineers, materials and product developers in the same space (and) unlock some opportunities,” Brian King, executive vice president, product management and marketing for Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., told ThisWeek on Aug. 29.

A groundbreaking is set for October and the new facility is expected to open in late 2023, King said.

The Hilliard planning and zoning commission Aug. 11 unanimously approved a final development plan for construction of the facility.

The expansion to ADS’ engineering and technology operations at the future facility is to allow the company to consolidate all of the current product development, testing operations, engineering and manufacturing at a central location, according to King.

The facility is to include a product development lab to prepare product samples for testing, a fabrication lab to develop prototypes, a lab to analyze structural performance of prototypes and a 3-D printing lab.

It is also to include a hydraulics lab.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority announced Aug. 29 it is to provide ADS with a tax credit for the company to expand in Hilliard.

In return, the company is to invest at least $10.8 million in the project, retail 322 existing jobs in Hilliard and create 200 new jobs that are to result in $20 million of new payroll to Ohio.

The $65-million investment in the project includes construction and equipment.

The 200 new jobs to be created are a combination of new jobs and those being transferred into Ohio, King said.

“Clean water is critical to our economy and quality of life, and with talent from Ohio, ADS is not only protecting our water supply, but also strengthening its position as the largest plastic recycler in North America. The new, cutting-edge facility that ADS is bringing to Ohio will advance technologies that preserve our natural resources and improve our environment while creating 200 new jobs in Hilliard,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a press release.

The expansion illustrates the commitment of ADS to the Hilliard community, Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall said Aug. 29.

“ADS has proudly called Hilliard its home for two decades. The development of its new engineering and technology Center demonstrates the company’s continued investment and commitment to our city,” said Crandall.

“ADS is an ideal corporate citizen as a top employer, leader in sustainability and community partner. We look forward to supporting the company’s growth over the coming years."

ADS has been headquartered at 4640 Trueman Blvd. for the past 20-plus years. The new facility is to be built just to the west of the corporate office.

Late last year, ADS completed a renovation of its lobby and added a new monument sign on Trueman Boulevard and a large sign in front of its offices to make the brand more visible.

ADS was founded in 1966 in Delaware by engineers Ron Martin and Marty Sixt as a company that constructed drainage systems for agriculture purposes, managing stormwater in new ways to increase crop yields, according to King.

ADS relocated to central Ohio from the state of Delaware in the early 1970's and operated from several locations before building the present-day corporate offices on Trueman Boulevard, King said.

Water-management systems for agriculture still are part of the company’s services, but it chiefly builds and installs stormwater management systems that collect, treat and safely release stormwater runoff at commercial and residential developments, King said.

ADS systems are also in place at data centers operated by Amazon in New Albany, King said.

The systems collect stormwater runoff, and a gravity-fed, underground filtration system cleanses impurities, such as salt, sand and oil-based contaminants, from the water before releasing it back into the ground, King said.

Other than replacing filters, which are accessible from the ground level, the system needs no further maintenance and is designed with a 100-year service life, King said.

The company recycles more than 600 million pounds of plastic every year, greater than any other company in the U.S. in the past 12 months, diverting plastics from landfills and re-purposing plastics to manufacture various kinds of pipes, King said.

Stormwater management systems also are made of concrete, but it is becoming more common in the industry to make such systems from plastics, King said.

ADS manufactures pipes of high-density polyethylene or polypropylene.

After purchasing discarded plastic from solid-waste disposal and recycling companies, such as Rumpke and Local Waste Services in central Ohio, the plastic is repurposed at one of nine facilities in the U.S. and Canada by creating pellets that are used to make the pipes.

Two of those nine facilities are in Ohio: One is in Findlay and another is in Pandora, a village west of Findlay.

The pellets are used to make pipes at 63 domestic and international manufacturing plants, and the finished products are distributed from 32 centers across the U.S, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, King said.