Nov. 5--Little Tikes is no longer toying with the idea of leaving Hudson and is staying put.

Three years ago, its parent company MGA Entertainment bought the toy maker from Rubbermaid. Company officials have been talking to local and state officials since then about whether they would keep the headquarters in Hudson off Barlow Road or move. Several other states were luring the company with incentives.

Earlier this summer, the state of Ohio and city of Hudson approved a package of loans, grants and incentives totaling $4.3 million. The package was designed to persuade the Van Nuys, Calif.-based company to keep Little Tikes and its approximately 400 jobs in Hudson and add jobs.

It worked.

"It all worked out fine. We're returning and adding jobs," said Tom Richmond, Little Tikes Worldwide general manager. Richmond said the toy maker has not had any layoffs and has hired a few new employees as it brought the consumer services division back to Hudson from California and added a few marketing positions. The company also has added about 30 production positions that used to be in China to the Hudson plant, Richmond said.

The company had offers from Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Mexico to relocate.

But in the end, Richmond said Little Tikes is centrally located with employees and the headquarters and distribution center on three major freight lines and near major highways.

The company chose a quiet way to announce it would be staying. MGA President and Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian sent a letter to Gov. Ted Strickland on Oct. 20 telling him that Little Tikes would stay in Hudson. Richmond said Larian did not want a big deal made out of the personnel decision.

In his letter, Larian said when he bought the company, he made a commitment to the people who have worked at Little Tikes for many years to do "everything possible to stay in Ohio and Hudson and return this great company to its glory days."

Larian thanked Strickland for the state's interest and long-term commitment to Little Tikes.

"I have officially made the commitment to keep Little Tikes in Ohio and continue to maintain and grow operations in Hudson," Larian said in his letter.

In a written response to a request for a comment today, Strickland said: "A cornerstone of our plan to keep and grow jobs in Ohio is to support our home-grown businesses. Little Tikes is an Ohio-grown company and I am pleased that our partnership is going to help keep nearly 400 Ohioans working and create 66 new jobs. We appreciate Little Tikes' long-term commitment to Ohio and we're excited to continue our successful partnership with them."

Chuck Wiedie, Hudson's economic development director, said it was great news that the city would retain what was called a legacy company.

"The 400 employees of Little Tikes know they're staying here so that cloud is removed from their heads and it allows for growth," Wiedie said.

Wiedie credited the collaboration of different entities in retaining Little Tikes.

"We've kept our eye on the ball. This is the result everyone truly wanted. It wasn't easy getting here," he said. Wiedie said the city and others will continue to work as partners with Little Tikes to continue its growth and doesn't think the company will be threatening to leave again after the incentives are done.

The state incentive package included a $3.2 million, 5-year loan at an interest rate of 3 percent for MGA. The loan would support costs associated with the purchase of equipment for its factory in Hudson. The $5.8 million project is expected to create 66 positions and retain 395 jobs. The state also approved a $125,000 work force development grant, a "rapid outreach" grant of $300,000, which can be used for a variety of things such as retooling of machinery for new products, and a previously announced 55 percent job creation tax credit for seven years, valued at $134,228.

The city of Hudson matched the rapid outreach grant with a one-time, $300,00 grant and also approved a 50 percent job creation tax credit on the new income tax created for the proposed 66 new employees for six years.

In addition, county officials have provided services to Little Tikes in training and assistance and have been involved in the talks.

Said Steve Schoeny, director of the Ohio Department of Development's Strategic Development Division: "We're excited to finally have this come around and have Little Tikes make sort of a final decision to keep this facility.

"We are very glad they decided, as we hoped all along, that it made sense to keep and maybe grow the facility in Hudson," Schoeny said.

In his letter to Strickland, Larian also said the company believed there might be opportunity to partner with the state to identify products, such as traffic barriers and waste and recycling bins that could be made using Little Tikes rotomolding capabilities.

Richmond said the company's focus will always be toys, but said it was Larian's way of saying perhaps there was a way the company could help the state manufacture products within Ohio.

Schoeny said the state is always excited to work with manufacturers looking to diversity their customer base, but a process would determine if it will work.

Little Tikes employees are also happy the company isn't going anywhere.

"We're happy Isaac [Larian] sees the value of staying in Hudson and the power of our brand. Once you buy Little Tikes, you buy again and again," said Laurie Yingling, director of the direct to consumer/corporate sales program and a 20-year employee.

Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at

330-996-3724 or blinfisher@

thebeaconjournal.com.

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