November 17, 2013

The Williams Lea Group has announced it will expand its Wheeling operations to offer more creative services, and will hire 50 additional workers for its Wheeling office by early next year.  Williams Lea has focused on providing document processing and proofreading services in Wheeling since opening its local location in 2007 on the first floor of the Stone Center – located in the former Stone and Thomas building at 1030 Main St.. But England-based Williams Lea has purchased another British company, the TAG Company, and soon will offer marketing services such as graphic design and web-based services to clients from the Stone Center.

“We have two companies converging into one location – and both with global clients,” Ashley Johnson, national recruiter for Williams Lea, said. “The possibilities are endless.”

The company expects more growth in the coming years.  When Williams Lea opened its Wheeling location in 2007, it had two clients and 30 employees, explained Subodh Sharma, operations director for Williams Lea in Wheeling.  Six years later the company employs 230 workers at its Stone Center location, and has 12 clients.

He noted client activity in Wheeling has expanded by 30 percent over the last 18 months, and the company has outgrown its first-floor offices. A new training center and conference room have been constructed on the fifth floor of the Stone Center for Williams Lea, as have additional office and client space.

“The biggest question of us (from clients) is, ’Do you have the people to do the job?’” Sharma said. “The talent exists here in Wheeling. The better question is how we make use of the talent so people don’t go on to take jobs in Cleveland, Columbus or Pittsburgh.  We are giving them an option to stay local and work at Williams Lea.”

There is very little turnover among employees working in the Wheeling office, and most of those originally hired in 2007 remain, according to Sharma and Johnson.

They added that most of the 50 new employees expected to be hired at Williams Lea will be hired for document and proofreading, but they will also be seeking employees skilled as graphic artists, or in digital and media design. Those interested may apply for jobs on-line at williamslea.com.