Employees at Prysmian Group’s North American headquarters in Highland Heights have a new workplace benefit – electric vehicle charging stations.
The company installed 10 new charging stations there, coinciding with National Drive Electric Week, which ran from Sept. 23 through Oct. 2. Employees with electric vehicles previously had to coordinate their charging rotations at a single station the company provided. The new charging ports makes it much more convenient and, the company says, could serve as an incentive to buy an electric vehicle.
“We hope providing free electric charging stations will encourage our workforce to seriously consider electric vehicles and the positive impact they have on the world,” says Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Prysmian Group North America.
Prysmian, based in Milan, Italy, acquired Highland Heights-based General Cable in 2018. Its employees design, manufacture, and sell aluminum, copper and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, communications, automotive, and other industries. Its North America operations include 28 manufacturing facilities, eight distribution centers, six R&D centers, more than 5,800 employees, and net sales of more than $4 billion.
Ten years ago, an EV charging station powered by a solar-tracking array was installed at the Highland Heights site, the company says. That was the sole charging station there until now.
Employee James McGraw says the workplace stations cut down on charging time, and he doesn’t have to strategically plan his trips around the city to charge his vehicle. “It is definitely an incentive to come into the office, almost like the company giving you a half tank of gas to come to work,” he says.
The stations are outfitted with Prysmian products, including the company’s electric vehicle charging cord.
Mark Policinski, CEO of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, which helps communities fund electric vehicle infrastructure, says the new stations are a welcome addition. “Simply put, the future of transportation is electric,” he says. “Increasing access to EV charging stations is critical to the success of this revolution.”
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David Holthaus is an award-winning journalist and a Cincinnati native. When not writing or editing, he's likely to be bicycling, hiking, reading, or watching classic movies.