Payroll giant celebrates grand opening in Allentown with 1,000 employees

Though ADP began filling up space in Five City Center in downtown Allentown in July, the company made their presence official Oct. 10 with a ribbon cutting ceremony outside its new office space at Eighth and Hamilton streets.

In Allentown, ADP previously occupied space in the Morning Call building and BB&T building in and an office building in the Iron Run Corporate Center on Windsor Drive in Upper Macungie Township. Now, all Lehigh Valley ADP employees are under one roof in the 13-story Allentown building.

After looking at what was happening in downtown Allentown and gauging where ADP employees lived, the company ultimately settled on the city as the place to unite its growing work force.

The Roseland, New Jersey-based firm leased 10 floors of Five City Center, and officials cited the building’s open floor plan, proximity to amenities and urban vibe as essential selling points in attracting and maintaining the type of workforce it wants.

“It’s been an incredible success for us,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and CEO of ADP. “Part of the reason we’ve grown is the successful track record of talent.”

For its most recent fiscal year results, ADP has about 810,000 businesses that are part of the ADP network, Rodriguez said. These clients range from small businesses to global companies and ADP is the payroll company for nearly 40 million people worldwide. Revenue has been growing about 5 percent to 10 percent year over year, he said.

Rodriguez attributes this growth to the employees. With employees in Allentown occupying a building that fosters innovation and collaboration; he said he expects to expand further in the building.

“We definitely have space capacity so you will see us continue to grow,” Rodriguez said. “This kind of critical mass creates huge career progression.”

Rodriguez said ADP started looking for new office space because it was running out of room in its Lehigh Valley locations.

“We just felt like we needed to bring everybody together,” Rodriguez said.

J.B. Reilly, president and CEO of City Center Investment Corp. came to ADP through a contact, which led to the company deciding on the Five City Center space, he added.

The space contains ADP’s Inside Sales Centers of Excellence, with an open environment and large windows throughout.

“We have had good success going into more urban locations,” Rodriguez said. “It all goes back to the talent. This kind of workforce appreciates that. I think it’s very inviting.”

Tom Perrotti, president of worldwide sales and marketing for ADP, said Five City Center’s location helps represent what ADP is trying to do as a company that wants to be the employer of choice.

Its new office space also shows the commitment ADP has to the city, he added. It also reflects how the company, now in its 70^th year, is adapting to changes in the marketplace.

“We repositioned our brand as a company that designs products for people,” Perrotti said. “We focus all our energy on making sure we are winning in the marketplace.”

Gov. Tom Wolf was among the officials who attended the grand opening and spoke about he had been a customer of ADP’s when he was a business owner before becoming governor.

He described ADP’s decision to establish a large office space in Allentown as an example of the resurgence happening in the city.

Reilly said ADP’s presence is a significant part of the redevelopment occurring in the downtown.

It validates the rise of the city and will help attract other businesses as well, he added.