The company has leased 15,000 square feet of office space in the Omega Corporate Center in Robinson Township, just west of the city center.

“We wanted to be close to our North American belting product manufacturing facilities in both Ohio and Canada, as well as to key locations in our newly acquired service businesses – including Conveyor Service Corporation in Blairsville [Indiana County, Pennsylvania], which we acquired last year – and major customer regions,” Fenner Dunlop Americas president Cassandra Pan said.

“Operating from Pittsburgh puts Fenner Dunlop at the heart of its North American business, allowing for optimal business management. We’re close to where it’s all happening and closer to our customers.”

While 40 jobs at the former headquarters in suburban Atlanta were lost, 40 will be gained at the company’s new home in southwestern Pennsylvania. Fenner did not outline which functions the new employees would be working in, but did note several of its executives would also be relocating.

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, which worked with Fenner on the move, said the location of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Pittsburgh Safety and Health Technology Center in nearby Bruceton also played a role in the relocation decision.

“Nationally and internationally, conveyor belt fire safety in underground mines is a critical concern,” Pan told the association.

“Fenner Dunlop is at the forefront of belt fire safety and believes it’s strategic to be close to the organization that is uniquely influencing standards compliance around our core business.”

One of the company’s customers, fellow Pittsburgh-based corporation Consol Energy, told the PRA that hundreds of miles of Fenner Dunlop belt could be found at its mines across the region and nation.

“Consol is pleased that one of its major vendors has made the decision to join the almost 800 energy-related companies that call the Pittsburgh region home,” said Consol chief executive Brett Harvey, who chairs the PRA.

Fenner Dunlop Americas is a subsidiary of UK-based Fenner Dunlop Worldwide.