Chattanooga’s PlayCore, the nation’s largest maker of playground equipment, has acquired six companies since the start of 2017 under Roger Posacki, the company’s new president and chief executive officer.
That came after the retirement of CEO Bob Farnsworth, who started with the privately held company 19 years ago when it only had seven employees in the corporate office – compared to 105 now – and two factories. Farnsworth helped build PlayCore into a behemoth with 26 brands of playground and aquatics equipment, site furnishings, indoor and outdoor fitness, and spectator seating.
On Thursday, PlayCore took on higher visibility in its hometown, as it moved its headquarters from sharing an office building at 401 Chestnut St. to leasing the entire two floors at 531 Broad St. in the former FSG Bank building.
The Broad Street office will serve as corporate headquarters for PlayCore, and home for the sales and marketing departments for several of the company’s brands.
“We’re pretty happy to be here,” PlayCore spokeswoman Anne-Marie Spencer said Thursday evening at an open house at the company’s new digs downtown.