Geiger CEO Talks Headquarters Renovation

Geiger, Lewiston, Maine, announced that it will renovate its former manufacturing space into a state-of-the-art office facility. When finished, the space will occupy 105,000 sq. ft. and make room for a planned 25 to 50 new employees over the next three to five years.

As part of the project, the company took steps to ensure that the new facility was environmentally friendly—a decision that made the new space LEED certified at the gold level and qualify it as a Maine Advanced Building.

Geiger announced plans to renovate its manufacturing space into a state-of-the-art office space, which includes solar energy and environmentally-conscious construction. (Image via Geiger)

"We had this large, unused space, and we decided the best use of that space was to gut it out, reconfigure it and put it together so that all of our employees are in a new and more efficient work space," said Gene Geiger, CEO of Geiger. "... So while we're doing it, we're trying to do it, obviously, to have the most efficient working conditions, but also have a place that is very modern and attractive so that we can attract new people and new employees. And, while we're at it, we're going to make it as energy efficient and as environmentally proper as we possibly can, including putting in some solar panels to generate electricity."

In addition to the solar panels, Geiger said that the company is doing everything it can to minimize waste by recycling, reusing or repurposing any materials it can. It's also using L.E.D. lights and insulating efficiently to minimize heating and cooling costs.

"With our solar power and how we're building the [headquarters], we're trying to make a statement that will be appealing to both people who work with us and our customers that we're doing our part," Geiger added.

What's more is that the company is funding the renovation project without any contributions from local tax dollars.

"Just as we did not ask for handouts when we moved [to Lewiston], we are not asking for any help from the taxpayers [of Lewiston]," Geiger said in a statement. "We know our tax bill will go up when our work is done, and we are happy to contribute in that way to our community. We want ours to be a stronger community for many reasons, including our benefitting from the human talent we must have to help us grow. We go to market on a very competitive world stage, and we need great people to help us be a world-class company."

Geiger is using local construction and contracting firms based in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, to complete the project, as well, which will contribute more than $6 million to the local economy.

When asked why the company made the decision to take this step, Geiger said that it was an investment in the company's future, in addition to the environment's future.

"Essentially, we are in the process of moving from my generation—my brother and my generation—to the next generation—my two sons, who are working in the business," Geiger said. "And we're spending money now and investing to build a structure, a foundation and a workplace that will house the company for the next generation and maybe even the generation beyond. So we're going to have an energy-efficient and very work-efficient environment for us to conduct business, and for my sons and all of their colleagues to ultimately keep this business going and moving forward. It's essentially a statement that we're here for the long-term, and we've got a facility that's going to enable that to continue on."

For more information on Geiger, visit www.geiger.com.