Press
MORRISTOWN - Eight years ago, Garrett Hirchak, an employee at Concept 2, had an idea. He noticed there was a need to outsource some of the assembly work of the rowing machine manufacturers, but there was nowhere locally to send it. So, after talking with the Concept 2 founders, he decided to start Manufacturing Solutions.
Now Manufacturing Solutions has just moved into yet another building, the former Quality Controlled Stitching building on Harrell Street. In just the last year, the business has doubled in size.
Manufacturing Solutions started with five people in front of the Concept 2 facility. After one and a half years, it moved to Hyde Park where it continued to grow - with 15 employees and increasing the number of companies it worked with, including Tubbs, House of Troy, and HearthStone. Until recently, it worked exclusively with Lamoille County companies, but has recently moved into Chittenden, working with businesses such as Blodgett Ovens.
As well as working with companies that don't have the machines, expertise or specifically skilled employees, Manufacturing Solutions also works with companies that don't have the space or must do a large amount of work in a small amount of time, such as Butternut Farms, who produces 186,000 bottles of syrup in a short period of time.
The company has continued to expand aggressively, as an outsourcing company must do, said Jeremy Travers, director of operations. "We're working against China," he said. "We have to constantly be innovative and keep our prices down." Tubbs, for example, initially worked with Manufacturing Solutions, but has since decided to move operations to China.
Despite that loss, the company has managed to double its workload in the past year because of its move into Chittenden and increasing work with Concept 2. "We may outgrow this in six months at the rate we're going," said Travers.
Fortunately, this new building affords the company the chance to expand with room behind it. to put on an addition. With 32,000 square feet at this building and a total of around 200,000 square feet in all their buildings combined, the people at Manufacturing Solutions have no thoughts of slowing down. As well as doing outsourcing work, they also rent out space to businesses, do quality control, have two trucks and three trailers to move goods around, and, with a large amount of resources, often pair up companies with sources for the material they need.
Manufacturing Solutions also clearly values its employees. Management always comes from inside the company, said Davis Koier, head of human resources. "In the past year we have brought 20 jobs into the area" said Koier "We have never had a layoff.
For a Harrel Street building that some remember as "the pajama factory," the future looks bright!