Photo / Tim Greenway
Joyce Galea, partner and vice president of F3 Manufacturing in Waterville, along with Bill Cleaves and Tom Sturtevant.
August 22, 2019
Waterville's F3 MFG targets 25% job growth, $40M in sales for 2020
Courtesy / Central Maine Growth Council
F3 MFG, located on Trafton Road in Waterville, plans to increase its 200-employee workforce by 25% in 2020. It's been ranked as one of Maine's fastest-growing businesses for the third year in a row by Inc. magazine.
By Staff
F3 MFG, ranked for the second year in a row by Inc. 5000 as Maine's third fastest-growing business, expects to continue the trend into 2020.
The company, which manufactures aluminum automotive bodies and accessories, had $17.2 million in revenues last year and 490% growth in the last three years.
F3's 2020 forecast includes a 25% increase in its 200-employee workforce and a target of more than $40 million in sales, it said in a news release. Last year at this time, the company employed 100.
From 2017-18, F3 MFG’s revenue grew at a rate of 162%, and the company expects a 172% growth rate in 2019, with sales projected to reach approximately $30 million, said Tom Sturtevant, co-owner and president, in a news release from the Central Maine Growth Council.
The company uses 150,000 square feet of a 220,000-square-foot building on Trafton Road owned by Trafton Properties. With the building it shares with several tenants 100% occupied, and F3's growth, property owner Trafton Properies has recently received permits to build an additional 120,000-square-foot building. Other tenants of the current building are Packaging Corp of America, Irby Co. and Cameron Ashley Building Products (also known as Guardian Building Products).
It's the second year in a row F3 MFG has been on the Inc. 5000 list, announced last week. F3 MFG, ranked 868 overall this year, was named third in the state last year as well, and 1,317 nationally. The top-growing company in Maine is Brickell Men's Products, of Portland, with 4,208%, and $10 million in revenues; the second is Starc Systems, of Brunswick, with 983% and $7.8 million.
Besides Sturtevant, F3 MFG cofounders are Bill Cleaves and Joyce Galea, a 2019 Business Leader of the Year.
'We changed the status quo'
“Our success is due to the F3 team and the dedication the three of us have to remain the leader in the market,” said Cleaves in the release. “Our industry was stagnant — we came in and changed the status quo.”
Cleaves, in 1996, frustrated by the lack of high-quality enclosed aluminum trailers in the steel-dominated automotive market, made one for himself, according to the news release. That was the start of SnoPro Trailers, based in Liberty. He started selling trailers in Uncle Henry’s Swap & Sell Guide, and quickly became a wholesaler.
Cleaves sold the SnoPro business to Thule and it was later acquired by ALCOM Inc. He then ventured into aluminum truck racks, operating as Magnum Manufacturing in Liberty, and continued to expand his product line to truck bodies. Magnum grew from $200,000 in sales in 2010 to $2.9 million in 2015. Cleaves also propelled a market composition shift from 90% steel to 30% aluminum, a material which is lighter, more durable and longer-lasting than steel.
In 2016, Cleaves brought in Sturtevant and Galea. Now F3 MFG, the company manufactures its aluminum truck bodies under the DuraMag and Magnum brands.
Galea has led the workforce expansion, personally hiring every new employee and remaining involved in their professional and personal growth.
“I’m willing to give second chances, so it’s really important for me to sit down with a candidate and go beyond what’s on their application," she said in the release. "If I see a strong work ethic, I’ll help them overcome obstacles. I’ve sat down with employees and helped them find apartments, call landlords, fill out a mortgage application – being a part of their progression is the most fulfilling part of my work.”
Courtesy / Gorrill Palmer
A map of the Trafton Road area of Waterville shows the 900 acres owned by Trafton Properties. The two sites noted at the far right are the building occupied by F3 MFG as well as a proposed new buildilng.
Trafton Road highlighted
The company is able to grow and retain workforce talent when many companies are struggling, turning away business because they don't have the resources to produce, said Garvan Donegan of the Central Maine Growth Council.
"F3 MFG has been able to keep up with its extraordinary market presence by being able to grow and retain talent and tap into our resilient workforce," he said.
The growth of F3 MFG also highlights the appeal of Trafton Road as "Maine’s newest logistics and manufacturing hub," said Donegan. Trafton Properties owns more than 900 acres in the area off Interstate 95, where a new exit was built in 2017.
The stretch of land off Exit 124 of Interstate 95 "accommodates a wide range of site criteria, particularly for manufacturing workspaces including production facilities and warehousing.” Donegan noted that the site, which is mostly open fields and woods, is centrally located, has a supply of infrastructure, large site acreage options and includes a tax increment finance district to spur development.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments