ROCKLAND, Maine — Rockland’s Industrial Park is considered the community’s unheralded hero of economic growth, and snowplow manufacturer Douglas Dynamics is one of the driving forces behind this success.
Douglas, better known as Fisher Engineering, has seen its workforce grow steadily, even during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The growth has been so significant that Douglas is seeking permission to greatly expand its parking lot to include more spaces for employee vehicles and more outside storage space for manufacturing products. The company will go before the Rockland Planning Board at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, for its application to expand the parking lot.
The $750,000 project will begin once the company receives the needed government permits. The lot is expected to be completed next spring.
The City Council gave final approval on Oct. 14 to a zone change for two former residential lots on Thomaston Street that were acquired by Fisher. The properties adjacent to Fisher’s manufacturing plant are where the parking area will be expanded.
Andrew Clement, operations manager for the Fisher plant, spoke before the City Council in September about what led to the need for additional parking.
He pointed out that in 2008, which was an average year for the company, the Rockland plant employed about 200 workers.
In 2009, the company constructed a 53,000-square-foot addition to its 130,000-square-foot plant at the end of Gordon Drive in the industrial park.
Employment since has grown to 325 this year, Clement said.
He said the company has seen success in introducing new products, including a new line of plows and stainless steel sanders. The company also is performing work previously done by Douglas’ suppliers.
He noted that two-thirds of the products are shipped from April through September. By the end of September, few of the plows and other products are stored outside but the lot will be full by April.
City officials have praised the success of the snowplow maker.
“The industrial park is the unheralded hero,” Rockland City Manager James Chaousis said.
“Speciality manufacturing in Rockland doesn’t get the air time it deserves,” Councilor Larry Pritchett said.
Rockland has sold about 28 lots in the industrial park since it was created in 1978.
Only one lot remains unsold, and the City Council voted Oct. 14 to authorize the manager to sell that 40-acre lot to a yet-to-be identified manufacturer known only as Rockland Industrial Park North LLC.
That limited liability corporation has been created for the acquisition. Identified only as a specialty manufacturer that wants to expand its operation, the corporation is being represented by the Portland-based real estate brokerage company The Dunham Group.
“The Dunham Group has not identified their client but has shared, at present, [that the] client is in the process of evaluating sites for a significant expansion of its specialty manufacturing capabilities. The city of Rockland has been chosen as one of two potential locations for the expansion. If the project proceeds, it would represent the creation of a large manufacturing complex employing upwards of 40 people,” Chaousis said earlier this year.
The manufacturer is considering Rockland because of its vibrant community, coupled with the quality of life a coastal community would offer the plant’s employees, the availability of a qualified workforce and competitive labor rates, according to Chaousis.