BANGOR, Maine — An ice-making business with roots in Brewer that go back to 1888 will increase its production by about 30 percent when it expands its Bangor facility, officials said Friday.
Getchell Brothers Inc. has applied for a building permit to add ice production to its ice storage facility at 138 Hildreth St. The application is pending, officials said.
The Bangor City Council voted unanimously on Monday to allow City Manager Cathy Conlow to execute an easement for construction of a pad and installation of mechanical equipment on the Coffey Street side of the Hildreth Street property.
Business owner Douglas Farnham said Friday that the company plans to continue operations at 1 Union St. in Brewer, which borders the Penobscot River and can generate as much as 95 tons of bagged ice per day.
If all goes well, the company will have new ice-making equipment operating in Bangor by early summer, Farnham said.
“It’s not a plan to move,” Farnham said Friday. “There’s just no room to expand [in Brewer] over by the river.”
The company employs a dozen workers at its Brewer location and a dozen more at its Sanford facility. The Bangor expansion will add two or three jobs to the company roster, Farnham said.
Bangor and Brewer officials said they were glad that Getchell found the Hildreth Street facility, the former Galt Block Warehouse Co. site, instead of having to expand outside the Bangor-Brewer area.
Any business that expands in Brewer is good for Bangor, and vice versa, Conlow said.
“They have been a great business for Brewer,” said Nicole Gogan, Brewer’s deputy director of economic development.
Getchell also stores and distributes ice cream at its Brewer facility.