DERBY — It’s been 30 years since Louis Garneau opened his first shop out of the garage of his parents house in Quebec. Now, after 25 years since opening the Louis Garneau USA factory in Newport, the company has officially opened their new facility in Derby.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin was on hand in Derby on Friday to take part in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new facility sits on a piece of land located on Route 5, that Garneau purchased in 2011. A little over a year since breaking ground, the new building, totaling 60,000 square feet, and representing an 8 million dollar investment, is complete.
The Derby facility will house the production, distribution, marketing, sales, and administration activities of Louis Garneau USA. It even has an exercise room available to all employees.
Garneau opened the old Newport factory in 1989, which consisted of only 12 employees.
“I especially want to thank my employees,” Louis Garneau said. “Thanks to their hard work over the years, we have outgrown our previous facility and had to build this new factory. I also want to give special thanks to my family, who supported me every step of the way, no matter the project.”
