Greg Riemer, president of MRPC Butler
Industry: Medical device manufacturing
Employees: 120
www.mrpcorp.com
Greg Riemer recently led Butler-based medical device manufacturer MRPC through an expansion. Here, he gives some tips on growing a small business.
“Over the past few years, MRPC has experienced significant growth as we recovered from the Great Recession. Like many businesses, growth remains a main focus of our strategic plan. To continue implementing our strategic objectives, we decided in March of 2013 to expand our company headquarters in Butler. MRPC completed this 15,000-square-foot addition in December, increasing our campus to approximately 100,000 square feet.
“Early on, we identified four main objectives for the expansion that would position our business for continued success:
- Additional clean room manufacturing space will allow us to aggressively pursue new medical device manufacturing opportunities.
- Additional office space will allow us to continue increasing our engineering staff.
- Expanded and improved employee amenities will make MRPC a better place to work and continue attracting new staff.
- Improved ‘curb appeal’ of our facility will increase the value of our real estate holdings.
“Prior to construction, we addressed two main issues. First, as a manufacturing company, we couldn’t move forward with a construction project that would significantly hinder our operations.
“Second was our lack of knowledge about the construction industry. We minimized these concerns by working with an experienced architect and construction company that understood our requirements and addressed these concerns. We also hired an owner’s representative to protect our interests and guide us through the project.
“MRPC’s board-approved strategic plan drives the overall direction of our company. At a certain point, it became evident that it was necessary to expand operations to continue growing our business. In the short term, the expansion project occupied a substantial amount of management time, but in the long run, it will enable us to be successful for years to come. When considering an expansion project, be strategic, establish your objectives and do the necessary due diligence to find the best team to support your vision.”
