Madeira opens facility in business park

GILFORD — Madeira, a century-old firm producing embroidery thread in Germany and shipping it worldwide, has been distributing in North America for 35 years through its subsidiary Madeira USA, headquartered in Laconia. On Wednesday of last week, the company celebrated the opening of a new facility in Gilford, which should make its operations on this continent more efficient and profitable.

The new manufacturing facility, located on Hounsell Avenue, will receive bulk spools of thread spun in Germany, then convert them into smaller spools, label and package them for the end user. Before the Gilford facility was opened, all of that work was done in Germany.

Shirley Clark, president of Madeira USA, said the Gilford site was chosen because of its proximity to the subsidiary’s headquarters on Bayside Court in Laconia.

“The faster our thread can get to us, the faster we can get it to our customers,” Clark said.

In addition to filling orders more quickly, the company is also saving costs with the move. It’s cheaper to ship the thread in bulk from Germany, and it’s also less expensive to perform the work in Gilford than it would be in Europe.

Madeira’s Gilford facility will be operate for two shifts, five days per week. There are currently four people working there, with capacity to increase to six. The building has 8,800 square feet of space, with 7,800 dedicated to manufacturing.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Clark praised the efforts of Peter Morrissette, developer, and his brother Kevin Morrissette, builder, for constructing the building to spec within a seven month time frame.

Peter Morrissette said he couldn’t have done it without cooperation from Bank of New Hampshire, officials from the town of Gilford and the Lakes Business Park board, and subcontractors who pulled together as a team. “PEM Properties used all local contractors to build the building, that’s what kept the project on track,” he said.