By Dave Ongie, Managing Editor
Officials with Crown Laboratories broke ground on a new warehouse facility in Johnson City last Friday morning. The 60,000-square-foot warehouse is the second phase of an expansion plan that began with Crown locating its worldwide headquarters in Johnson City.
Crown CEO Jeff Bedard was reflective during his remarks prior to the groundbreaking as he remembered arriving in February 2001 with just four employees. In the years since Bedard made the decision to start his company in Johnson City, Crown laid the groundwork for a dynamic growth cycle that has landed the company on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for nine straight years.
Johnson City Mayor Joe Wise also remembered Crown’s humble beginnings during his remarks.
“It was not long ago you got on a plane, came here and chose Johnson City,” Wise said.
Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy recalled how Crown helped produce two million units of hand sanitizer in 90 days at the outset of the pandemic to help ensure local agencies had a strong supply. “Jeff and his team put together a whole line of production,” he said.
When the facility is completed, Bedard said the design will allow for an expansion up to 120,000 square feet within the next three to five years if the growth continues.
