Gannon & Scott expansion ‘making it happen here’

Company dedicates new manufacturing facility

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 12/11/13

Celebrating a project the company says exemplifies its slogan of “Doing It Right,” Gannon & Scott on Dec. 6 hosted civic and business leaders for the dedication of its new manufacturing facility …

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Gannon & Scott expansion ‘making it happen here’

Company dedicates new manufacturing facility

Posted

Celebrating a project the company says exemplifies its slogan of “Doing It Right,” Gannon & Scott on Dec. 6 hosted civic and business leaders for the dedication of its new manufacturing facility on Sharpe Drive in Cranston.

The project is the “culmination of nearly a century of innovation and hard work by Gannon & Scott’s employees,” said Margaret Gannon Jones, the company’s president.

The $8 million, 93,000-square-foot facility doubles processing capacity for the company, an international recycler of precious metals headquartered in Cranston with a second refining operation in Phoenix, Ariz.

Aside from increasing capacity, the company says the addition “employs the most technologically advanced and proven pollution control system for the thermal reduction process.”

Gannon & Scott says the new facility allows for at least a 20 percent increase in its Rhode Island workforce.

The project also included the installation of solar panels, which it is estimated will generate 463,800 kilowatts of electricity annually and feed power back into the grid.

Several prominent local and state officials were on hand for the dedication, including Gov. Lincoln Chafee, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. James Langevin.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said he is proud of the company, and the example it has set of making investments in its workforce and infrastructure.

“You’re making it happen here,” he said, referencing the “Doing It Right” slogan.

Gannon & Scott’s drive to improve efficiency while remaining socially conscious, the mayor said, will help foster a “sustainable environment for years to come.” He also said the dedication ceremony was an “important day for commerce in our country.”

Others echoed that sentiment. Chafee recognized Gannon & Scott as being part of the “rich history” of jewelry manufacturing in the state, and also praised its focus on environmental responsibility.

Whitehouse said the expansion demonstrates Gannon & Scott’s commitment to being the “best in show in your field,” and said he is “elated” the project has a solar component.

Langevin said Gannon & Scott’s approach is one to which other companies should aspire.

“You don’t have to make a choice between economic success and environmental stewardship,” he said.

Bill Hatfield, Rhode Island president for Bank of America, spoke of his institution’s long relationship with Gannon & Scott, dating back to 1946 and the former Industrial National Bank.

“It’s been a beautiful relationship,” he said, calling Gannon & Scott a “tremendous company with a tremendous opportunity.”

With Bank of America having provided financing for the expansion and solar projects – including the acquisition of the 6.19-acre site on which the facility sits – Hatfield said such investments are essential as the state continues to forge its economic identity in the 21st century.

“We need more of this in Rhode Island,” he said.

Following the dedication ceremony, visitors were invited to tour the facility, with Gannon & Scott employees stationed at several locations to highlight key aspects of the operation.

Gannon & Scott was founded in Providence in 1919, and built its first Cranston facility at the Howard Industrial Park in 1985. Several additional expansions have followed, including the opening of the Phoenix operation in 2000.

“The company’s slogan, ‘Doing It Right,’ means doing it right for all of the company’s diverse stakeholders – its customers, its employees, the environment, the industries it serves and the local community,” said Jack Gannon, the company’s chairman. “It also underscores our commitment to Rhode Island, which dates back to our roots here almost one century ago.”

For additional information, visit www.gannon-scott.com.

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