City of Rochester
News Release
Germanow-Simon Corp. Celebrates Upgraded Facilities
(Friday, Oct. 5, 2012) – Mayor Thomas S. Richards, City Neighborhood and Business Development Commissioner R. Carlos Carballada, City Council President Lovely A. Warren and Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks today joined Andy Germanow, President of Germanow-Simon Corp., for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a $3.25 million upgrade to the company’s facilities located at 408 St. Paul St.
“I am grateful to Mr. Germanow’s commitment to the city of Rochester,” said Mayor Richards. “This successful, family-owned business is providing jobs for residents and has transformed two very old buildings into wonderful commercial and industrial space, helping to revitalize that area.”
“Our vision for this project became a reality through the creativity and efforts of our design professionals, skilled contractors, dedicated City, County and State Development staff and our bankers,” said Mr. Germanow. “I am most thankful for the flexibility and goodwill of our staff who—during a year of disruptive construction activity—continued to meet the delivery and quality expectations of our customers without missing a beat.”
The multi-faceted redevelopment project included the renovation of an 1879, multi-story industrial building connected to a 1920s-era building, which was also renovated, repurposed and updated to meet modern industrial and commercial requirements.
A new building was constructed to connect the two existing buildings. Floors were shored up and the roof was insulated while sections of parapet walls were rebuilt. A new elevator and shaft were installed and 200 badly deteriorated windows were replaced. New washrooms, fire doors, electrical sprinkler, alarm and HVAC systems were also installed. Floors were sanded and restored and the building’s exterior and interior were painted. All machinery and factory equipment was completely re-organized and 16,000 sq, ft, of cement was poured for a new factory floor. The company also purchased new office furniture—including custom-built furniture for the main office using cast iron legs from old factory workbenches and a conference table built from unused machinery and reclaimed factory wood beams. Construction started in September 2011 and was completed in September 2012.
Germanow-Simon Corp. consists of two operating companies: G-S Plastic Optics and Tel-Tru Manufacturing Co. Germanow-Simon Corp. is one of the area’s oldest continually operating manufacturing businesses, having been founded 96 years ago by members of the Germanow and Simon families. In 2007, Andy bought out the remaining family members and is the now sole owner of the company.
G-S Plastic Optics is one of the few companies in the world to specialize in the custom design and manufacture of precision polymer optics for use in imaging, scanning, illumination and detection applications worldwide. The company has in-house capability to provide diamond turned and injection molded prototypes, production injection molding, thin film and reflective coatings and integrated optical solutions to meet a wide range of military, medical, commercial and consumer markets.
Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company is a world-class manufacturer of bimetal thermometers, pressure gauges and transmitters. Its products are available through a network of distributors in the United States and around the world.
The manufacturing operations of both companies use specialized machinery and customized tooling, including single point diamond turning, injection molding and thin film deposition coating of plastic optical parts. Tel-Tru has metal stamping presses and CNC turning equipment used to fabricate stainless steel components used in the assembly and testing of dial thermometers and industrial electronic temperature and pressure instruments.
Germanow Simon Corp. was started by Andy Germanow’s grandfather and a partner in 1916, originally as a machine shop. It eventually became the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic watch crystals. In the last 96 years, the company or its subsidiaries have developed and manufactured many other product lines—mostly in Rochester—including: A tool room machinists’ vise—the company’s first product. They also have manufactured bottle cappers during Prohibition, sulky hubs for horse racing, the “Eraser Placer,” kitchen and table knives, Lucite bathroom and kitchen fixtures, aftermarket side view auto mirrors, do-it-yourself prefinished wood furniture, timers, barometers and household and cooking thermometers.
Germanow Simon Corp. currently employs 93 people. When the project began 18 months ago, they employed 77 people and are projecting 25 new jobs within five years.
Assistance for the project was provided by the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program, the City of Rochester, COMIDA, Empire State Development, the US Environmental Protection Agency and HSBC Bank.
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News Media: For more information, contact Kati Chenot, G-S Marketing Communications Manager at 295-0212.