SOUTHBURY — While the pandemic has wreaked havoc on much of the business industry the past 18 months, businessman and entrepreneur Ed Gilchrest’s Gyre9 company in Oxford has been one of the fortunate enterprises to see growth and success.
Gyre9 manufactures multiple items. But it has been the demand for electric vehicle chargers, which Gyre9 is contracted to make for JuiceBarEV in Norwalk, that has produced consistent growth.
Because his current space allows for a maximum 50 chargers produced a week, Gilchrest will move his main office and production company to a larger location this fall in Southbury. With the move to the larger facility, Gilchrest will hire an additional 100-150 employees and have the potential to produce 1,000 chargers a week.
“Our charger division is seeing growth at a much higher rate than our other manufacturing,” Gilchrest said. “Our current facility in Oxford is small and has 11,000 square feet. We had to move and find a larger space in order to increase production.”
He spent several months looking at sites in towns a 20-mile radius of Oxford.
“Moving to a larger site, I didn’t want to go too far where I would lose any employees,” Gilchrest said.
His 43 employees come from places like Danbury, Middlebury and Shelton. He and his wife, Wendy, who handles the manufacturing end of the business, live about four miles from the Oxford site.
“I found a site in Southbury that was a perfect match,” he said. “It’s large enough and Southbury is conveniently located for my employees, only a couple exits away from where we are now.”
Gilchrest did not want to buy property and said he is leasing space in the Romatic Manufacturing building at 1200 Main St. South in Southbury, just off of exit 14 on I-84. Once the move is made, Gilchrest said he will still maintain a smaller part of the operation at the current site in Oxford, off of exit 16 on I-84.
The company maxes out at 50 chargers a week in Oxford, but his goal is to make 250 chargers a week in the first quarter in Southbury.
“But the new building is designed to do more and the ultimate goal is 1,000 week,” he said. “That also means we’ll need about 100 to 150 more employees to get it done.”
The new site is almost four times larger than the Oxford space at 40,000 square feet. Gilchrest said the Southbury site will require some cleaning and upgrading, and he has to go through the typical Planning and Zoning process before the move begins. But Gilchrest is excited with the opportunity for growth the larger space will bring for Gyre9.
“We design the chargers, engineer it and manufacture it for JuiceBar because they don’t have that capability,” Gilchrest said. “We give them the chargers, the finished product, and they are the ones who distribute and sell them to individuals and businesses.”
Gyre9’s products stand apart from other charger manufacturers, he said.
“We make a solid, reliable level of charger, and we’re the only company that can claim our chargers are made in America,” Gilchrest said. “Everything we use is sourced from a U.S. mill. We also have innovative safety features that make our product the safest on the market.”
The company builds “Level 2” chargers that charge a little faster — about three to four hours — than the typical ones of that level, he said.
“That makes it ideal for individuals who are home for a few hours, you just plug it in,” he said. “It’s like having your own gas pump at home.”
Gilchrest said the JuiceBar chargers that Gyre9 produces cost about $6,000 each retail.
The chargers are used for more than just electric cars. That includes electric buses, trucks and delivery trucks. JuiceBar has a fleet market division selling chargers to bus fleet companies that use electric buses.
The biggest reason Gyre9 has been almost unfazed by the pandemic is the growth of the electric car industry and supply and demand for the electric vehicle chargers. Gilchrest said he feels fortunate to be in position to take advantage of that growth and also create jobs in the process.
Connecticut is one example of that growth.
The number of electric vehicles registered in the state grew from 12,600 in 2020 to 17,200 cars this July, according to data from the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced the goal to have 125,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025.
There are about 150,000 chargers in the country now, but he estimates there will be 100 million electric cars on the road in the next 20 years, Gilchrest said.
“That means a need for a lot more chargers,” he said. “There are many companies out there like mine making chargers. But the market is growing so fast there is room for everyone to benefit.”
Gilchrest started his business in 2006 and built a studio and shop on his property. It has always had a manufacturing side to it and an engineering side. Other items the company designs and manufactures include power tools and medical supplies.
“Our business has seen consistent growth, we outgrew the space on my property and 2 1/2 years ago we moved to our current location,” Gilchrest said. “We did struggle a bit during the pandemic with our other design business slowing down. But the electric vehicle charger business kept growing and it’s become an opportunity of a lifetime.”
“The future looks exciting and we’re looking forward to getting in the Southbury location,” he added.