Gemini, a 100% employee-owned company, celebrates six decades in business.
Photo By Gemini Industries
Sixty years ago, on Dec. 22, 1964, William “Bill” Smith started what was known at the time as Gemini Products in a warehouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
He had one 165-gallon tub, one machine to make lacquer, and, as the company says on its recently revamped website, geminiindustriesinc.com, no customers.
“Smith was the batch maker, the business development manager, the delivery person and everything in between.”
Today, three score years later, the now El Reno, Oklahoma-based company has evolved. Its name has been tweaked on a couple of occasions. Its headquarters moved more than once. A dealer network and additional facilities have sprouted up even as its customers have expanded, its product portfolio broadened, and its processes made more efficient.
From those humble beginnings, Gemini Industries' footprint now includes seven manufacturing and supply locations across the United States and two centrally located manufacturing, shipping, and laboratory facilities staffed by a team of nearly 200 employee-owners.
Let's look at the company's 60 years of growth that continues to this day.
The first 20 years
The company was founded in 1964, and by the end of the decade the company was moving into a new, large facility.
William “Bill” Smith (pictured) founded Gemini Products on Dec. 22, 1964.
The mid-1970s through mid-1980s saw a lot of growth. Gemini reached $1 million in sales as it underwent a major "growth spurt across the U.S." The company also began the journey to become an ESOP company,.
A worker assembles an aerosol can circa 1984. At that time, Gemini Aerosols became a custom packager of aerosol products.
A new generation, a new name
In 1988, Michael Smith, son of the founder, became the company's third president. The ESOP journey continues.
A growing roster of employee-owners.
Acquisitions, facility additions, and naming of Gemini's 4th president marked the end of the century.
Millennium begins with new ownership
In came the "Aughts" and 100 percent Employee-Owned company.
In 2014, Gemini celebrated its 50th anniversary. The company made several acquisitions and faced tragedy when the much-loved David Warren dies following a brief illness. A global pandemic looms.
In 2023, the company's waterbased product, Evo, took home Woodworking Networks' Editors' Choice Award.
The 2020s and beyond
Gemini opens a waterborne coatings facility at the El Reno, Oklahoma, campus. It made an important acquisition that opened up the Pacific Northwest market. In 2024, the company celebrated its 60th birthday.
Gemini adds Rudd Wood Finishes to its portfolio after the 2023 acquisition.
Plans for future growth are underway, including a large new warehouse.
The groundbreaking of Gemini's new, state-of-the-art warehouse in El Reno, Oklahoma. The new 52,000-square-foot facility, features finished good storage space with three-tier racking storage and a sophisticated sprinkler system, six loading docks at dock level and one additional loading dock with forklift access and additional office space.
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About the author
Larry
Adams
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Editor
Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).
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