GARDINER — A company that provides engineering and technical services to the nuclear and security industries announced it will relocate to Libby Hill Business Park.

Black Diamond Consultants plans to leave its Water Street offices and build a new facility on a lot in the business park within the next three years.

Additional Photos

BLACK DIAMOND: Black Diamond Consultants plans to relocate from offices on Water Street in Gardiner to an office building the firm will erect at Libby Hill Business Park in the city. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Christian Hébert, company president, said his business has expanded three times since 2000 — from a single-employee, single-client consulting service to one that employs more than 50 people with clients throughout the United States.

Hébert said he considered other locations for expansion, including sites in Portsmouth, N.H. But Gardiner’s historic downtown and waterfront park expansion helped him decide to stay.

“We have clients flying in from Mississippi and New York tomorrow, and the downtown experience is unique for them,” Hébert said. “We are very happy to remain here in the Gardiner community. This is a great place to live, work and raise our children. This purchase will allow us to stay centralized for our core of Maine employees while offering clients easy access from the interstate.”

Engineers, designers and security and technology experts all make up the Black Diamond Consultants team, he said. Customers include utility companies, government agencies and security corporations.

The company has 18 employees in the Gardiner area and 27 others in locations around the country.

Hébert said Black Diamond Consultants began operating in 2000 with a focus on assessing and protecting nuclear and high security locations but since has expanded into the telecommunication industry, designing and upgrading features and technology on cell towers.

“I think I can credit our growth to the dedication and expertise of our employees,” he said.

In 2010, the company received the Gardiner Board of Trade’s Technology Business of the Year Award.

Mayor Andy MacLean said Black Diamond is one of Gardiner’s success stories, and that, with the success and growth of the company came the demand to help it relocate to meet long-term needs.

“It’s exciting to see a local business grow in today’s economy and continue to grow while staying in the community,” MacLean said.

City Manager Scott Morelli said Black Diamond’s story is similar to that of Northeast Radiant Technology — a company that established its roots in Gardiner with the assistance of the city’s revolving loan fund program. As the workload grew, he said, Northast Radiant needed to find a larger space.

Morelli said Black Diamond Consultants joins other successful companies in Libby Hill business park including Pine State Trading, EJ Prescott, Dennison Lubricants, and Northeast Radiant Technologies. Harare’s Development currently leases space to Scientific Games and other tenants.

Morelli said “to date, the park has generated over $26 million in investment, as well as hundreds of jobs.”

Of the original 16 lots in Phase l, he said only two are left. To accommodate larger scale projects, the city built infrastructure for the 12 lots in Phase II.

He said Gardiner has a number of incentives to help attract new businesses, from tax increment financing, revolving loan fund assistance, to utilizing the Pine Tree Zone designation.

Gardiner’s nonseasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February, according to Maine Department of Labor data — down from 8.3 percent in January and 9.3 percent in February 2010.

Mechele Cooper — 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com

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