Bristol ID Plans to Bring Up to 25 More Jobs to Lima

LIMA – Lima’s Bristol ID Technologies is looking to expand and create 15 to 25 new jobs for the community over the next several years.

Seeking assistance in this endeavor, Bristol ID CEO Keith Yeates and Director of Finance Joshua Hellman, along with Deputy Director of Livingston County Development Maureen Wheeler were present at a public hearing June 1 at a Lima Town Board meeting with a proposal to submit a Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) application to the State.

“The Community Development Block Grant Program is offered for the Office of Community Renewal with the purpose of creating high quality jobs, full-time jobs that offer on-the-job training, and can ultimately be filled by low to moderate income individuals,” said Wheeler. “So in this case, we are working with Bristol ID here in Lima for both business retention and expansion project. They have the potential to create fifteen to twenty-five jobs over the course of five years or so.”

Town Supervisor Pete Yendell said that this could be beneficial for a business already significantly impacting the area.

“This will also help retain the jobs that we currently have at Bristol ID, which are very important to our community,” Yendell said.

According to Wheeler, Bristol ID already provides about 80 jobs to the community.

Yeates, who has been CEO of Bristol ID for 14 years, detailed the reason for expansion.

“The reason with funding and the expansion is that we’re currently what I would call a low to medium volume manufacturer,” said Yeates. “And we are less competitive in the higher volumes. So we lose out on a lot of opportunities because we can’t compete at high volumes. So what we’re investing is some additional equipment that will enable us to compete at higher volumes and capture that additional business.”

Yeates also explained that their expansion means they plan to stay and grow in Lima.

“Business is going well at the moment,” said Yeates. “We’re very happy where we are. I mean the process of buying the building and the land, I hope, is an indication that we intend to stay long term, and we’re very excited about that. And obviously excited about continuing to provide employment and grow in the community.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, the board voted in favor of the CDBG application.