Chris Martin, C. F. Martin & Company Executive Chairman and former CEO, used the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new state-of-the-art warehouse to issue a personal challenge to fellow businesses:

“I want to personally extend an invitation to all the new companies and their management teams that have moved in the Lehigh Valley over the past few years to please get more actively involved with the many local charitable organizations that help support our Lehigh Valley.”

C.F. Martin employees and area political leaders attended a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Oct. 19 for the 200,000-square-foot warehouse, half of which is a shipping and receiving point for the world-famous maker of music instruments, most notably guitars.

The new facility in Tatamy, Northampton County, is a few miles from the C. F. Martin factory in Nazareth.

Several area political leaders and their representatives gathered in brisk, fall temperatures under a blue sky for the event. Several presented official decrees to Martin.

Attendees included: Marta Gabriel, representing U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R); Lily Tympanick, representing U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7th); State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18th); State Sen. Mario M. Scavello (R- 40th); Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, and Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. CEO Don Cunningham.

Craig Thatcher, International Clinician-Ambassador for C.F. Martin & Co., played a Martin Guitar at the ceremony.

The company will is part of the approximate five-acre warehouse for company operations and plans to lease the rest of the space to another business.

The new warehouse will be used to “store finished goods raw materials,” according to Chief Financial Officer Nathan Eckhart in a pre-ceremony interview.

Martin Chief Executive Officer Thomas Ripsam, in opening remarks, described the warehouse acquisition as “a milestone in the history of C. F. Martin Company.

“We are ready for continued growth,” said Ripsam.

The company broke ground for the new warehouse in March 2020 and started operations Oct. 1. The facility allows the company to consolidate operations of four separate warehouses into the new building at 130 Commerce Lane.

Officials said the new warehouse represents C. F. Martin’s commitment to sustainability and that the company has “left no detail to chance” in the design of the building, which is “for the future of our planet, as well as the future of the company.”

The building has a “30-year roof that can accommodate the installation of solar energy which is on the company’s road map.”

Solar panels, when installed, are expected to offset 100 percent of the facility’s cost of electricity.

Rain and snow run-off water will be retained in lined retention basins and then pumped to irrigate fields on the property.

A state-of-the-art HVAC system will maintain a constant temperature of 68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of 40 to 46 percent.

The warehouse roof is protected by 13.5 inches of multi-layer insulation, helping to maintain desired conditions in the building.

The company is seeking LEED Silver Certification for the building.

The LEED building certification program is an initiative of the United States Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) focuses on encouraging a more sustainable approach to the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated.

“The new warehouse will allow us to run our operations with greater efficiency and cost saving,” said Martin.

“It also gives us the ability to better service our existing and future customers in a timelier manner while lowering our carbon footprint,” Martin said.

“Martin Guitar is part of the past, present and future of the Lehigh Valley,” said Martin.