As we saw the success of our feasibility study in 2004 we began scouting possible locations for a permanent facility for the Group. One of our first choices for a research lab was a medium sized empty building out on the far North edge of Kalamazoo that had been for sale for a while. We began research the building, contacted the owners and the building went on the list as “Site-D”.

The building was owned by Flint Ink and had been used for the manufacture, mixing, and distribution of Inks used in the printing industry (Kalamazoo once had a massive paper and printing industry). It had since been shut down because of the shrinking Kalamazoo market. Flint Ink is a very successful company and based out of the other side of the state. We contacted them and began the process to see if it was possible to get the building donated.

We looked at many other sites during the following months and Site-D was placed on the back burner. With most buildings we looked at the owner simply told us no, Site-D’s owners never did. They took the time to review the Group and gave us the opportunity to prove ourselves. During our negotiations the original contact at Flint Ink was promoted to a different department (which basically forced us to start over from scratch). Then the company went through a very large merger (which changed their name from Flint Ink to Flint Group), and even moved offices. All of these things delayed progress time and time again, but each new person we dealt with at Flint Ink was patient and took the time to hear us out and give us a chance.

In the end, it took over three and a half years to go from that first phone call to the successful donation of the property. We are exceedingly grateful to Flint Group for all the hard work, patience, and time they took for us to help the Group out in such a big way. Without the dedication of incredible people like Larry King, Rita Conrad, Jackie Adams, and Jennifer Ruel we could never have built our new research lab. The Geek Group thanks all of you for the incredible work you did to help us and the community.

The building is officially named The Geek Group’s Heavy Industries site and is christened Kidwell Hall in honor of one of our most elite members, Mr. Paul E. Kidwell. The years of dedication, perseverance, support and leadership Mr. Kidwell has brought to the Group have made our continued success possible. Without people like Paul, the Geek Group simply wouldn’t exist as it does today.