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Business

Since Geneva began, it was the people and businesses that facilitated growth.

It was people like James and Charity Herrington and other early settlers that brought industries and businesses into the community. From James Herrington’s general store and tavern, things grew rapidly. Industry had a very early start, with factories fueled by agriculture with a gristmill, glucose factory and others finding their way into the area.

The railroad was a vital stepping-stone to putting Geneva on the map and it still provides transportation for the industry that remains in the area.

Geneva’s Economic Development Department is responsible for bringing more businesses into the community as well as ensuring that the new ventures do not compromise its high standard of living. Finding businesses to bring to the area to complement those already established is a high priority. Also, fostering current business to guarantee future success is equally as important. Incentive programs have been available to entice companies to bring their business to certain areas of Geneva. The Riverfront Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District was an effort, begun in 1982, to revitalize and renovate this mostly industrial district into a more diverse environment. The East State Street (TIF) District brought on 25,000 square feet of new commercial construction to the already existing properties of East State Street. A grant program was also made available to local businesses for external building improvements.

The Geneva Chamber of Commerce also plays a fundamental role in community and business development. The Chamber sponsors many programs and events to encourage tourism and community involvement in order to benefit businesses and the city as a whole. The chamber also provides an abundance of resources to assist businesses in making industry connections and running their companies more efficiently.

One of the oldest manufacturing companies in Geneva stills stands today. Since 1903, Burgess-Norton Manufacturing Company has been producing high quality metal components. Producing piston pins for a multitude of uses, Burgess-Norton is the largest supplier of in the world. The company was recently awarded a Gold World Excellence Award from Ford Motors for their excellence in the industry. Burgess-Norton has been supplying piston pins to Ford since 1919. With such a large company, it is no wonder 600 people are employed here.

Some other chief employers include Houghton Mifflin, Richardson Electronics and Johnson Controls, Inc., each with about 300 employees and Millard Refrigerated Services with almost 200 employees.