LEWISTON – Faithworks has growing pains.

The welfare-to-work program is poised to do about $1.7 million in sales this year in its Hill Mill location – a far cry from the $100,000 it made its first year in 1997.

But the piecework, hand-finishing operation could double those revenues if it could find a new location. The problem: The wood floors and grassy border around the Hill Mill mean Outsourceworks – the business division of Faithworks – can’t get FDA approval to handle packaging and assembly of any food or pharmaceutical items.

“Every trade show I attend is about 75 percent agriculture-based,” said Michael Conway, regional sales rep for Outsourceworks. He said there’s great potential to take items marketed by individual farm stands and small businesses and package them as gift baskets or boxes.

“We could double or triple our number of employees and really expand to make Lewiston the center for gift packaging,” he said.

So the nonprofit company is looking for a new home, one that offers 50,000 square feet of space with concrete floors that can withstand pallets stacked three deep. Ideally, it should be in Lewiston’s Empowerment Zone so it can take advantage of low-interest loans offered through the federal government, said Faithworks Executive Director Paul Rubin.

Help with the search

Rubin was eyeing the vacant Ames Department Store on East Avenue last fall, but city officials dissuaded him, saying they wanted to set aside that area for retail use. Since then, development staff have been helping him find another place.

“The city had been working hard to help us find an alternate location,” said Rubin. “But we’re feeling a little behind.”

Work gets so busy during the third and fourth quarters, it would be impossible to move, he said. Realistically, that means they’re looking at 2005 at the earliest to make the switch.

In the meantime, orders continue to mount. In one section of the Hill Mill, boxes of greeting cards are waiting to be sorted and packaged, while at the other end, desk calendars are ready to be tacked to their hard plastic mounts.

Of the $1.7 million projected for this year, about $1 million of it comes from Geiger. The world-renowned maker of promotional products has contracted with Faithworks since 1998 to do its hand-finishing work. It’s been a win-win situation for both. Peter Geiger, executive vice president of the company, wrote Rubin a letter in May saying Faithworks makes it possible for Geiger to stay competitive.

Keeping jobs here

“We compete with countless Asian manufacturers. … During the past several years, Faithworks has been our business partner allowing us to concentrate on the more complex parts of manufacturing, but it is your people doing the hand labor that makes it possible,” he wrote. “Without Faithworks, we might become an importer of product rather than the largest manufacturer of planners in the United States. The competition is fierce, and having Faithworks allows us to keep quality jobs in the United States, in Maine and in Lewiston.”

Rubin and Conway said it was gratifying to receive the letter, testimony that their company provides a needed service for local businesses at the same time it provides employment for people who have a tough time holding a job elsewhere.

Since its founding, Faithworks has offered jobs to people based on the employee’s ability and desire to work. Since they are paid by the piece, they can work as often and as long as they want.

Base pay is $8 per hour, but the typical employee earns closer to $11 per hour, said Rubin. About 175 checks are issued each week, and Rubin takes about 20 applications a week from others who want to work there.

For people dealing with issues such as alcoholism, substance abuse, lack of child care, prison records and other barriers to conventional employment, Faithworks gives them an opportunity to earn a paycheck while they work on improving their lives. Careerworks is the third leg of the Faithworks program, which acts as a concierge of services, helping people get assistance in food, housing, education, health care or whatever else they need.

This spring, the innovative combination of commerce and care earned Faithworks the Eagle Feather Award from the Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility.