LEWISTON – If employees at Falcon Footwear were wondering whether the news would be good or bad at Wednesday’s company cookout, the lobster rolls and bacon-wrapped scallops were a good tip-off.

General Manager Roland Landry announced that a new ownership team and a new contract would ensure work for the 74-member staff over the next five years. And that the workers would be sharing the largest employee bonus in the company history.

“They should be getting the money next week,” said a jubilant Landry, who has worked at the footwear factory for 30 years. With the new partnership announced Wednesday, he becomes a part-owner.

The bonus comes from Falcon’s previous owner, Hi-Tec Magnum, a maker of industrial footwear that bought Falcon three years ago. But Hi-Tec notified Falcon last year that it would be closing the Continental Mill facility and gave its two local managers – Landry and Neil Hanley – a promise to pay them up to $100,000 if they met certain performance goals by the year’s end.

“But we said ‘no’ unless it was shared with the employees,” Landry said.

He got his way. Together they reduced the raw goods inventory and recouped as much money for Hi-Tec as they could by selling old machinery and turning some of the unfinished footwear into finished goods.

At the same time, Falcon was streamlining its operation to produce specialty firefighter boots for Globe Fire Suits in Pittsfield, N.H. The contract was for just one year, to coincide with Falcon’s expected demise. But the owners of Globe were impressed enough with the quality the boots and Falcon’s timely production to buy into the company.

Wednesday the relationship was formalized and announced to the employees. Globe becomes a minority partner with Landry and Hanley along with Carl Spang on Oct. 1.

“This is just such great news,” Landry said. Last year the footwear maker recorded about $4 million in sales; this year it expects to double that to $8 million.

He said the employees of Falcon deserve all the credit, responding to increased production goals with tenacity. Through the year, employees increased production of Globe boots from 30 pairs per day to 120 pairs per day.

They were guided by management that decided to stop chasing the little contracts that had been the bread and butter of the company for the past few years and focus instead on just the fire boots.

“One-and-a-half years ago, we were making 300 styles of footwear,” said Landry. “Now we make three. And we’ve shown a profit every month.”

All three are Globe fire boots, modified for fighting fires, investigating chemical situations and responding to medical emergencies.

By reducing the number of items it makes, Falcon has been able to streamline its production. Landry said one line is permanently set up for the master boot – the firefighting boot that has been the company’s salvation – and two other lines set up for other Globe footwear. Previously, production lines and machinery changed day to day to accommodate whatever boot or shoe was being made at the time – a wholly inefficient system.

“We’ve been able to improve our efficiency overall by 80 percent,” Landry said. Two more fire boot styles are already planned for Falcon, which is now the exclusive manufacturer of Globe boots. Falcon should be in business for a long time, Landry said.

The 70-plus employees who heard the news Wednesday clapped and whooped with approval. Landry said they won’t lose any benefits or other compensation with the new ownership. He said it was especially sweet that the company’s founders – Ted Johanson and Bruce Hanley – were on hand for the announcements, as well as Globe owners Rob and Gef Freese.

“It was a real celebration,” Landry said.