In a time when many businesses are scaling back, laying off workers and downsizing, C.F. Martin & Co., the country's leading acoustic guitar manufacturer, opened the doors to a new distribution center in Easton, proving that business is thriving locally, nationally and globally.

Kathy Hartzell, logistics manager at the center, was one of the tour guides this week, giving guests a glimpse of what goes on inside the approximately 22,000-square-foot building, which is located just 15 minutes from its Nazareth headquarters.Hartzell explained that Martin guitars are shipped to over 30 countries in the world and last year, seven million sets of strings were sent out.The building itself was built in 2001 as a cigar distribution center. C.F. Martin & Co. purchased the building last year and refurbished it to fit its needs."It meets our needs of providing quality assurance, reaching out to the community, meeting environmental concerns and security," Hartzell said.Twenty full-time employees work at the distribution center from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. All of the merchandise is stored and shipped from this one location.The building can hold 15,000 Martin guitars, which are manufactured a few miles away, as well as 2.8 million sets of guitar strings. The site can also hold 1,700 small items, including t-shirts, sweatshirts and other fan gear.The building also includes offices and an employee break room. A floor to ceiling photograph from the early 1900s of Chris Martin's grandfather, pictured with his employees, is also displayed.Inside the distribution center is the 8,000-square-foot humidor room where new guitars are stacked on shelves for shipping. Here, they rest in their cases in the temperature and humidity-controlled environment of 73 degrees and 43 percent humidity. A customized fork lift allows employees to easily maneuver the guitars to the highest shelves to maximize space.After the guitars are brought to the distribution center and stored for a few days, the tension on the strings is rechecked during a final inspection.Hartzell explained that Martin engineers even designed the carts that are used to carry the guitars. The carts, which can carry 18 guitars, roll from the factory to the distribution center, and directly to a van for transport.Bar codes are located on each case to allow quick scanning of merchandise."Each guitar is inventoried and we know where it is at all times," Hatzell said. "Our inventory is low right now. We have had good sales, actually record sales, this year.""We're lucky that the Famous Smokeshop outgrew this building," said Hartzell, noting that the cigar distribution center moved a few miles away. "This building has a lot more storage."Hartzell said it's a big advantage to combine operations from three former locations under one roof."With the humidor, this was a marriage made in heaven," she said.