Liz Geisleman is CEO of Rocky Mountain Reagents Inc. (RMR), a laboratory chemical company that deals in high-grade chemicals for industries such as wastewater testing, analytical laboratories, circuit boards, mining, semiconductors, botanical extraction and medical and veterinary histology. It is also an OEM that handles repacking, branded labels and full product development.
RMR started in a basement in 1951 to provide chemistry to the hospital laboratories in the downtown region. Geisleman’s mother, Phyllis Sordelet, was the company’s only full-time employee in 1988, when she purchased the company with a small investment. Geisleman was recruited to the family business as the second full-time employee in 1998, when the business was in a 2.5-squarefoot facility doing less than $1 million in annual sales.
“The turning point for us was a couple of custom manufacturing and procurement opportunities that launched us out of micro status,” Geisleman said. “From that time, we had double-digit growth year after year, with record-setting years in 2002 at 59%, 2005 at 33%, and 2008 at 44% increased sales. In 2008, we built our new building in Golden and moved into a 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility giving us even more capabilities.”
The company launched a botanical extraction line of products that increased sales by 55%. Today, the business has 28 employees. In the last two years, the company expanded its facility by another 26,000 square feet, added automated equipment and acquired another company to set up for further expansion. During the next five years, the company will focus on expansion and new business prospects while maintaining the culture and positivity of a small operation, Geisleman said.
“My mom and I decided from the beginning that company culture and inclusiveness was going to be our backbone of this company,” Geisleman said. “That vision has carried us through good and bad times with a staff of loyal, dedicated people that continue to support each other and the company as a whole.”
RMR has been honored as a Top 100 Woman-Owned Business and Top 200 Privately Owned Company by ColoradoBiz Magazine for more than a decade. It was named a Colorado Company to Watch (2013), a Top 50 Family Owned Company (2021) and Woman/Minority-Owned Business of the Year (2018).
Geisleman was honored as Volunteer of the Year (2013) by the Colorado Democrats, and she received Democrat of the Year (2015) and the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) from the Jefferson County Democrats. She recently received the Presidential Legacy Award from the West Metro Chamber for her service to the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, West Metro Chamber and West Metro Leadership Foundation.
