NORWICH – From the desk in his newly-outfitted second floor office at Mang Insurance’s 66 South Broad St. location, Rick Mirabito has a bird’s eye view of downtown Norwich. His attention, however, is focused on a map hanging on the other side of the room, on which each of Mang’s 21 locations in New York and Vermont are marked with red pins.
Mirabito is eager to add even more markers to the map as the full-service independent insurance agency, now a wholly owned subsidiary of NBT Bancorp, expands its operation. That growth strategy is why the insurance executive has a new office. Earlier this month, the agency relocated its headquarters from Binghamton to Norwich.
“We’re excited to be in Norwich again,” said Mirabito. Fifteen jobs will be transferred to Chenango County as a result of the move, six of which will be housed in the South Broad Street location. The remainder will work out of NBT’s Hamilton House facility.
According to Mirabito, the decision to relocate the headquarters was made approximately four months ago after several months of deliberation.
“We looked at what would strategically make the most sense,” he explained.
What is that strategy? According to NBT President and CEO Martin Dietrich, it is all about growth.
“Our strategy here is to grow the Mang franchise both organically ... and also through acquisitions,” he reported.
According to Mirabito, Mang will benefit from both the closer proximity to NBT’s corporate headquarters, as well as from the centralization of its own operation. Utilizing the bank holding company’s resources and branch system, and gearing its own more specifically to growing the business, will enable the agency “to grow faster and more effectively,” Mirabito said.
Access to the “great labor market here in Norwich,” which will help support the organization’s “future growth aspirations,” is another benefit of their relocation, according to Dietrich.
Mang has already seen growth since it was acquired by NBT just over a year ago. In January of this year, the group had 105 employees serving customers out of 17 offices across New York. Today they have 126 employees operating out of 21 offices, including their newest branch in Burlington, Vermont.
“We plan on extending our footprint into areas ... where NBT already has a presence as the opportunity arises,” reported Mirabito.
According to both he and Dietrich, the relationship between the organizations will be a symbiotic one.
“Our goal is to provide the services Mang can offer ... throughout the system,” the banking executive said.