Kate Wheeley McCabe says she and her husband Justin’s business, Vermont Evaporator Company, was born out of a simple idea.

“My husband and I wanted to make maple syrup and, you know, hit the internet looking for the right product for us. We didn’t have the time or money to make a sugar house, and yet our first experiment with doing it in a lobster pot on the grill was pretty frustrating,” said Wheeley McCabe.

Using his engineering background, Justin invented and designed the first prototype in their garage.

“From there I just kept trying to improve them and make them. And they continue to evolve and improve. This year’s model is dramatically different from last year’s,” said McCabe.

Now in its third sugaring season, the company has outgrown the garage; it moved into a new factory in Montpelier last year. The community celebrated the factory’s expansion Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Sen. Patrick Leahy.

While it’s a family owned company, the McCabe’s got a lot of help from their community.

“We do have investors from all over Vermont. We did a Milk Money Vermont campaign and raised about $30,000 from about 45 Vermonters,” said Wheeley McCabe.

The company has sold to about 200 families so far, and not just in Vermont. Evaporators have been sold in about several different states across the country, plus Canada.

Two different kind of sap evaporators are made at the factory.

To find out more about the products, click here.