PA Insulating Glass: A Lost Job Leads Entrepreneur into a Successful New Business
PA Insulating Glass provides energy-efficient insulating glass units to window and door OEM manufacturers in central Pennsylvania.
When the glass fabrication plant where he worked closed, plant manager Tim Wilkins faced a turning point in his life. Rather than change careers or relocate, Wilkins decided on a much more difficult but far more satisfying direction. He spread his entrepreneurial wings and started his own company. And in just three short years, Wilkins built a business that will eclipse $2 million in sales this year and has saved more than a dozen Pennsylvania jobs in the process.
Wilkins, owner of PA Insulating Glass, had been a manager at Guardian glass manufacturing in Lewistown, PA. When Guardian shuttered its Pennsylvania operation in 2002, for a short time he endured a brutal commute-and a lot of time away from his family-managing the Guardian’s Toronto plant.
“I knew I didn’t want to leave central PA, where we had planted our roots,” says Wilkins. “But I needed a way to make a living. I knew glass, I knew the market, I knew the regional customer base. And I knew other former Guardian employees who wanted to stick around locally.” What he needed, he says, was business assistance and funding to supplement his own investment. And he got both through the Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP).
Growing Revenue, Creating Jobs
PA Insulating Glass provides energy-efficient insulating glass units to window and door OEM manufacturers in central Pennsylvania. The company builds all its specialty insulated and laminated glass in Lewistown, including argon and krypton filled units. Today the company employs 18 people.
“BFTP’s support was critical in the startup and success of PA Insulating Glass. Without their funding and business support services, our company could not have acquired the additional resources we needed-much less at this pace,” Wilkins says. “And we could not have provided as many new jobs in Mifflin County.”
With stricter building codes and Energy Star standards creating new demand for energy efficiency, the company was able to complete a $1.2 million expansion in 2008 that enabled it to add laminated glass to its manufacturing arsenal.
“We believed in what Tim was trying to do-spread his entrepreneurial wings, capitalize on his expertise and create jobs in Lewistown-so we put our capital and expertise to work,” says Steve McGregor, the BFTP project manager who worked closely with PA Insulating Glass during the company’s most fragile early years. “At BFTP, we’ve seen this scene play out dozens of times. During downturns in the economy, promising new companies always spring up, adding positive momentum to the economic cycle.”
Building Strength for the Future
BFTP funded PA Insulating Glass three times-in 2005, 2006 and 2007-for a total of $270,000. But funding was just one facet of the assistance the company received. BFTP’s Transformation Business Services Team provided the company with seasoned expertise in marketing, management and accounting. “Even today,” says Wilkins, “the Transformations Team supports us, particularly with market research and pro forma financial analysis. We used this information to justify our expansion, which is creating even more jobs in the area.”
Even though the company’s customer base is tied to building and construction, which has been hit hard during this recession, Wilkins says, “We’ve been able to hold our own and even grow a bit by being lean and having a relentless focus on quality and customer service. We are positioning and strengthening ourselves for when the housing market does come back.”
Tim sees additional expansion on the horizon. A small second shift has been added, despite the tough market conditions. “There is a natural, growing market for our products,” he says. “I see us adding a third shift in the near future.”
Tags: energy efficiency, energy technology, manufacturing technology, filed under Central & Northern PA, News 