Stahls' Hotronix shouldn't be blamed if Jaromir Jagr's number is seen on a Washington Capitals jersey, although chances are the local company had a lot to do with it.
The German Township-based firm prepared thousands of new jerseys for fans when the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jagr to the Washington D.C. NHL franchise last season. Imprinting numbers, logos and designs on garments — known as "decorating" in the business — has enabled Stahls' Hotronix to expand beyond its roots making hot presses, and placed it in a position to nearly double its employment to about 218 workers within the next six months. Stahls' is also in the process of moving into a second location across the Monongahela River near Carmichaels, Greene County.
Trades of sports stars are good for Stahls' Hotronix business, according to its president, Richard Ellsworth. "Those are the kind of jobs that come in here and we can turn them very quickly and get them quickly to the markets," he said.
The Hotronix end of the business is the leader in manufacturing the hot presses that apply thermal transfer material to blank garments. While thermal transfers are one of the three main methods used to decorate shirts — the other two are sewing/embroidery and screen printing — Ellsworth said the Stahls' Hotronix decorating business doesn't compete with its hot press customers, most of whom do local imprinting.
All of Stahl's decorating is contract work for such companies as Nike and Reebok, who hold licenses to make major league sports garments. Stahls' Hotronix holds the garments in inventory and imprints them as needed. Ellsworth said the company is set up to imprint amounts ranging from a single shirt to thousands of garments. Many of the orders are referred directly to the local company by way of customers' e-commerce sites on the Web.
Most of the artwork for the garments comes from customers, but "it's just art," Ellsworth said. Stahls' Hotronix also does some of its own designs and the company has a team of artists.
Kari Homistek, a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh who came to Stahls' Hotronix three months ago, said she was happy to work near her hometown of Republic, especially since it's difficult to find a job as an artist in Pittsburgh.
While it doesn't do much screen printing, Stahls' Hotronix does do sewing and embroidery, in addition to its hot-press work. The sight of such veteran seamstresses in a row as Midge Gibson and Faye Paull, working on traditional sewing machines, is counter-balanced by a huge automated embroidery machine bristling with spools of yarn of many colors.
Ellsworth pointed out that the patented embroidery machine is computer controlled, and computers play an important part in the workflow throughout the facility, starting with the cut of the cloth.
Although there are tailor's scissors laying here and there for the rough cuts, most of the fine cuts of cloth and other materials are done with computer controlled precision. Depending on the application, Stahls' Hotronix has machines that cut with blades, with lasers and with water.
Ellsworth said concentrated water jets can cut through several layers and the process avoids the heat generated by lasers that can be a problem with adhesive materials. He said the auto industry uses the same technology to cut out such components as dashboards.
Brianne Fronczek, 22, of Masontown operates the machine that cuts through the material with the water jet. "It's a really fun," she said.
All the cutting machines have a computer display that shows a jumble of numbers. The art department digitizes these numbers and places them in the most efficient pattern to cut down on wasted material. When possible, the artist positions smaller-sized numbers in the open center of larger numbers, like the baker who makes doughnut holes from leftover dough.
Stahls' Hotronix had its beginning at the Connellsville Incubator in 1988, and moved to its current site near Masontown in the mid-1990s when the growing company ran out of space at the incubator. The local company's parent firm in St. Clair Shores, Mich., founded in 1932 by A.C. Stahl, operates a number of graphic-related businesses. The corporation is owned by brothers Ted and Brian Stahl.
Ellsworth said customers suggested the company explore the new business because there was a need for more decorators. Since Stahls' makes both the materials and equipment for decorating, the local company was in a good position for the market, according to Ellsworth. The split between the hot-press manufacturing and decorating sides of the business is about 50-50, Ellsworth estimated. But "contract decorating is the fastest growing," he said, noting that there are always "new players and new teams."
As the decorating business expanded, Stahls' Hotronix ran out of space. "Both areas have grown to the point that we can't fit them in the same building," Ellsworth said
He said the company didn't have the space to expand at the German township location and that other locations were also considered, but the company wanted to stay put. He is a Fairchance native and virtually the entire Stahls' Hotronix workforce comes from the area.
Stahls' Hotronix received help in the $1.7 million move of its hot press manufacturing, to Paisley industrial park near Carmichaels, with a $100,000 state grant and $105,000 in job creation tax credits. The Greene County facility is also located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone that offers additional tax benefits.
Ellsworth lauded the state, the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, and the Greene County Industrial Development Authority. He said, "they were very aggressive," in helping the company to grow.
Stahls' Hotronix is also working with CareerLink to attract employees and hiring has already started in earnest. From 113 employees last year, the company has grown to 150 workers, and more will be hired over the next three to six months.
"We are always looking for manual sewers," Ellsworth said, but he emphasized that the company also needs artists, machine operators, and those with other skills.
He said any type of computer experience and understanding of software would be helpful. The most important attribute, however, is a good work ethic, according to Ellsworth. The pay at Stahls' Hotronix is in the $8 to $12 per-hour range. In addition to benefits and bonuses, workers can also stay close to the sports scene.
"I think this is a great opportunity, especially in Fayette County," said John Evans, employment supervisor for the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc., and a CareerLink team member. He noted that not many companies in the county are expanding. He said employee morale seems good and Stahls' Hotronix is a place workers can advance,
Job applicants can go in person to the Stahls' Hotronix headquarters on Route 21, or to the CareerLink office on Iowa Street in Uniontown.
