HUNTINGTON -- A good example of the community coming together to create a successful business can be found in Star Technologies.
The business, which now has 18 employees and is located in the 2400 block of 4th Avenue, manufactures precision clamping devices, brackets and metal stampings used in the transportation industry -- aerospace, passenger buses, railcars and luxury yachts -- as well as for heating and cooling systems.
Co-founded in 1994, the business germinated when a group of local investors and some former employees of Adel Fasteners decided to come together to keep jobs in Huntington. A California-based company had bought Adel Fasteners, located on Huntington's West end, and moved their jobs to the West coast.
At that time, about 20 local investors teamed up and put $800,000 into starting a competing company here in town.
"When we founded the company, it was (a limited liability corporation) and we decided that when we reached a certain profitability, we'd relinquish 25 percent of ownership to the (former) Adel employees," said Rick Houvouras, managing partner of Star Technologies. He was in the Legislature and helping run Huntington Plating at the time the LLC was formed. He dropped out of politics, though he still has a hand in Huntington Plating with his brother.
The former Adel employees had the key elements, he said. They "have the skills -- purchasing, quality control, tool- and dye-making, production expertise and engineers."
The transition was "an answer to a prayer," said Gary Smith, tool and dye manager for Star and a former machine shop foreman for Adel.
"I had been there 26 years. I was 40-some years old. I had made my nest," Smith said. "I went to California for six months to train them to do my job. At the end of the six months, one of the (investors for Star) called and asked me if I wanted to be in on this."
At the time, there were six working employees, Houvouras said.
There now are eight working partners, among the 18 working employees. And there are 14 non-working partners.
The 10 workers in production last year made 5 million parts, Houvouras said. They're exported to countries like Australia, Malaysia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada.
"We have no clients in West Virginia," Houvouras said. Their clients include worldwide companies such as General Electric Aircraft Engines and Volvo, among many others.
"We work with very large corporations, and they are very demanding about quality," Houvouras said.
"Since we started, the state of West Virginia and the (Robert C. Byrd Institute) have been partners of ours. There's a very positive relationship between the state and the university."
The state has helped by providing low-interest loans and workforce training grants. And the company would not have been able to reach its quality standards without the help of the Byrd Institute, which has not only allowed Star Technologies to use some machines that it wouldn't otherwise have access to, but provided training for employees to help them use the latest technology.
It's recently helped the business attain a new environmental certification that primes Star Technologies to enter new markets. It's one of the first companies in the Tri-State area to achieve the 14001 environmental standard, Houvouras said.
That will enable the manufacturer to look to lucrative new markets in the aerospace and transportation sectors. It also will help ensure that the skilled workers continue producing quality products for both military and commercial markets, according to a press release from RCBI.
"The RCBI has really been a shot in the arm for us, and I know other companies in the area that have used them and benefited," Smith said.
Charlotte Weber, RCBI's director and CEO, said in the release that it's the institute's goal to ensure that West Virginia manufacturers have the expertise and support they need to maximize their effectiveness as suppliers in the global community, to maintain or expand their market base and, ultimately, to grow their businesses.
"We recognize their ability to produce quality products and succeed when given the opportunity," Weber said in the release. "By having access to assistance in implementing and relying on essential management practices, our state's manufacturers can expect increased contracting opportunities and continued success while meeting their customers' requirements."
RCBI regularly assists manufacturers meet quality and environmental standards to become or remain effective suppliers. For assistance with quality management systems or standards, contact Erica Cheetham at (304) 781-1687 or 800-469-RCBI (7224) or e-mail mfg@rcbi.org.
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