From Alcon to Zim’s, a list of companies right in our backyard that make products used both regionally and around the world.
By Megan Archer, James E. Casto, Michael Friel, Lalena Price, Katherine Pyles and Carter Seaton
HQ 124 | WINTER 2024
Born in 1871, the City of Huntington drew residents eager to put down roots in the new town. Many came because they believed Huntington was destined to become a great manufacturing center. That indeed happened. As it grew, the city attracted manufacturers that produced an array of products, including rail cars, steel, glass, china, bricks, stoves, furniture and even church pews. The city boomed, but the good times came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the Great Depression. It took World War II to put Huntington back to work. The city’s factories shifted to war production, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With the war’s end, the 1950s proved to be a decade of remarkable growth for Huntington — the city’s zenith, some would argue. But the decades following saw Huntington badly buffeted by the winds of economic change, forcing many longtime factories to close. The lost jobs were reflected in a dramatic population decline. Huntington lost nearly 35,000 residents from 1950 to 2000, leaving a population of 51,475. Nevertheless, Huntington is a resilient city that still makes things from A to Z — Alcon to Zim’s Bagging. So, check them out. Each has a unique success story.
Alcon
A division of health care giant Novartis, Alcon is a global manufacturer of eye care products. Every year in Huntington it makes millions of artificial intraocular lenses that are used to replace an eye’s natural lens after cataract surgery. The company known today as Alcon came to West Virginia in 1978 when Dr. Jim Cook and Dr. Larry Dunworth, two Huntington ophthalmologists, bought the California Intraocular Lens Co. (CILCO) and moved it to their hometown. CILCO became hugely successful and when Cook and Dunworth eventually sold the company they both amassed substantial fortunes. They used much of their wealth to give back to Huntington, investing in local businesses that were struggling. CILCO went through a number of ownership changes until 1989 when Alcon acquired it. Over the years, Alcon’s growth in Huntington has been a steady process and today it employs 500 people. The company has long operated two separate plants on West Virginia Route 2, but in late 2023 it announced a $70 million expansion that will consolidate the two facilities.
American Producers Supply
American Producers Supply serves a wide variety of industries from river and rail transporters to chemical and construction companies. The firm was founded in 1898 in Marietta, Ohio, to service the oil production and hardware needs of the valley at that time. Through the years, other companies became part of American Producers Supply, broadening the organization’s scope to include the chemical and transportation industries, steel mills and production facilities. In 2010, the company opened its Huntington location which builds new rigging systems. “Rigging is anything that a factory or production facility would use to pick equipment up and set it down using wire rope and chain,” explained Chreed Evans, Huntington’s branch manager. American Producers Supply’s wire slings and chain slings are used on cranes in heavy industries, like steel mills and railroads. For instance, if a railroad needed to repair a locomotive engine, one of American Producers Supply’s wire slings would be attached to a crane to pick up the part, move it for repair and return it to the locomotive body. It sounds simple, but Evans said a lot of mathematical and angle/weight calculations go into it. The Huntington branch started with four employees and has grown to 16, plus four outside sales associates. American Producers Supply’s customers stretch from the Ohio Valley to California and include all the railroad shops and local steel mills.
Austin’s Homemade Ice Cream
Austin’s Homemade Ice Cream opened in Ceredo in 1947, and in 1983 it was purchased by a former banker named Joyce Snyder. Starting with just 13 flavors, Snyder soon began making her own. Her creativity transformed Austin’s into a shop bursting with over a hundred delicious options. She made all the ice cream by hand until, at age 80, she passed the torch to her daughter, son and grandchildren. Current owners Kim Adkins, Kevin Snyder, Tim Ruff and Taylor Strickland opened the shop’s second location at The Market in 2018. Using all-natural flavorings and always experimenting with new recipes, the Austin’s team whips up hundreds of flavors today, although only about 40 are available at any given time — from standards like mint chocolate chip and rocky road to seasonal offerings like piña colada and pumpkin pie. The grape pineapple ice cream has fans all over the country. “People tell us that they can’t find anything like our ice cream anywhere else,” Snyder said. Luckily for those of us in the Tri-State, we don’t have to look anywhere else.
Blenko Glass
Founded by William J. Blenko in 1893, this mostly family-owned and -operated company has been making and selling handblown glass at its Milton location since 1921. Through the years, well-known artists have created the iconic designs that have made Blenko so highly collectible. Perhaps Blenko’s most recognizable shape is the rectangular, double-spouted 384 Water Bottle, which was introduced in 1938. Now offered in a wide variety of colors, it graces tables across the country. The company also sells handblown vases and bowls, glassware and barware, gardenware, ornaments and suncatchers — and more. Blenko Glass is sold in gift shops throughout the U.S. and at the Milton factory’s visitor center. Since 1980, Blenko has produced a limited-edition piece to commemorate West Virginia’s birthday on June 20; the quantity produced each year coincides with the age of the state. For years, these pieces have been fiercely fought over and highly sought after. Today the pieces are sold online and are snatched up in mere minutes. For more information about the company or to schedule a guided tour, go to www.blenko.com.
Blue Ink Technology
Unless you are a truck driver or own a trucking company, you’ve probably never heard of this company — but you’ve likely shared the road with its products. Founded by brothers Chris, Mike and Ryan Riegel in 2016 and located in downtown Huntington, Blue Ink Technology produces, sells and services a variety of products designed to make the transportation of goods safer and more efficient. The trucking industry is regulated by a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Blue Ink Technology offers services that make following DOT rules easier. The BIT Air Scale, a Bluetooth truck scale, sends 99% accurate weights directly to truck drivers’ phones so that drivers and fleet administrators will know the weight of their loads before reaching weigh stations. The BIT Dashcam connects an entire fleet to the cloud via the internet. All long-distance drivers are required to keep records of their mileage and fuel usage, and the BIT ELD is an electronic logbook that makes record-keeping easier.
DARCO
When Dr. H. Darrel Darby, a practicing podiatrist in Huntington, grew frustrated with the design and performance of the wooden sole post-operative shoes that dominated the market in the 1980s, he vowed to challenge the status quo set by the manufacturers of the time. He began experimenting with incorporating running shoe technology into post-op shoe design, drawing his first ideas on the back of a napkin. He turned his sketch into reality when he developed the MedSurg Shoe, the world’s first post-op shoe with a semi-rigid sole designed for greater patient comfort and faster healing. This innovation prompted him to found DARCO International in 1985. Headquartered in Huntington, the company has evolved into a global enterprise with offices and employees in the United States, Germany, England, India and China.
DC America
In 2022, DC America began building customizable platform-based electric vehicle (EV) charging stations supporting America’s transition to clean energy vehicles. The relatively new company was founded by the ownership teams of Dixon Electrical Systems and Cenergy LLC who have a combined 38 years of experience designing, manufacturing and constructing equipment for energy businesses. An original equipment manufacturer of engineered steel platforms, DC America’s patent-pending, prewired modular platforms are specifically engineered for rapid deployment, future upgrades and expansion. The company’s EV charging depots serve commercial, government, fleet and charge point operator customers. In addition, the depots are designed, built and commissioned in West Virginia by a team of EVITP-certified electricians. DC America streamlines the construction of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) so installation takes only days, not weeks. DC America’s charging depots are delivered ready to charge anywhere in North America.
Engines Inc.
For more than 40 years, Engines Inc. has been churning out high-quality, American-made products at its manufacturing facilities in Huntington, Milton and South Point, Ohio. Despite its name, the company does not produce engines. President Carl Grover is a machinist by trade, and the name of his company is an homage to that occupation and his longtime passion for making engine parts for auto racing. Engines Inc. primarily manufactures rail car components and major sub-assemblies, though the company provides custom machining and fabrication for a wide range of customers. “Every year, we look for new things to do and new products to make,” Grover said. “We look for things that nobody else does.” This includes tackling some unconventional projects. For example, over the years, Engines Inc. has manufactured scaffolding used during renovations of the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument — as well as the scaffolding required to paint a mural on the ceiling of New York City’s Grand Central Station.
Heiner’s Bakery
In 1905, Charles W. Heiner and his wife Kate began baking bread, first in their Central City hotel room, then in a little house where they worked downstairs and lived upstairs. At first, Heiner simply walked the neighborhood, selling bread from a basket he carried over his arm. Later, a horse-drawn delivery wagon was put in service. Over the years the tiny bakery evolved into a big business with a sprawling block-long plant, hundreds of employees and dozens of delivery trucks. Heiner’s Bakery was owned by the Heiner family until it was acquired by the Earthgrains division of Anheuser-Busch in 1994. Seven months later, A-B spun off its bread business as the stand-alone Earthgrains Company. In 2000, Earthgrains merged with the Sara Lee Corp., and in 2011 Sara Lee sold its bread business to the worldwide Grupo Bimbo, based in Mexico City. But at Huntington-area supermarkets, Heiner’s bread is still king.
Hercules International
Hercules International Inc. is a manufacturer of upset and press forgings and CNC precision-machined parts for the automotive market, specifically Class 6, 7 and 8 trucks. The company offers an industry-leading line of truck and trailer brake cams, which are a life-critical component of all truck brake systems. Headquartered on Route 2, Hercules has the capacity to manufacture nearly 1 million brake cams per year, all built to stringent OEM (original equipment manufacturer) standards. The Hercules production line adheres to a highly detailed control plan, which uses statistical process control (SPC) in the production of every part. Products are also tested for surface hardness, case depth, cord hardness and other metallurgical analyses. During the past year, Hercules has expanded its product lines to include more brake components and accessories.
Huntington Steel
Huntington Boiler Works was started in 1904, a time when virtually every building of any size had a boiler. In its early years, the company was kept busy building and repairing boilers. Later it began building steel storage tanks. Eventually, Huntington Boiler Works evolved into the steel distribution and fabrication company now known as Huntington Steel & Supply Co. Originally, the family-owned firm was located on the Ohio River bank at the foot of 10th Street. After the disastrous 1937 flood, it moved to its current location at the corner of Third Avenue and First Street, where it has a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing complex staffed by 80 shop and office employees. The 120-year-old company takes pride in having supplied structural steel for a long list of construction projects at Marshall University, Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center and other buildings in the region. The company also specializes in safety platforms and safety barricades used on flatbed trucks and trailers. Its products provide unparalleled fall protection and enhance workplace safety.
Imperial Bedding
Although the high quality of Imperial sleep products is widely recognized, few people realize they are made right here in Huntington, at the company’s plant at Seventh Avenue and 11th Street. The Imperial Bedding Company has been family owned and operated since 1969 when it was established by the Rowe family. Its 150,000-square-foot plant is capable of producing as many as 1,000 mattresses a day. The plant’s 80 employees utilize the latest, most state-of-the-art equipment, combining it with the craftsman-like skill of hand assembly. Using only American-made components, the company offers a full line of mattresses, selling them through retail dealers in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina. Imperial mattresses can be found in a number of luxury hotels and resorts, including The Greenbrier.
J.H. Fletcher
Located at 402 High St. in Huntington, J.H. Fletcher & Co. is a world leader in the design and manufacturing of roof drills, bolters, scaling machines, drill jumbos and other specialty equipment designed to improve safety and productivity in underground mines. The company has been engineering and manufacturing mining solutions since 1937. Fletcher roof bolters — which maneuver through narrow mines to secure roofs and walls, preventing rock falls and cave-ins — are world renowned. They’re accompanied by an entire product line of technological machinery focused on worker safety and productivity in underground mining. In 2016 the company launched the Fletcher Engineered Solutions Division to expand its reach beyond the mining industry. The new division has been working on projects in the steel mill, naval ship repair, abrasive grit blasting, demolition, construction, robotic and material handling industries.
La Famiglia
Many Tri-State residents are familiar with the delicious pastas and pizzas served up by La Famiglia, but they may not realize all that this local Italian eatery has to offer. Owned and operated by Ralph Hagy and his sons Joseph and Jordan, La Famiglia offers a range of products inspired by “Cucina Calabrese,” fresh food from Calabria in the south of Italy. The result of this inspiration? Pure culinary heaven. One example is La Famiglia’s bottled homemade white balsamic vinaigrette, a recipe passed down from Hagy’s mother, Mama Vincenza. La Famiglia also manufactures a signature sweet and spicy hot sauce, made with imported balsamic vinegar and Tutto Calabria peppers. For those who like it extra-hot, a brand-new sauce will be released this year called “Lupara,” which has twice the spice and double the heat of the original version. All products can be found locally at The Wild Ramp, The Red Caboose and Tamarack, and as far away as Louisville, Kentucky. Even better, many of the restaurant’s Italian import offerings are available on Amazon.
Level 1 Fasteners
In 1993, Jack Bourdelais breathed new life into one of Huntington’s most storied industrial sites when he moved California-based Level 1 Fasteners to West Virginia. Bourdelais chose the former Owens-Illinois Glass Company site on the city’s Southside, which closed in the early 1990s after 75 years of operations, idling 600 workers. Bourdelais wanted to be in closer proximity to many of his major customers, which include shipbuilding and other defense-related industries. Level 1 manufactures fasteners (think nuts, bolts, screws and the like) for the U.S. Navy and subcontractors such as General Dynamics and Newport News Shipbuilding. But these are not just any fasteners. They are Level 1-certified specialty fasteners, which means they meet the stringent standards required of defense, aerospace and other contractors. Hence, the name. Workers at the sprawling 250,000-square-foot manufacturing operation use computer-controlled technology to turn out critical parts from a variety of metals such as stainless steel, Monel (a nickel and copper alloy) and titanium, including parts for two of the U.S. military’s newest, largest and most advanced aircraft carriers: the nuclear-powered USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS John F. Kennedy.
Okuno International
Japanese manufacturer Okuno International chose Prichard, West Virginia, as the site of its first North American operation back in June 1999 because of its relative proximity to major customers in Georgia, Indiana and South Carolina. In addition, the Prichard Industrial Park offered a suitable shell building for manufacturing, and the Tri-State provided a readily available workforce. According to Maria O’Reilly, general manager of the West Virginia location, the beautiful landscape of the area also influenced the decision. Today, Okuno International’s 44 employees in West Virginia design, manufacture, sell and service hydraulic cylinders for forklifts, agricultural equipment and other industrial and heavy equipment. Okuno’s main customers include Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, Komatsu America Corp. and Kubota Manufacturing of America. Annual sales topped $15 million in 2023. The 50,000-square-foot operation leverages more than 50 computer-controlled machines, automated welders and a conveyorized painting operation to manufacture hydraulic cylinders in Wayne County.
Paris Signs
Over its 30-plus years in business, Paris Signs has grown from a one-man operation to one of West Virginia’s largest sign manufacturers. Tony Wheeler started the company in 1991 inside his small apartment, making signs by hand. Three decades of success later, Paris Signs boasts multiple websites, a patented system, large-scale printers, high-tech metal fabrication and paint equipment, computer-aided design, a crane, boom trucks and a crew of 25 talented experts working in a 14,000-square-foot shop. “Our success is based on our people,” said Wheeler, who owns and runs the company with his wife Heather Wheeler. “We have really fantastic people. They are the backbone of what we do.” Those people include artists, engineers, designers, machinists, salespeople, painters, welders, installers and product managers, as well as licensed crane operators and electricians. In 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration named Tony and Heather Wheeler the West Virginia Small Business Persons of the Year.
Richwood Industries
Richwood works with industry leaders worldwide who need conveyor belt tracking and solutions, from companies moving diamonds in Canada to the mines of Chile in South America. Founded by the late Richard Stoll, Richwood has manufactured world-class material handling products and services since 1976. The company continues to outgrow its manufacturing space and has expanded to four locations across Huntington, with more growth on the horizon under CEO Judd Roseberry. What started as a family-owned business has grown to more than 250 employees across the U.S. — with about 180 of those workers in our Tri-State area — and representation around the world. It is the only company of its kind on the East Coast, with its closest competitors in Illinois. At Richwood, products are engineered according to their application. Nothing is off-the-shelf; everything is custom. But that’s not all that makes Richwood a hidden gem of Huntington — it’s also the positive work environment that invests in and retains employees for decades, with many workers who have been there since the beginning.
Rocco’s Specialty Foods
If you haven’t yet tried a Rocco’s frozen food product, you’re missing out. Rocco’s Specialty Foods is owned by the Muriale family who has owned and operated Rocco’s Ristorante for nearly 50 years. Handcrafted and prepared in West Virginia kitchens, the four one-of-a-kind products of Rocco’s Specialty Foods can be found in grocery stores all across West Virginia, in Ashland, Kentucky, and even as far as Lexington. This family-owned company conveniently offers authentic Italian cuisine ready-made for busy lives, from baked spaghetti and meat lasagna to sauces for spaghetti and hot dogs. Each dish is packed full with the highest-quality meats and cheeses, the perfect blend of spices and enough flavor to keep you coming back for more. The next time you’re in a pinch and asking yourself, “What’s for dinner?” — look no further than Rocco’s at your local grocery store.
Rubberlite
J. Allen Mayo started working at American National Rubber in Ceredo straight out of high school. After 10 years, he quit and moved to the Cleveland, Ohio, area to be general manager of a small startup. He dramatically built up that company’s business but, growing homesick, returned to Huntington, determined to establish his own business. Mayo likes to note that his company, which he christened Rubberlite Inc., “started out in 1986 with two employees and no customers.” Today, Rubberlite has 170 employees working at a 300,000-square-foot complex that once housed a cigar factory and later a shoe-making plant. Significantly, Rubberlite makes no finished products. Rather, it converts engineered rubber and manufactures polyurethane foam materials that go into products created by other companies in a lengthy list of industries, including automotive, electronics, footwear, health care, sporting goods, aviation and aerospace.
Serucell
Serucell might just be Huntington’s best-kept secret. A small skincare company on the Southside is taking the world of beauty by storm with a signature skincare product — developed and produced right here in Huntington — that has been in some high places lately. In 2023, Serucell serum was selected as a partner for the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club and included in its “Strive for Perfection” publication and showcase in London, England. In 2024, Serucell participated in the Grammys Gift Bag and will again be included in the 2024 Oscar nominees’ “Everyone Wins” gift bags. It has garnered rave reviews from Town & Country magazine’s beauty director and was recommended for its anti-inflammatory properties in Shape magazine. It’s sold at select Cos Bar specialty stores and numerous spas. This remarkable product was born eight years ago when Huntington resident Dr. Walter Neto, while doing some bio-cellular research into wound and burn healing, discovered KFS® cellular protein complex; this would become the foundation of the Serucell product line. Neto, who is the company’s co-founder and chief science officer, found that the protein complex could be used to make a groundbreaking skincare product. Co-founder Dr. Brett Jarrell states, “Serucell utilizes CCT (cell communication technology) which helps rekindle cellular communication channels lost to aging, inflammation and stress on the body. The restoration of these communication channels optimizes your skin, resulting in radiant, young-looking skin regardless of skin type. We think of it as updating the skin software to the body’s computer.” Serucell serum is made by hand, takes six weeks to produce and requires 147 steps to complete.
Service Wire
Brooklyn-born Art Weisberg made his way to West Virginia after serving in World War II. In 1952, with a bankroll of $2,500, he started a one-man electrical supply business. From that humble beginning, State Electric Supply has evolved into one of the nation’s biggest and best-known electrical distributors, with more than 50 locations in a half-dozen states. But State Electric wasn’t the only major business to be founded by Weisberg, a man who always dreamed big. In 1968, he started Service Wire Co. in an old building that once housed a Huntington furniture factory. He cleaned up the place, bought some used wire-making equipment and soon had it running. Today, Service Wire is a major supplier of high-quality wire and cable to a wide range of industrial, utility and transit customers. It operates modern factories and warehouses in Culloden, West Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Houston, Texas.
Sogefi USA
You may not be familiar with the Wayne County manufacturer with the unusual name, but your vehicle just may include components made at Sogefi Group’s Prichard manufacturing facility. The Italian automotive behemoth manufactures air filters, cooler modules and air intake manifolds in West Virginia for industry heavyweights Ford, General Motors, Honda, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen, among others. Though Canada was the original first choice, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority enticed the European manufacturer to choose West Virginia in 2003 as it was considering establishing a North American presence. Since then, the company’s only plant in the United States — Sogefi USA — has evolved and expanded, providing manufacturing or manufacturing-related jobs for 230 people in the Huntington region, up from fewer than 50 people in 2015. Sogefi USA also is involved in the emerging and quickly growing electric vehicle revolution, according to Plant Manager Troy Thomas. One of the company’s newest projects is a hydrogen fuel cell module for an upcoming new Honda truck.
Special Metals
In 1922, Canada’s International Nickel Co. transformed a Huntington cornfield into what would become the community’s biggest and best-known industrial facility. The largest plant of its type in the world, it offers a 130-acre operational footprint exclusively devoted to the development, production and sale of nickel alloys used in such industries as aerospace, automotive and computers, and in products including offshore oil rigs, rocket engines and military jets. The world leader in high nickel alloys, it has invented and patented more than 70 industry-leading alloys. The big plant has changed hands and names over the years. It became Huntington Alloys in the 1950s, Inco Alloys in the 1980s and Special Metals in the late 1990s. Today it’s a division of Precision Castparts Corp., a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. But no matter what the plant’s official name might be, most people in Huntington still simply call it “the Nickel Plant.”
Star Technologies
In the mid-1940s the Adel Fasteners plant on Huntington’s West End was one of the city’s largest employers with some 500 workers. But in 1993, the world leader in the production of precision clamping devices and brackets for the aerospace, rail car and other industries was acquired by Transamerica Delaval Inc. and moved its operations to California. Enter Huntington businessman Rick Houvouras and other local investors, who raised $800,000 to start a new company: Star Technologies. The venture began with the hiring of several former Adel employees who chose to remain in Huntington, and it grew from there. Fast-forward 30 years and Star Technologies is still going strong, producing millions of aircraft fasteners and other precision parts for worldwide companies such as Boeing, General Electric Aircraft Engines and Volvo. Some of its parts are used to secure hoses and tubing inside commercial jet engines — so, the next time you’re on a Boeing jet, your flight might just be powered by engines with parts made right here in Huntington.
Steel of West Virginia
The deindustrialization of the U.S. led to plant closings, layoffs and community decline in towns and cities throughout the region. But along the Ohio River, one manufacturing business continued to play a major role in the economy as it had for decades before, and as it continues to do today. Steel of West Virginia has been operating in Huntington since 1909. While the plant has been through several incarnations, it has been one of the few manufacturing businesses to survive the deindustrialization of the Appalachian region. For more than a century, the steel mill has weathered a changing economy and adopted new technologies and processes that keep the mill on the forefront of the industry. The plant is what the steel industry calls a “mini-mill.” Mini-mills use electric arc furnaces to produce recycled steel from scrap metal that otherwise would end up in a landfill somewhere. The steel is then fabricated into beams, channels and other specially designed sections. According to Charles Abbott Jr., SWVA’s vice president and general manager, the company’s mammoth appetite for scrap metal has made it West Virginia’s largest recycler. The company produces more than 300 distinct products. “Look at traffic on the interstate and count the next 10 trailer trucks you see,” Abbott said. “Seven of every 10 truck trailers have steel support beams from SWVA.” SWVA is the community’s largest private employer. SWVA’s sprawling Huntington plant covers 42 acres, stretching from 15th Street to 20th Street between the Ohio River and the Marshall University campus.
Zim’s Bagging Company
In 1964, while working at American National Rubber in Ceredo, Harry Zimmerman Sr. risked everything to found a business of his own. Zim’s Bagging Co. was launched in the garage of his Wayne County home. It all began with one man and one machine that produced cellophane bags for candy and snack firms. In the years since, the company’s growth has been steady. In 1970, it moved to a rented building on Route 75 in Kenova. When the building burned, the company was forced to return to the Zimmerman garage. By 1978, it was able to move to a rented facility on 29th Street in West Huntington. In 1982, it built a building of its own at its present site near Prichard. Since then, Zim’s has expanded four times. Today the firm’s customers include many Fortune 500 companies, one of the nation’s largest e-commerce companies, large automobile companies and various manufacturers in the bedding and appliance industries.
