By Frank Antosiewicz
CORRESPONDENT
Published: April 16, 2014 2:18 pm ET
Updated: April 16, 2014 2:27 pm ET
Huntingdon Fiberglass Products LLC is getting set to start up a second production line later this year and hire 15-20 new employees as it sees demand increase for its continuous filament mat business.
“We’ve seen enough business come back since we acquired the business to justify restarting another line,” said Paul Geist, president of the Huntingdon, Pa.-based company, in a phone interview.
The company produces fiberglass materials for the composites market. Its materials are used by the automotive, heavy truck, transportation, wind energy and industrial markets.
Geist, a former plant manager, partnered with Stonewood Capital Management Inc., a Pittsburgh-based equity group, to buy the business from AGY Holding Corp in November. On April 8, Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker toured the plant as part of a plan to support the company’s continued growth.
DCED said that it is providing a $32,400 training grant, $150,000 First Program grant for investment in the facility and creating jobs, and $36,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits. HFP is also eligible to apply for a $500,000 low interest loan.
Huntingdon’s facility has been producing fiberglass products since 1943 It was once part of Owens Corning and later, AGY. In its heyday, it had 450 employees, but was hit hard by the 2008 recession.
The company currently has 54 employees and is running 24 hours, seven days a week. They are using about 100,000 square feet of a 400,000-square-foot facility. Geist said that they are working to restart a second CFM line that has been idle for three years. It is rebuilding and investing in new equipment and expect it to be in full operation by the end of the third quarter of this year.
He said that they particularly proud in that they are able to continue production of some parts in which they are the only U.S. manufacturer. Huntingdon makes mostly CFM, but also has conductive roving and wound product lines.
Geist said that they are developing new applications and new products to expand the company. He said that they are also considering additional acquisitions that would complement products that they already produce. | 
