The first piece of equipment Ashland Technologies ever owned was a six-spindle drill hauled out of a junkyard that didn't even work. It was kept in a corner of Bill Wydra Sr.'s diesel repair garage, which was your average small-town shop, lucky to make one product--a prime lock remote fuel filter system that allowed users to easily change filters on certain vehicles.
That changed two years later in 1998 when Wydra, his son, Bill Jr., and partner Mark Mensch decided to diversify into contract manufacturing. For nearly 10 years, Ashland operated out of Wydra Sr.'s garage, which was expanded by about 10,000 square feet, but they always bragged they could do more in a bigger building.
In 2007, Ashland got its wish, moving into a 46,000 square-foot facility in Hegins Township, Schuylkill County. Ashland's braggadocio turned out to be more than just tough talk. Wydra Jr., company president, set a goal to double its revenue in 2008 and did it. In fact, from 2005-2008, Ashland's revenue grew nearly 220 percent. The company, which makes amusement rides, food service equipment, and firearms, does it all, from design to engineering and fabrication to finishing, helping reduce costs for customers.
The company emerged from under the radar in the summer of 2009, when Inc. Magazine ranked it the fastest growing manufacturer in the state (and 55th-fastest growing nationally), American Machinist included in its top 10 machine shops in the U.S., and state cable channel PCN visited to film facility operations for its PCN Tours program.
Wydra Sr. credits the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation and Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority for helping finance Ashland's 2007 move and expand its workforce, and also his team of nearly 40 employees for their high expectations and strong work ethic. Ashland is planning on taking this success story even further by going global--opening 20 new locations by 2020.