Local wall coatings business reports sales jump
Toolbox
By Bruce Edwards Herald Staff - Published: July 11, 2005
Business is going through the roof at Sto Corp., or perhaps more appropriately going through the wall.
The Rutland Town exterior wall coatings business on Quality Lane is scrambling to find qualified workers to keep up with demand for its products, according to plant manager Guy Auger.
"This year we're up 30 percent over last year and last year was up some 20 to 25 percent from the year before," Auger said.
With business booming, Sto needs five or six workers to augment the company's 19-person workforce. Vacant positions include production, lab work, and maintenance. Starting pay is in the $10 to $11 an hour range.
Sto does most of its hiring through The Leddy Group, a temporary employment agency. If there is a need down the road for a full-time worker, Sto will bring that worker on as a company employee, Auger said.
He said right now, though, qualified workers are hard to find.
"We just have had a hard time getting people in who want to work and I don't know whether it's matter of the low unemployment rate and a glut of what seems to be manufacturing jobs," he said. "But we're having somewhat of a difficult time."
Of the 19 full-time Sto employees, he said most have been with the company an average of 14 years.
Auger said one of the plant's longtime employees is local artist Peter Huntoon. Known for his water colors of downtown Rutland, the 17-year employee is Sto's color manager, responsible for color development as well as working with distributors on color applications.
Auger said Sto's growth has coincided with the continuation of the construction boom, especially in the South.
" … in the southern part of the country where some of our materials go, they're building a lot of commercial properties and a lot of residential properties," he said.
There are any number of exterior building materials to choose from including aluminum and vinyl sidings. Sto's niche is latex-based architectural coatings and paints as well as some concrete repair materials.
The company's claddings can be seen on a number of local buildings including the former Godnick building at West Street and Merchants Row. Once known for its blue aluminum façade, Mark Foley, the building's new owner chose a beige exterior coating made by Sto.
Auger said the products manufactured by Sto have several advantages, including its strong insulation quality, its long-lasting finish, and almost unlimited types of finishes and colors.
Founded in southern Germany 51 years ago, Sto opened its first United States manufacturing facility in Rutland in 1979, becoming the first tenant in the Quality Lane Industrial Park.
Although the company moved its corporate headquarters from Rutland to Atlanta, Ga., a few years ago, Auger said the plant on Quality Lane remains an integral part of the company's operations, supplying distributors throughout the Northeast. Sto also has plants in Arizona and Atlanta. In total, the company has 170 distributors throughout the U.S. and Canada.
This year Sto will invest a significant amount of money in the Rutland facility. Auger said that kind of investment is an indication of the company's commitment.
"I'm thankful my management in Atlanta is very supportive of the plant here in Rutland," he said. "I'm going to spend this year alone well over $300,000 in capital money."
The money will be used to upgrade machinery, infrastructure, electrical systems and buildings.
The company occupies three buildings on Quality Lane totaling 28,200 square feet, including its own wastewater pretreatment plant.
Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com.
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