YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A former pottery works in New Waterford is once again buzzing with activity, fueled by an extra-strong jolt from the largest coffeehouse company in the world.
American Pioneer MFG LLC, in business just more than four months, is turning out a series of new lines of mugs for Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. as part of that company's "Create Jobs for USA" initiative launched in 2011.
"I think manufacturing is localizing all around the world, and there's so much more manufacturing coming back to the U.S.," observes Ulrich Honighausen, co-founder of American Pioneer, based in Sonoma, Ca.
Honighausen says he's built a successful import business in ceramics, Hausenware, and has secured clients such as Starbucks and Crate & Barrel. So when in 2011, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the "Create Jobs in the USA" campaign, Honighausen thought that the time was right to start producing ceramic products in the United States.
Schultz inspired Honighausen to explore regions of the country that would best suit a new production operation, he says. "I was at a conference in October that year and someone mentioned the Ohio Valley," he recalls.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ohio River Valley, especially communities around East Liverpool and East Palestine, were the epicenter of this country's pottery industry.
"I didn't realize there was such a history here," Honighausen admits. "There was an entire culture around this industry and this was the right place to do it."
Initially, Honighausen contracted with American Mug & Stein in East Liverpool to produce some of the first U.S.-manufactured Starbucks mugs.
Then last year, he decided to form a partnership with a Japanese ceramics manufacturer to introduce new technology and equipment that would transform a shuttered pottery in New Waterford into a sleek, modern production hub.
The site in New Waterford once housed Bel-Terr China, a producer of high-end ceramic tableware that closed its doors in the 1990s.
"I felt that the opportunity was here," Honighausen says. "The industry has sadly gone away, but there are still people and resources we are able to tap into."
Since August, American Pioneer has produced Starbucks' first state-themed mugs, in this case Ohio, Honighausen adds. Also, the factory in New Waterford is preparing for a production run of mugs that feature Hawaii. A third project in the works is a Starbucks logo mug that would be shipped to throughout the country.
American Pioneer, which employs 21 in New Waterford, should see that number grow as production increases, Honighausen adds. His wife, Amanda, is the operations manager.
Although Honighausen has supplier contracts with manufacturing operations throughout the world, this is the first production plant he's owned. "We'll be developing and innovating on the factory floor," he says. "Right now, we're building capacity and ramping up. We're just kind of walking right now."
Producing ceramic mugs in the United States for the domestic market is viable, Honighausen relates, because the operation isn't hampered with complex supply and international logistics issues.
"A lot of the supply chain issues are on our side," he notes, noting the mugs are manufactured with clay mined in the United States.
And, while labor costs in other parts of the world might benefit high-volume producers of a variety of ceramics, American Pioneer is focused on manufacturing a single product -- coffee mugs.
Support from the community has been “fantastic,” Honighausen relates and the company looks to groom the next generation of pottery workers in the region. "We want to train young people in mold-making to ensure the talent that we're going to need," he says.
Among the entities providing support to the project is the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp., or MVEDC, in Liberty Township.
"We received a call from Ulrich and he said he was looking at a couple of buildings that were former potteries," says Michael Conway, executive director of MVEDC.
The development agency helped to secure $140,000 in loans toward the purchase of equipment related to the project, Conway reports.
"They've since renovated the property and brought in the equipment," he adds.
Conway also notes that one aspect of the Starbucks initiative is a corporate program to provide loans to small businesses via nonprofit organizations, which could present more financing opportunities through MVEDC.
Eventually, Honighausen would like to see the plant in New Waterford supply the Far East and other international markets that would help resurrect the tradition of the Ohio Valley's pottery industry.
"My wife and I love it here," Honighausen says, citing attractions in the region such as the Pottery Museum in East Liverpool. "It's in their DNA and I have a lot of respect for their work."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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