Discover how Mountain Ridge Metals has doubled its facility, six years after launching mid-pandemic
There are many aluminum manufacturers across North America, but few as dedicated to responsive communication and customer service as Mountain Ridge Metals (Mountain Ridge). Based in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, the company has built a reputation for simplifying the sourcing process for high-quality extruded aluminum parts; an approach that has helped establish it as one of the fastest-growing aluminum extruders in the region. We learn more about what makes Mountain Ridge unique from Braxton Sponsler, President.
“Mountain Ridge was formed in 2020 from an existing extrusion company my father had worked for, for some 50 years, prior to retiring last year. Drawing on that wealth of experience, we decided to branch out and build a company of our own. The business was officially incorporated in 2019 and began operations in 2020, which was the worst possible timing as the pandemic hit just two months later. Coming straight out of the gate into that environment was challenging, as we were simultaneously managing the impact of the pandemic and converting what had been a standard extrusion factory into Mountain Ridge. By the end of 2020, however, demand for aluminum was through the roof and we found ourselves busier than we had ever been. Six years on, we are running at full capacity and making plans for the future. The big question we are now dealing with is whether to continue expanding here in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, or to branch out into different states. We are also exploring the M&A landscape for opportunities that could add new dimensions to what we offer, whether that means moving into downstream services to produce finished aluminum products or buying another extruder,” he opens.
This period of growth was driven by investing in a substantial expansion of its manufacturing facility that effectively doubled its footprint. The new facility was completed around two years ago and houses additional extrusion presses, a new packing line and a few precision cutting saws. The existing die shop, equipment associated with the extrusion process and all of Mountain Ridge’s painting capabilities remain in the original facility across the road from the newer plant. Through the expansion, the company focused on adding extrusion capacity to meet the needs of its constantly growing customer base.
Already approaching full capacity on the new press, Mountain Ridge continues to push forward. The two facilities are set up to mirror one another, providing operational redundancy. Therefore, if equipment breaks down in one plant, production can easily be shifted to the other. While the sites are close enough to operate in a coordinated way with unified leadership, they are far enough apart to function as distinct operations, with separate teams on the ground. It is the quality and commitment of those teams that Mountain Ridge considers its most important investment of all.
Indeed, Mountain Ridge is just as deliberate about building its workforce as it has been about expanding its facilities. The company approaches recruitment carefully, striving to find ‘forever people,’ talent that will stay on board for the long term. Braxton explains what that looks like in practice. “Being family-owned gives us the freedom to take the time to find the right people, without the corporate pressure to simply hire anybody. Some of our operators have been here for almost 30 years and worked for my father before me, so they know my family well. Because we are not driven by corporate targets, people are not numbers here. They are people.”
That people-first philosophy permeates every aspect of the company’s culture, which is one of care and close relationships. “I have consistently tried to bring the team mentality of sports to everything I do as well as into the workplace, making us a deeply team-oriented organization,” Braxton shares. “While not everybody loves that approach, the people who connect with it are typically the forever people, because they understand that we are here to do a job, but that we can also do things together outside of work. Naturally, it is not always perfect and there are occasional disagreements, but we talk them through and move forward together.
“What I am trying to build at Mountain Ridge is a culture of genuine care, because if we care about each other, we will care about our work too. Many of our team members feel comfortable enough to bring their personal problems into work, which is not common in the corporate world. While this is not a therapy session either, I believe we can work better together if people feel they can talk and work through things as a team. If one person is struggling, the whole team feels it and strives to support them; that is just the reality of how teams work here,” he ends.
Despite starting during the pandemic and in an industry dominated by larger players, Mountain Ridge has established itself as a successful business that is continuously expanding on its own terms, without ever losing sight of the people behind it.
