When Star Headlight and Lantern was founded in 1899, they manufactured lanterns for rail lines. Fast forward over a century later and Star Headlight and Lantern is now known as Star Safety Technologies, part of Grote Industries, a family company with four generations of ownership celebrating 125 years in business.
When the AEM Manufacturing Express rolled into Avon, New York, and visited Star Safety Technologies, we got to see firsthand what it takes to stay in business that long and how much the community here in Avon is responsible for that success. “Manufacturing has always been a big part of my life,” said Shawn Ramey, Director of Operations at Star Safety. “My grandfathers and my father all worked in the auto parts manufacturing industry. That’s really what the foundation of this country is: manufacturing. That’s how we continue to support our lifestyle, support our communities, and I’m very proud of the work we do here.
“It’s not just rural communities that really drive this nation; it’s the grit of the people in it.” Ramey continued, “People who drive an hour every day to build lights that keep people in our construction industries, our farming communities, and our first responders safe everyday as they’re out there protecting us and our families. That’s huge, the grit and determination that people show to make sure that people stay safe and our communities stay strong.”
Visiting the crew in Avon, it is easy to see how the team here takes pride in that work and the legacy. The plant runs like a job shop rather than a production line, so the people on the floor have to understand the specifics of every piece that they build.
Grote manufactures lights for just about every vehicle you slow down for: emergency lighting for police cars and tow trucks, beacons for construction equipment, and the long amber bars on snow plows and DOT trucks. Much of the work is custom, though one product alone sold roughly 40,000 units last year. That product is the Auxiliary Strobe and Stop, and mounted on the back of a trailer it flashes amber five times in four seconds the moment a driver hits the brakes, then goes steady red.
The Strobe and Stop is a massive innovation in safety. Years of data show the lamp is measurably better at catching a distracted driver’s attention in time to stop. That’s what inspired the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to grant approval for highway vehicles, which has since been renewed twice.
Product Manager Corey Wetterings is proud of how impactful the lamp is: “It’s a huge safety improvement on the highways. You see these on the highway all the time, and they’re made in Avon, New York, and it’s a huge safety improvement for distracted drivers.”
Avon is a small town just south of Rochester, New York, with only 7,000 people residing there. But its small size doesn’t prevent it from making a big impact. We all benefit from the work being done at Star. The lights built here end up on trucks and work vehicles across the country, where they give a distracted driver the extra second to react that makes all the difference. With 137 years of experience, Star makes driving on the road a little bit safer.
