Business View Magazine | April 2020

45 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2020 ANCHOR MANUFACTUR ING GROUP supplier of metal safety assemblies and other consumer goods, leading Anchor to become a global supplier with shipments throughout North America, Europe, and China. “For the most part, we service the auto industry,” says Parente. “About 80 percent of our business is automotive. We have two Tier Ones on a regular basis right now, and we were just awarded for a part for an electric vehicle manufacturer, so we’ll be making components for Rivian, which is a new electric truck company starting up in Indiana. We also service Mercedes and we do some work for General Motors at a Tier One level. We do very high-precision work for the steering column area of the vehicle; we’re in the exhaust sector; we do body and structural assemblies; we anodize aluminum for running boards; we do chrome finished and high- polished work. We are also close to getting some business with a local German OEM. So, there’s definitely a growth pattern in the Tier Ones here at Anchor.” In addition, Anchor has a separate career as a tool and die maker at a company in Cleveland. In 1970, he decided to venture off on his own and started the Anchor Manufacturing Group as a tool and die shop. In 1975, he acquired some presses to do stamping work. In 1979, he needed some more square footage, so he moved the company to its current location. His son, Fred Pfaff, started working in the business in 1985 after graduating from Cornell with an Engineering Degree and an MBA. He became CEO in 1994. Anchor expanded and bought the building next door to the original building in 1992, which added about 40 percent more square footage. Right now we’re about 350,000 square feet. So, we have these two buildings and a tool and die shop about ten minutes away.” Today, Anchor has between 250-300 employees depending on the seasonal needs of the business. Its clients are mostly North American- based, but in 2004, the company developed a strategic alliance with a European-based