MT. VERNON (WSIL) —Ì� "The Jugs machine was $1700. ÌýWe’d look at it and say ‘that’s like $500 worth of parts, we can do better than that.â€�"
And that is why Tom Hart started tinkering with building a better pitching machine back in 2004.
It didn’t go well early.
"It was a disaster," Hart chuckled while thinking back.Ìý "One bad idea after another. ÌýWe tried all kinds of things, all kinds of new ideas. ÌýVery few of them worked, but eventually it all came together."
"It" included a redesign of the wheels and the development of an interface that controls the speeds of the three wheels.
At the time, Hart was playing in a men’s baseball league with Steven Spotanski.Ìý Spotanski’s electronics background and interest in baseball made for a good a partnership.
"It started out selling one a week on Ebay," Spotanski said.Ìý "Using garages and basements and building on the weekends and evenings while we’re watching sports on TV. ÌýThen we get into selling more than one a week on Ebay. Then you start getting bigger and bigger, and it escalates."
Hart remembers fondly when it escalated.
"When we got the three wheel machine working, that was a big deal," Hart said.Ìý "That’s what got us into Rawlings. ÌýThey saw it at a trade show and were impressed with it. ÌýBut that interface didn’t really catch on til a few years later, when it really became apparent that was the way to go, that other machines couldn’t do what our machine could. "
And that presented a dilemma.
"Then it gets to the point where it’s time to either quit the jobs you have now and go forth with it or kinda end it because you can’t keep up," Spotanski said.Ìý "So we took the chance and went full bore with it."
Full bore included setting up shop in Mt. Vernon in 2011.Ìý
Here is how it is set up:ÌýÌýHart designs the parts for the machine.Ìý Those parts are fabricated elsewhere, and then shipped to Mt. VernonÌýand powder coated locally.Ìý Workers then put it all together on site.
It takes about four hours to assemble each three-wheel machine.
"That way we can do all the testing," said Hart.Ìý "Be in charge of the quality, so we’re really in charge of what goes out the door even though we’re not actually making the parts."
But that last part may change soon as the company looks toward expansion.ÌýÌý
What was a once a week sale on Ebay is now a company that has more than a dozen Major League franchises as customers as well as several top collegiate programs.Ìý It’s a company that has plans to triple its size, both in staff and building.
"I mean the skies the limit," Hart said when asked about what’s ahead.Ìý "We never really thought for sure we’d reach this point. ÌýYou wanna dream, but not too much. ÌýYou don’t wanna believe you’ve gone too far with it."
Hart said the goalÌýabout a 10-thousand square foot building, and probably 20 employees. Ìý
"Not just assembly jobs. ÌýWe’re looking to expand the company."
To see part one, click .
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