BAW Company began in 1944 as an idea conceived by Merle Washabaugh and Bart Bartholomae, two industrial gas salesmen for Equitable Gas Co. They believed they could create a market for products fabricated from acetate. BAW was chosen as a company name- - a derivative of the founders names—Bartholomae And Washabaugh. They set up as a partnership with Merle as President, Bart as Secretary, Merle's wife, Louella and Bart's wife, Olive as Vice Presidents. The first product BAW produced was a postage stamp mount. This was a protective cover for stamps kept by collectors. Merle and Bart made these with an iron on an ironing board in Merle's basement. Kaufmann's became their first and largest customer. Soon, they began to fabricate sheet covers, badge holders, shop card holders, etc. Sewn and taped materials came later. All methods of cutting the material, heat folding, taping, sewing, etc. were devised through trial and error by Merle. He was concerned with production and distribution, while Bart handled sales, billing, records and payroll. Customers into the 50's & 60's included Westinghouse, US Steel, Alcoa, PPG, railroads, utilities, binderies, and office supply houses. All Bell Telephone ID cards were laminated on a machine for years. The plant was in Merle's basement which was expanded in the 50's. Although the business was in a residential area, there was never one complaint, since production was clean and quiet. The plans for a new building and plant were given final approval by the State and Jefferson Boro during January, 1966. It was during the same week that Merle died at age 60. The new plant would have been on Gill Hall Road near Ridge Road, but of course, that dream was never to be fulfilled. After Merle's death, his son Dick, a Pleasant Hills policeman, assumed the production schedule. Later in 1966, the company was taken over by Bart and moved to Penn Hills. During the early 1970's, BAW Company was purchased by Carl Pflaum, a businessman who was also the owner of AIDEO INC., a manufacturer of printed electronic circuit boards. At this time, Carl moved BAW Company to 8057 Mt. Carmel Road, Verona. Business was steady, but not growing. At this time, Carl's wife and sons worked at the company. Carl was more of a manufacturing person and rarely ever did any type of marketing or attempted to make sales calls. By the early 1980's, Carl was looking to sell BAW Company. From 1978 to 1980, Jim Slovonic was working for Morris Paper Company. Jim ran his first marathon in 1978, and was very much into running. During the mid 1970's he used to jog on a path that went along Willet Road. While running, he thought about his job. He was not happy in his current position and was thinking about his goal setting. One of his goals was to own and operate his own business. He jogged 3 to 4 days a week and each time passed by 3215 Willet Road, which happened to be Merle Washabaugh's house, the original production facility for BAW Company. In 1981, after months of negotiations, Jim Slovonic (who was now working for Carl Pflaum as a salesman) had a contract to purchase BAW Company by October 1st if everything worked out ok. Well, everything did work out ok, and on October 1, 1981, Carl and his wife Eileen signed the papers, and Jim Slovonic along with two of his best friends, Ron Talarico and Dennis Sipe fulfilled one of Jim's lifelong dreams .... "to own and operate his own business". That night as he "Put the Key in the Door", he told himself that he would never work for anyone again. OCTOBER 1ST 1981, Jim Slovonic became the owner of BAW Company. The company was located in a building beneath a Stop 'N Go Store in Verona. At this time, Dolores Lauterbach was the only employee. She said she would stay on only until she could train her replacement. (Thirteen years later, Dolores was still with BAW). The first employee hired by Jim Slovonic was his sister, Barb Delaney; then his brother, Pat, who was only 17 years old at the time. The third employee hired was Keretta Brunner; then Kathy Gilbert, Gail Werner, and Nancy Werner. BAW stayed in the Verona location for five years after Jim bought the company. He then moved everyone to 5120 Old Clairton Road in Pleasant Hills where they stayed for five more years. We have been in our current building here at the Century III Business Centre since 1991. The Shipping/Receiving warehouse next door was added a few years later to meet our continuous growth. October 1st 2006, Jim Slovonic celebrated his 25th anniversary as the owner of BAW PLASTICS INC. BAW PLASTICS INC was incorporated on May 10, 1988 in the State of Pennsylvania. This company had grown from one employee in 1944 to the 150+ we have today. The original location went from a home basement operation to 2,000 square feet (when at the Verona location) to our current 100,000 square feet here on Century Drive. The company history is full of many coincidences that have presented themselves as a blueprint for our future. The result is an organization dedicated to growth and excellence, guided by a man who had a dream and continues to make that dream come true. The best is yet to come!  © 2007 BAW Plastics, Inc. All rights reserved. Home | Our Company | Products | Manufacturing Capabilities | Industries | Careers | Sitemap | Contact