Humtown Products earns Legacy Business trophy

Aug 19, 2023

The United States Small Business Administration is celebrating its 70th year as a key resource for the nation’s entrepreneurs who are starting and growing their small businesses. How fitting that one of the anniversary celebrations across the country will take place at Humtown Products in Leetonia, where the SBA will honor the company with a Legacy Business trophy.

It was not long ago–around 2016–that, like all foundries in America, Humtown was suffering from strangling regulations and foreign competition. But owners Mark Lamoncha and son Brandon Lamoncha, with a boost from the SBA, re-invented themselves and are now one of the most successful small businesses, not just in the Mahoning Valley, but in all of America.

Unlike many small businesses that fall victim to disruptive technology, it was Humtown that created the disruptive technology and emerged as a world leader in an industry that seemed to be forsaking its American players. By 2020, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) bestowed upon Humtown its Manufacturer of the Year award.

NAM’s panel of expert judges cited Humtown’s utilization and commercialization of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, leading an industry-wide transformation in bringing that technology to foundries.

But more about the technical mumbo jumbo later.

Let’s focus on how there would not even be a NAM award without the SBA, and why Humtown so deserves to host a 70th anniversary celebration.

Small businesses are the engines of our economy. We have 30 million of them in the U.S., and more than half the workforce either works for or owns a small business. They are the fabric of our local communities. They are the foundation of the local tax base, the drivers of local philanthropy.

Humtown is all of that and more.

With Humtown, we would be hard-pressed to find a more generous family. The Lamoncha family always steps up in times of local need, finds a way to financially support successful non-profits and sets the bar when it comes to philanthropic, charitable giving.

We would also be hard-pressed to find a family more giving of their time. Mark Lamoncha, for example, serves on the Ohio Board of Education and Columbiana and Youngstown/Warren chambers of commerce, and he and his wife are frequently seen at critical community gatherings throughout the Mahoning Valley.

In addition, we would be hard-pressed to find a more courageously caring family. When their company was victimized by a cyber attack, the Lamonchas didn’t, like many business owners, keep the incident internal. They instead used the vicious attack to educate other small businesses on how to protect themselves.

All the while, Humtown continues to revolutionize manufacturing on a global scale, which brings us to the technical mumbo jumbo.

Humtown specializes in the manufacturing of sand cores and molds. Humtown then supplies these sand

cores and molds to foundries all around the world, which in turn produce parts and equipment for

OEMs to use in agriculture, construction, mining, national defense, public utilities and transportation.

Traditionally, the metal casting process involves creating a tool or pattern to produce the sand core and mold. However, with 3D printing technology, Humtown skips the tooling stage, printing the sand core and mold through software commands without any tooling.

This makes Humtown the industry’s first conventional sand core and mold manufacturer to commercialize 3D printing. This toolless technology enabled the company to expand the markets and customers its serves. It enabled the company to disrupt one of the world’s oldest industries.

Which is why the company received another prestigious award from NAM, the High Achiever award in the category of Engineering and Production Technology Leadership. In this case, Humtown was called out among giants like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Merck & Co. and Siemens Energy.

The August 24th SBA celebration is appropriate. Special guests include U.S. presidential appointee Victor Parker; SBA Cleveland District Director Dr. John Turner; Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Youngstown State University Director Patricia Veisz; and other invited elected officials and community leaders.

Humtown is proof that the SBA works, proof that small businesses work.

Guy Coviello is President & CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

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