There's an old phrase: Build a better flagpole and the world will beat a path to your door.
OK, that's not exactly how it goes. But when Telepole Manufacturing started selling a wider, stronger flagpole before Christmas, the company in the Central PA town of Muncy saw its sales figures shoot into the sky.
Owner Kim Digenakis went into business for himself in 2003 after selling flagpoles for an awning company. Telepole specializes in telescoping flagpoles, which have sections that slide up until the pole is the correct height.
In his quest to build a sturdier product, Digenakis contacted the Small Business Development Center at Bucknell University for assistance with the design. The result is a flagpole built with a grade of aluminum similar to what's used in aircraft. Since this product was released sales have increased 42 percent. Telepole, which has five employees, is on track to hit $1 million in sales within three years.
Digenakis says this is remarkable for an American flagpole manufacturer. “It's nice to know that we can compete with the Chinese,” he says. “There are a lot of Chinese in the market.”
Most of Telepole's sales are to military and corporate customers. And they've come up with unconventional uses for flagpoles. Digenakis says they've been put to work testing underground gas wells, checking weather instruments and holding hobbyists' ham-radio antennae.
Source: Kim Digenakis, Telepole Manufacturing
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
