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They’re going bats for their bats
07/16/08
BY TREENA MIELKE
Red Deer Express
Two Red Deer entrepreneurs who have stepped up to the plate in the business world are hitting a few home runs with their lucrative company.
Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. is fast becoming the choice of baseball players and teams everywhere for top quality bats.
The local company, owned by Dan Zinger and Jared Greenberg is becoming well known and its custom made bats are in high demand.
The idea for the business was born in December of 2001 when amateur baseball rules required teams to use wooden bats.
Greenberg, who played for the Red Deer Riggers noticed that the team often seemed to be waiting for delivery of new bats.
The delay prompted his entrepreneurial spirit to kick in.
Despite the fact he wasn’t experienced in making bats he decided to go out on a limb and put his creativity to use.
He purchased a lathe and went to work. His first bats were acceptable, but nothing like the professional quality product the company produces now.
“I had no experience and it looked like it too. We thought they were good, but they were nothing compared to what our bats look like now.”
After some serious practice, Greenberg decided to take his bat making skills to a new level and in March of 2002 Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. was formed.
Business was slow, but picked up considerably when the company’s web site was designed in October of 2004.
Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. makes its bats out of high quality maple, ash and birch.
Wood is brought in from a supplier in eastern Ontario and comes in 37-inch long cylinders.
Stock is sorted to ensure straight grains and weight. Wood that doesn’t meet the company’s stringent requirements is discarded.
Bats are spun out on a sophisticated tracing lathe. Once the bat comes off the lathe it is carefully weighed and necessary adjustments made.
“Our goal is to get the bat to weigh within 0.5 of an ounce to the customer’s specified weight when it leaves the lathe,” said Greenberg.
The final product is given different colour stains depending on the order.
Finally the company’s logo is placed on each bat and orders are bagged and shipped.
Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. offers customers a variety of models when selecting the perfect bat. Youth models are also available.
“Every bat we produce is of professional pro stock quality,” said Greenberg.
Zinger and Greenberg, who both play baseball, understand the importance of choosing the right bat.
“We understand and see where other players are coming from when they are ordering or asking questions regarding our bats.”
The local business received an unexpected boon recently when the Vipers, a Calgary professional baseball team dealt pitcher John Odom to the Laredo Broncos of the United Baseball League for 10 maple bats worth about $650.
The trade boosted the popularity of the local company almost instantly.
“We usually get about 1,000 hits on our website on average in a month. The trade happened on the 23rd of May and within a week we had 4,500 hits.”
Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. ships its bats all over the world, but its primary customers come from Canada and the United States.
This year the company produced about 1,500 to 2,000 bats. Zinger and Greenberg are optimistic that number will continue to rise.
“Our goal is to double that amount next year,” said Zinger. “We hope to move into an industrial park and open up a store front.”
For more information about Prairie Sticks Bat Company Inc. check out their web site at www.prairiesticks.com
tmielke@reddeer.greatwest.ca 309-5452
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