Made in Washington County: Things we currently and used to make around Hagerstown

Honey bottles shaped like teddy bears, thread for clothes, wicks for candles, diesel engines for semi-tractors and roofing materials for big buildings.

Those are a few of the goods that could wear a "Made in Washington County" label.

Come to think of it, we could make the labels, too.

With the help of the Washington County Department of Business Development, a few of the companies and the Herald-Mail archives, we've compiled a few highlights of Washington County manufacturers, past and present.

This is far from a comprehensive database or an All-Star roster. But we hope it will spark a few ideas and memories. You can help us by adding to the list. Email us at news@herald-mail.com.

What's made today in Washington County?

Hub Labels

Hub Labels operates a 110,000-square-foot facility at 18223 Shawley Drive north of Hagerstown. The 90 employees produce pressure-sensitive and linerless labels. You might have seen their work on various products at the grocery store, for example. It was the first printing operation in Maryland to have a state-certified apprenticeship program. It's been recognized with a Pace Setter award through Maryland’s Healthiest Businesses program. And it's one of a few Maryland businesses that holds a SHARP certification for employee safety and health.

IKO Industries

IKO Industries makes roofing membranes and insulation boards for the flat roofs you see on commercial and industrial buildings. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. It's main U.S. office is in Wilmington, Del. The 460,000-square-foot building at 160 IKO Way off Western Maryland Parkway is the company's re-entry into the U.S. commercial roofing market. It's also the first of its kind to make TPO (that stands for "thermoplastic polyolefin," in case you're wondering) in the company's North American operations. As of this writing, 40 people work there. But that could expand to about 100 when the plant is operating at full capacity.

Volvo Powertrain

As of earlier this year, Volvo Group employed about 1,700 people at its Hagerstown powertrain facility at 13403 Volvo Way north of Hagerstown. The plant develops and manufactures heavy-duty diesel engines, transmissions, and axles for Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Prevost coaches, and Volvo Buses. So you have probably passed, or been passed by, the plant's products on Interstate 70 or Interstate 81. Just last year, the company launched an expansion of its vehicle lab at the Washington County complex. The Volvo Group, based in Sweden, makes trucks and heavy equipment. It is separate from the company that makes Volvo cars.

Other manufacturers

The list of current manufacturers is a long one. But here are a few more highlights:

• Parker Plastics at 105 Enterprise Lane makes a variety of stock and custom bottles, including those cute teddy-bear shaped bottles that hold honey.

• You might find Fil-Tec's products in everything from shoes to shirts to candles. The technical fiber company in Smithsburg makes threads, wicks and filtration products.

• Ring Container Technologies at 16522 Hunters Green Parkway makes the kinds of plastic containers you might pick up at a grocery or convenience store. The company, based in Oakland, Tenn., bills itself as "one of the largest plastic container manufacturers in North America."

• Holcim Cement produced here has been used for the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., runways at Dulles airport, and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. In 2016, the company, part of LafargeHolcim, finished a $96 million improvement project to the facility at 1260 Security Road.

What used to be made around Hagerstown?

Southern Shoe

At one point in the 1930s, Southern Shoe employed 660 people at its factory at 22 N. Mulberry St., and they produced about 10,000 pairs of shoes a day, according to Herald-Mail archives. The factory started in the 1920s, but the building was vacant by 1979. The three-story, U-shaped building has been renovated into Mulberry Lofts and houses Hagerstown Children's School, businesses and offices.

Moller Organs

The Moller Organ Co. building in Hagerstown was once home to the world’s largest and most widely known organ manufacturer, according to a history of the company. The original part of the North Prospect Street structure dates to 1895, and it was expanded during the following decades. Through the years, thousands of people worked there. Pipe organs made by the company found homes in churches from West Point, N.Y., to Pasadena, Calif. The factory closed in the early 1990s.

Pope, Crawford and Dagmar Motorcars

During the first few decades of the 1900s, the Pope Tribune, as well as Crawford and Dagmar automobiles and some taxi cabs, were built in Hagerstown. In 1924, Ruth Malcolmson of Philadelphia was crowed Miss America and presented with a specially designed Dagmar car. She came to Hagerstown to attend the local fair and be the guest at a banquet at the Dagmar Hotel at Antietam Street and Summit Avenue. The car company was owned by M.P. Moller — yes, of Moller Organ fame. The Dagmar Hotel and car were named for his daughter.

Anything else that used to be made in Washington County?

From what could be a long list of others, here are four more:

• Before automobiles, there was pedal power. Pope and Crawford bicycles were made in Hagerstown in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And in July 1889, Hagerstown and Washington County hosted a League of American Wheelmen (now League of American Bicyclists) National Rally. According to a history on coachbuilt.com, Robert S. and George Crawford, the two Hagerstown brothers who had done well manufacturing bicycles, sold their company and used the proceeds to start the car business. They convinced Moller to join them, and Moller later bought out the other investors.

• There's a reason the newest part of Hagerstown's Cultural Trail is called Hatter's Plaza. It's a nod to the memory of the Updegraff family business, which made gloves and hats. The Updegraffs operated out of a building that once sat at 43-47 W. Washington St. — now the home of Hatter's Plaza — and a four-story structure at 49-53 W. Washington St. On the east wall of that building is a legible but faded sign advertising the Updegraff firm as "clothiers, hatters, and furnishers."

• Fairchild Aircraft once employed thousands, and the company ranked as the largest employer in Washington County. The company produced many types of aircraft, and some examples are now in the hands of the Hagerstown Aviation Museum. The military still uses the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the "Warthog." The company shut down local operations in the 1980s.

• Hagerstown was once the headquarters of The Pangborn Corp., founded in 1904 by Thomas W. Pangborn, who developed sandblasting using compressed air and sand to clean metals. At its peak, the company employed more than 1,000 people at the Hagerstown facility, which had 17 buildings over two parcels. After several changes in ownership, the company shut down the plant in 2000 and relocated its corporate headquarters to Georgia in 2007.

Mike Lewis covers business, the economy and other issues. Follow Mike on Twitter: @MiLewis.

Correction: This article was updated at 8:37 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2022, to correct the spelling of Fil-Tec.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County, Hagerstown manufacturers, past to present