Todd Sewick and Paul Wagner, co-owners of American Glass Company, weren't planning on moving, but when the building they were renting changed ownership, they decided moving would be in their best interest.
They opened their doors on 1420 E. Commercial Street on May 14, 2004, after a week of moving. The new location has many advantages over the old one.
"This gives us better traffic than the side street uptown," Wagner said.
Also, the building has more room.
"It gives us more storage for all the jobs we have to do," Wagner said. "We can store them until we get to them."
They share the back half of the building with Meyer Home Improvement.
Although they like the new location, they have plans to improve it. Because of the limited parking, they are going to pour cement in the front for more parking. They are also going to blacktop the alley so customers can drive in and out without having to back onto the street.
Both Sewick and Wagner worked for another glass company before starting American Glass Company.
"We were asked by a lot of people in the community to venture out on our own," Sewick said.
Business has gone well for Sewick and Wagner since they before started American Glass Company. With customers coming from as far away as Kanawha and Gilmore City, they stay busy.
"Sometimes it's pretty tough for the two of us to keep up with everything," Sewick said.
Customer service is a main priority at American Glass, which sees a lot of return customers.
"Once people come in the first time, they don't seem to go anywhere else," Wagner said.
"You want to do the job. And you want to do it right, but you want to make the customer happy," Sewick said. "It's the appreciation you get from making someone happy that's important."
"Whatever people need, we'll accommodate," Wagner said.
They have several ways they do this. If someone wants to reuse an old window, they will put it in without pressuring the customer to buy new from them. If someone gets a windshield replaced, they supply a spare vehicle while they work on the windshield. They even have a mobile service.
"We'll come to them," Sewick said.
American Glass is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. However, those are only the store hours; they also work around emergencies. They once had a man who needed a window replaced on his truck so he could leave the next day.
"We were here until midnight," Wagner said.
American Glass does glass for automotive, residential, agricultural, store fronts, and mirrors. It does steel frames and doors, lock work, panic devices and hardware and other items required for safety and fire codes.
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