“ Blenko has been a name in my household for generations . It is a privilege to be a part of this establishment , and I will forever be grateful to have experienced the thrill of working glass thanks to Blenko .”
- Adamm Curry
Cutler and Wertz are working to make the hot shop floor as efficient as possible . Once Blenko has its new annealing lehr , hot shop workers will be able to cool glass five to seven times faster .
“ As we tell people here nearly daily , believe it or not , glass technology has evolved in the world and has eclipsed past us ,” Wertz says . “ So , we ’ re upgrading our furnaces and lehr technology and with that comes training and new opportunities for our guys and gals .”
Hot Shop Hustle
Blenko is home to West Virginia ’ s first certified glass working apprenticeship program . Before Cutler and Wertz joined the team , apprentices would have to wait years before being allowed to handle glass in the hot shop . Now , apprentices are on the floor within weeks .
“ Blenko can run nine shops of six glassworkers per shift ,” explains Cutler . “ Three shifts in one day are possible if glass melting schedules are working appropriately . Once our new furnaces are up and running , we could use an additional two to three shops of apprentices pretty quickly . Our goal is to hire at least one shop of apprentices per quarter until we are fully staffed .”