West Virginia Executive Spring/Summer 2020 | Page 51

Island Mould and Machine Company, Inc.
BY MAGGIE HATFIELD. In 1939, Joseph Dewey “J.D.” Weishar
purchased shop equipment from Central Glass Works and
moved it to a three-car garage on Wheeling Island where he
hand chipped moulds to be used in the glass industry. Soon
after, Island Mould and Machine Company got its start and
was incorporated in 1947. J.D.’s son, Joe, followed in his
father’s footsteps and went on to raise his sons within the
family business. Today, Joe’s sons, Thomas and John Weishar,
serve as the company’s president and vice president respectively.
What makes Island Mould stand out is that it is the only
company in the U.S. that specializes in moulds for the glass
industry. Since its inception, Island Mould has made moulds
for more than 100 different hand shops, automated factories
and glass studios. Island Mould’s customer base includes
Imperial Glass Corporation, Fostoria Glass Company, Fenton
Art Glass Company, Appalachian Glass, Blenko Glass Company
and Lenox Corporation.
A wide variety of products have been made using the company’s
moulds, including traffic light lenses, wing tip lenses
for airplanes, multiple types of industrial lights and commercial
lighting fixtures, as well as tableware, giftware and
collectables.
Island Mould currently has four employees, as glass mould
manufacturing requires a very specialized skill set.
“There are certain skills needed in this profession,” says John.
“Employees here need to have good math skills and artistry
skills and must serve an apprenticeship to gain experience.”
Thanks to the company’s location in Wheeling, it has found
great success in shipping products outside of West Virginia.
“Since day one, we have been shipping moulds to all
the surrounding states because we are centrally located for
shipping to the glass factories,” says John. “Some glass items
have even been shipped out of the country from the moulds
we have made.”
Even though Island Mould does not ship its products
directly out of the U.S., it has been able to expand its footprint
through the work of its clients.
“Our mould customers take care of shipping the glass
they produce to the other countries,”
says John. “An example of our reach
is that one of our customers has a
deal to ship 5,000 tumblers to Japan
each month.”
The Mountain State has served
as the home for Island Mould for
more than 60 years, and Thomas
and John Weishar
are proud to carry
the torch that has
been passed down
through their family in
the heart of Wheeling.
Weishar Enterprises
BY MAGGIE HATFIELD. In 1989,
Joe Weishar founded a sister
company for Island Mould and
Machine Company called Weishar
Enterprises to create wholesale and
retail glassware. Weishar Enterprises
uses the moulds manufactured by Island
Mould to create its well-known line of
moon and star patterned glass items—
the longest produced pattern of glassware
in the U.S.
While the Wheeling-based plant
was Joe’s brainchild, he unexpectedly
passed away shortly after its launch, leaving his sons, John and
Thomas, as the sole owners to see their father’s vision come to
life. Since taking ownership, this team of brothers has taken
the opportunity to grow and diversify its inventory.
“We started out having just one item, but we have expanded
our glass production capabilities and now have close to 100
different items and colors on hand,” says John. “Recently we
added ornaments, mini courting lamps, medical marijuana
smoke sets and medical marijuana gummy jars.”
Over the past 30 years, the company has created 80 different
colors of miniature water sets and 28 different colors of large
water sets, as well as a variety of rose bowls, fairy lights and
candle sticks. The newest items added to its inventory include
the Weishar Family Ornament Collection and a courting
lamp that was featured on the show “How It’s Made” on the
Discovery Channel. The sister companies have also added a
museum of all the pieces, patterns and moulds they’ve made.
Even though the company has just two employees, it ships
glassware to all 48 contiguous U.S. states as well as Canada.
Other dealers of its glassware ship to the United Kingdom,
Europe and Australia. The family company has seen much
success with expanding its footprint, and this transition was
needed with the decline of physical store fronts.
“A couple of our dealers already had markets outside the
country, so we let them increase their markets with our products,”
says John. “This came at a great time because here in
the U.S., we saw a decline of mom-and-pop gift shops. At one
time, we had more than 500 physical stores we shipped to,
but now we have maybe five.”
With the advancement of technology,
Weishar Enterprises’ glass
is sold to various platforms or
direct to its customers.
The brothers agree that having
their company headquarters located
in West Virginia has proven
beneficial. “Our suppliers are all
within the tri-state area, which is
very convenient,” says John. “Plus,
being centrally located allows us
to ship or mail glass across the
country at a reasonable cost.”
Photo by
John Weishar.
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