Chris Foltz always wanted to own a manufacturing business. She spent most of her professional career in manufacturing, and in 2018 that dream came true, just not the way she had envisioned.

“My background was predominantly in the metal field,” said Foltz, owner of Hill Woodworks, Brogue, Pennsylvania. “So, how did I end up here?”

It was about seven years ago, she took the plunge into woodworking. Foltz grew up in a manufacturing environment. Her family owned two foundries at which she worked for several years. Additionally, she worked at a metal fabrication company, a flow control company, and a trucking and transportation component parts company. She got her degree in accounting and brought that training to the metal manufacturing world.

“I was happy working for other companies and helping them make money with their manufacturing operations,” she said. “But there was a point when I said, okay, now it’s my time. I want my own business.”

When she started looking to buy her own company, naturally metalworking was in her sights. Initially, she began looking at machine shops, but rather than metal manufacturing, her bank steered her towards a commercial cabinet and countertop manufacturer, up for sale.  While both companies were already established, she was concerned about future growth opportunities. “I just saw a lot more potential here, in the woodworking business,” she said.

A CNC cuts wood and a laser cuts metal. Both use raw materials to produce durable and long-lasting products for their customers, she added.

“It is not the metal industry, but it certainly is manufacturing. And do they correlate together? Yes,” she said. “I mean, it’s all manufacturing. It’s the same to me, whether you’re making a casting or building cabinets.”

A new beginning
Hill Woodworks designs and manufactures cabinetry, countertops, desks, and custom casework for a variety of customers and environments. They use high-pressure laminate (HPL) and solid surface materials to construct products for commercial and residential clients.

The company was founded in a garage by Jim Hill in 1981 and initially served the residential industry in south central Pennsylvania and the surrounding region before switching to architectural casework and cabinetry and moving into the Brogue facility.

When she took over the business, Foltz continued serving the commercial sector, primarily focusing on medical facilities, but eventually, in 2024, would also begin to supply the residential clients. Hill now serves areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Deleware, New Jersey, and Virginia.

During the pandemic, like so many businesses, projects were put on hold or canceled. They had to adjust. To sustain the business, they diversified into new markets.

Hill Woodworks took on projects with restaurants, car washes, grocery stores, airports, and churches. Anything to keep moving forward.

Foltz said her employees were crucial to the success of the business and getting through challenging times. The workers’ knowledge and experience at Hill Woodworks — employee tenure averages 17 years — and the flexible equipment on hand, allowed the company to take on myriad jobs that came through the door.

Commercial roots
Commercial is still a big part of the company’s workload. Last year, its two biggest projects consisted of a medical facility and a daycare center.

Because the company is a Women’s Business Entity (WBE), a woman-owned company, Hill can produce products for those seeking this certification. In one such project, Foltz worked with another WBE organization to install countertops and cabinets for a government project. 

“When you have two companies that come together for a government project, and they are both WBEs, the government is happy because minorities have fully performed that project,” Foltz said. “When (the other WBE company) asked us if we would consider doing this, it didn’t take much convincing.

Award winner
It was this kind of thinking that won Foltz a Women Of Influence Award from the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal. “Chris,” the announcement read, “has worked tirelessly to turn Hill Woodworks into a multi-million-dollar company, while also contributing to the local and regional community in many ways. Chris has worked all her life as an advocate and mentor for women-owned businesses.”

In addition to being a certified WBE, the company is also a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), as well as a recognized PA Small Business, and PA Small Diverse Business. 

She said she was proud to be nominated and chosen as one of the Women of Influence, especially considering how many women are doing similar things in business. From personal experience, she knows it wasn’t always that way. 

“I remember, when I first was in manufacturing, I was doing purchasing. I called a vendor to purchase some raw materials.  I told the man what I wanted.  He asked to speak to our plant manager.  I said, ‘No, I need to order this material,’ but he continued to ask for someone other than me to make certain ‘I was ordering the correct material.’”

She was, indeed, ordering the correct material; she knew exactly what was needed.

“Over time, the acceptance of women in manufacturing and other roles, normally held by men, has progressed and to have the recognition of our achievements is quite rewarding.”

Seriously in the shop
Today, Foltz is taken seriously in the industry and the shop. She has a laid-back management style she learned from her father and has earned the respect of her experienced workers. 

All work is completed onsite except for specific features such as granite, quartz, or stainless steel countertops, which are completed by an approved Hill Woodworks’ partner.

With 18,000 square feet of manufacturing and assembly space, the plant is comprised of a series of rooms housing different areas of production from CNC machining of laminated boards and solid surfacing material (Corian), edgebanding, sanding, and assembly.

At the center of production is a Weeke Optimat BHP 200 from Homag. It is a CNC flat table machining center, capable of high-speed routing, drilling, and nesting operations, featuring a 3-axis system with a large working area, a vacuum hold down system, an automatic tool changer (ATC), and a spindle speed-up to 7,500 RPM. 

It is precision cuts material up to 5 feet x 12 feet and up to 2 inches thick. Materials cut include plywood, solid wood, flakeboard, solid surface, MCP, MDF, and Plexiglas. A vacuum lift front-loads the machine.

A Brandt edgebander, also from Homag, applies laminate matching edgebanding to cabinet doors and parts. There are a variety of table and panel saws, including a Streibig Optisaw 2 vertical panel saw, used to cut materials to size.

Hill Woodworks’ design tools include Microvellum software that integrates with AutoCAD for the design and production of casework, cabinets, and solid surface countertops used in an expanding number of applications. ✚