Grit and determination help launch Blair County’s Deadluck Manufacturing

Deadluck Manufacturing is owned by two husband/wife duos. Pictured from left to right: Jim Ellenberger, Shelly Ellenberger, Scott Breindel, and Terri Breindel. Photo: Provided.

What is a good career path for the kid who loves to build with Legos? Manufacturing Engineer.  At least that was the path for Blair County business owner, Scott Breindel. “I have always had a passion for building things. Legos when I was a kid, 3D CAD systems as a teen,” he said. Going to Penn State University for a degree in manufacturing engineering just made sense.

Scott’s wife, Terri Breindel, is also a Penn State graduate with a manufacturing engineering degree. Terri’s story took a bit of a different turn. She shared, “I have been a business owner for the last 15 years. I owned a preschool and an elderly care company.”

The husband-wife team found success by teaming up with another husband-wife duo. Scott’s coworker Jim Ellenberger was a machinist for over 25 years and had always dreamt of a shop of his own. Ellenberger’s wife Shelly was the finance guru and contributed her expertise in finance, payroll and benefits. By combining Scott’s manufacturing background and Terri’s business know-how, Jim’s machining experience and Shelly’s finance experience, Deadluck Manufacturing was born.

Being an entrepreneur in the past didn’t exclude the duo from needing help. “Startup Alleghenies coach Matt Fox stopped in to help and he planted the seeds of a growth mindset,” Terri shared. Scott added, “We can make the parts and make them well; Matt really helped with our connections for growth. We built this building with a lot of power because we want to see that growth.”

Fox said, “This team is the perfect combination of putting knowledge in motion. With Terri’s entrepreneur background and Scott’s manufacturing background, Startup Alleghenies was able to come alongside the team and cast a vision for a future of growth.”

According to Urban Dictionary, ‘deadluck’ means to get out of a bad situation just in the nick of time. Both Scott and Terri did just that. Right before Covid, Terri sold her preschool and Scott quit his job of over 20 years just as they were about to put him in charge of health and safety.

It may have been deadluck, but this brought the team back to their roots. Scott said that they didn’t want to leave anything off the table when they started. He said, “We manufacture ATV type parts, bushings, bearings. We do a lot of business to business and would like to develop our own product line.” Terri chimed in and said, “In layman’s terms, we do metal working.”

Before opening a physical location, Terri said they analyzed the area, demand, competitors, building sites, products and the initial setup. “By the time the doors opened we had a framework to hopefully guarantee us some level of success,” she shared.

The Breindels said they purchased land and built their own building in the perfect location, the I-99/I-80 corridor in Blair County. “We get a lot of foot traffic into our building. A lot of people stop in to share their ideas,” Terri said.

The I-99/I-80 corridor is home to the beautiful, new Deadluck Manufacturing building. Photo: Provided.

What is the secret to their success? “Grit and determination. We are just trudging through the systems together to make good decisions for our business,” Terri said. Scott said that it was also really focusing on customer service. “We want to be known for getting it right the first time. We strive to give accurate lead times and execute on what we say we are going to do.”

Scott said that Deadluck Manufacturing has built a lot of community relationships with a wide variety of small businesses including local factories and bakeries. “We want to develop custom lines and grow into a reputable manufacturing business. We will also be hiring soon to help keep up with the demand we are seeing,” Terri said.

Startup Alleghenies helps startup and emerging small businesses succeed by providing free coaching to entrepreneurs in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. To access personal, one-on-one support from a coach in your county, including guidance, resources, tools and networking opportunities, sign up at startupalleghenies.com.