Shortly after buying his first horse, Ron Cimini became a sales representative for the Tandy Corporation, which began as a leather goods company, prior to buying out Radio Shack in the 60s.
While working for the Texas-based company, Cimini refused to leave Williamsport because he wanted to raise a family here.
"I ended up as sales manager for the company. I never left Williamsport because I always wanted to raise my family here. So, I spent five years flying in and out of Williamsport every Sunday and coming back Friday nights. A friend told me I needed to be in business for myself," Cimini said.
Article Photos
SHAWNA TURNER/Sun-Gazette
Ron Cimini kept building products that he
thought would sell. Eventually, the business
evolved into what it is today.
Shortly after that, Cimini began his business owning venture, when he bought Dr. Davies Products Co. It manufactured rat poisoning.
But, by that point Cimini had developed a love for leather and started a belt making business with a friend that he worked with at Tandy.
"Neither one of us had any money. He would manufacture 500 belts at a time and then send them up to me. I would hurry up and go out on the road, sell the belts and send him the money. Then he would make 500 more belts. We just kept going," Cimini said.
While this was going on, Cimini had people asking about horse equipment. He decided to hire some Amish people in Clearfied to built strap goods for horse equipment.
Cimini kept building items that he thought would sell. The business evolved as time went on.
Today, Cimini is the sole owner of the business.
Cimini couldn't find anyone that knew how to make leather goods. He realized that the Amish were craftsmen and used to doing their own work.
"We have a unique set up where we have Amish working for us in western Pennsylvania and New York. They work for us on a piece work basis. We supply them with everything they need to make the item, and they supply the labor. This gives us a constant supply of workers," Cimini said.
Today, more than 90 percent of the business has to do with the manufacturing of horse equipment. Some of those items include competition horse reins, training equipment and horse bridals.
Their quality-made products are manufactured domestically.
"Our English bridals are made in the United States. The majority of quality made English bridals are made in Europe and India," Cimini said.
They also sell belts and dog collars out of their English bridals, according to Cimini.
"The product line that we have has come about by our dealer network asking us "can you make this, can you make that," Cimini said.
As far as price points, the business tries to hit middle of the road, even though they use top quality leather on all products.
Dealers who use the products may be found globally.
"We have about 1,000 dealers in the United States and probably about 200 accounts out of the United States," Cimini said.
In fact, other countries demand the quality American made products.
"One of our main deals right now, is we are exporting our belt line to Japan. The reason is, the Japanese people are demanding better quality merchandise and they prefer it made out of American raw materials, which is getting harder and harder to do all of the time," Cimini said.
Cimini said his business is unique because they have a survival instinct. About seven years ago, the business's building was ravaged by fire. They rebounded quickly, temporarily running the business out of a building on Reach Rd. while they rebuilt.
The rebuilding took about a year, and they barely missed a step.
