PHILIPSBURG — The Moshannon Valley Economic Development Partnership is proud to be a partner with many businesses throughout the Moshannon Valley region. Our Spotlight on Business features are intended to provide the public with additional information about the businesses that call this area home.
UMI Performance Inc. was started in late 2002 and officially incorporated in May 2003. The company is owned by Ryan Kirkwood and is in Rush Township at the site of the former Shain Shop/Bilt plant. Their facility is approximately 35,000 square feet and the company currently employs 49 people.
Just nine years ago, the company employed 30 people, so the company continues to grow to meet market and customer demands. UMI’s customers are located across the world as products are shipped to all ends of the globe.
UMI Performance is a leading brand in the automotive aftermarket industry, specializing in the manufacturing of high-performance suspension components and accessories. The company manufactures sway bars, control arms, subframe connectors, chassis parts and many others. The seed for the company came in 2002 when Kirkwood began to build a few automobile chassis components for friends while working in his father’s machine shop. He began to identify a large demand for suspension and chassis products, and he believed that the market was lacking options and full of highly priced items that he thought he could manufacture at a more reasonable cost.
Kirkwood has a great team at his company including Jill Irwin, chief financial officer; Ramey Womer, product engineer; Jerry Mondock, plant manager; and Marshal Aloi, inventory and plant manager.
He credits the quality of his team with enabling the company to grow and handle changes in market conditions.
The UMI Performance facility features CNC machining, both milling and turning CNCs, band sawing, press brake operation, MIG and TIG welding, plasma cutting and powder coating. The company manufactures its products from start to finish: from raw 24-foot bars of tubing to a finished product sold to customers, all within the Philipsburg area manufacturing facility. The company has always been very proud of their place in the “Made in the USA” movement.
