PA Company Keeping American Dream Alive With American Keg
POTTSTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The makings of an American keg happen in Pottstown. "Everyone's very proud of being able to make kegs here in the U.S.," said Paul Czachor. He's the CEO of the American Keg Company.
In fact, the 30,000 square foot factory is the only one in the entire country to manufacture steel kegs. "Most steel kegs were coming from Europe, Germany or in Asia," Czachor explained.
Though the demand for craft beer, and the keg, soared, a few years ago, this plant almost closed its doors. That was until Scott Bentley stepped in with a $2 million investment. "When I found out we could make a keg here in America, that was competitive and keep jobs in Pottstown, I had to do something," Bentley said.
Now, the plant churns out about 200 kegs a day and they hope to double that in the near future. Turns out, creating a keg is quite the process.
It starts as a large roll of steel, pressed and cut, crafted into the carvings of a keg. All of the pieces are then welded together. Then, it goes through sterilization to make them food grade and steel grade so they will not rust.
The kegs can also be embossed and engraved with a logo and then you have it.
The American Keg, and American dream.
"It's only a few dollars more to buy an American-made keg so the decision shouldn't be hard," Bentley said.
