UPPER NAZARETH TWP., Pa. — Shortly after taking office in 2021, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity launched Made in Pa. Mondays, a social media series highlighting a manufacturer in the state every week.
On Tuesday, Garrity found one that was music to her ears.
Garrity visited the C.F. Martin & Co. guitar factory in Upper Nazareth Twp.
- Pa. Treasurer Stacy Garrity visited storied Northampton County guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin and Co. on Tuesday
- The visit was part of her Made in Pa. Mondays campaign to highlight manufacturing in the state
- Martin has been building guitars since 1833, and currently employs about 500 people in their Upper Nazareth Township factory and offices
She said she already has featured one manufacturer in each of Pa.’s 67 counties, and is now working her way across the state for a second time.
“We try to highlight all of the amazing manufacturers and makers that we have in Pennsylvania, because I think a lot of people don't know how much we really do have,” she said.
“Before I became the treasurer, I spent three decades in manufacturing. So manufacturing is very near and dear to my heart.”
But she said that of all of the manufacturers she’s toured so far for Made In Pa. Monday, Martin is her favorite.
Family business dating to 1833
C.F. Martin and Co., the storied Nazareth-based guitar builder, was founded in 1833. The company now employs about 500 people across its Northampton County factory and offices, and builds thousands of instruments a year.
“You don’t have a lot of family businesses that date back to 1833."Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity
Martin still is owned by descendants of the original C.F. Martin who founded the company; today, it is overseen by Chris Martin IV.
Over its history, the company has been responsible for many historic innovations in the acoustic guitar as we know it today, such as the now-ubiquitous dreadnought body style.
“You don’t have a lot of family businesses that date back to 1833,” Garrity said.
Human care meets machine precision
Jason Ahner, who oversees Martin’s museum and archives, walked Gerrity through the 300-step process to turn planks of wood into a musical instrument.
While Martin’s manufacturing process bears remarkable similarity to the hand-crafting techniques used for much of the company’s history, it also includes distinctly modern upgrades.
“To combine music with a lot of robotics and manufacturing — it’s great."Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity
While the edges of bracing supporting a guitar’s top, for example, are carefully shaved by a craftsman with a razor-sharp chisel, nearby, massive computer-controlled CNC mills or laser cutters make quick work of cutting out individual parts from a block of wood.
A guitar may get its first round of polishing from a robot arm, which uses suction cups to run an unfinished wooden body over a polishing wheel the size of a steamroller, while a human employee handles the final touches.
Garrity, who spent much of her career before becoming treasurer working in the manufacturing industry, said she was impressed by the advanced automation and machining technology similar to what she worked with in the past, integrated with decades-old techniques.
“To combine music with a lot of robotics and manufacturing — it’s great,” she said.
