Owner of Starlight MFG Solutions in Fulton was vice president at Otis Technology in Phoenix — until the company closed locally. He then decided to open his own shop. “We are pretty much doubling in size each year so far,” he says
By Stefan Yablonski
Q: When did you start this business”
A: I started Starlight MFG Solutions LLC while I was working at another government contractor. I was vice president of engineering at Otis Technology at their Phoenix location until they closed that facility due to a shift in business at the end of 2023. While at Otis, I was also working on Starlight on a part-time basis. I gained a lot of exposure to a lot of different equipment. That is the kind of service we provided to Otis when we were a part of them. Now we have spun that whole concept off here.
Q: How would you describe it?
A: It’s a manufacturing engineering firm specializing in custom automation to serve as an outsourced engineering support for companies that need additional resources. I want to make it a sustainable business that can partner with local manufacturers to help them.
Q: What is your background; did you go to college with this in mind?
A: I am a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. My B.S. from RIT was in manufacturing engineering technology and my MS from RIT was in manufacturing and mechanical systems integration with a minor in business.
Q: Why this type of business?
A: I identified a large gap in the market for companies that needed small to medium help with manufacturing projects.
Q: What services do you offer?
A: We are focusing more on manufacturing. We do a lot of robotics, we do laser marking, we do filling — pretty much anything that the customer needs.
Q: Have you seen any growth since you started?
A: Yes. We have been growing ever since the company started. Our specialties include robotics, vision inspection and guidance, rotary-indexing workcells, dispense systems, laser marking, machine tending and more. We provide support to companies that need additional resources. We moved to a facility in Fulton about a year and a half ago. We are leasing our space in Fulton — the former NET & Die facility. We bought our own equipment, we are leasing the space. We have been operating here since early 2024.
Q: You’re ready to take on bigger jobs?
A: We want to stay in the small to medium size market where the large players don’t want to play. That is kind of where we found our niche. We are expanding regionally to take on more of those projects. My customers are relatively small business. They don’t have in-house automation; engineering and development teams are not feasible.
Q: Business has been doing well?
A: I am pretty satisfied about where we are at. We are definitely growing year to year. We are pretty much doubling in size each year so far. We are self-sustaining.
Q: How busy are you on any given day?
A: How busy? That’s kind of relative. We average between three and five projects going on in the shop at any time. We have a backlog that is manageable.
We have seen a great demand for laser marking. The work is very relationship-driven. Much of it is based on referrals from other customers.
Q: So, you must have a pretty big staff?
A: No. I have just one other full-time person, a colleague from Otis. I bring in other people as the projects dictate. I handle sales and the overall operation of the manufacturing processes. We use outside sources for some work. We aren’t afraid to take on the other jobs — but we are filling our niche pretty well.
Q: Do you get tired?
A: I don’t get tired, no not really. Before this I ran a facility in Phoenix for 12 years. I enjoy solving problems and that part of the job is still my favorite. I have a supportive family life at home that definitely helps a lot. I just love the challenge of it.
Q: Do you still live in the area?
A: Yes. I live in Phoenix, town of Lysander.
Q: What is the biggest job you’ve done?
A: We have done some that were pretty good size. I don’t want to get into dollar amounts, don’t want to share gross revenue. We try to use locally sourced components. It is just amazing the components you can find that are locally produced.
