Three Generations in Glass
Dixie Glass Co. sees steady success for over six decades
![An example of Dixie Glass Co. work on display—walk-up transaction windows with electric speaker systems at the entrance for the Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina.](storyassets/carolinas/feature_stories/S18-FS3-Three-Generations-in-Glass/S18_NC_FS3_Interior1.jpg)
An example of Dixie Glass Co. work on display—walk-up transaction windows with electric speaker systems at the entrance for the Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina.
![Seth Hazelton (left) has grown up working in the company and expects to become a third-generation owner following current owners Scott Shook and his mother, Kathie Hazelton Shook.](storyassets/carolinas/feature_stories/S18-FS3-Three-Generations-in-Glass/S18_NC_FS3_Interior2.jpg)
Seth Hazelton (left) has grown up working in the company and expects to become a third-generation owner following current owners Scott Shook and his mother, Kathie Hazelton Shook.
Few stories in our free enterprise system resonate like those of people who start a business from scratch, work hard to make it successful, and then pass it down to their children who pass it down to their children. Those tales are, in many ways, the American way.
There is no doubt that Dixie Glass Co. fits that script. Started over a half century ago by a man who had no experience working with glass, the company has become a respected and reliable source for customers who need glass work done correctly, on time and for a fair price.
In 1952, Joe Shook and his older brother were doing painting work in the Gastonia, North Carolina, area when a plant manager asked about having some broken windows fixed. Shook had never worked with glass, but he volunteered for the job and replaced the broken panes at the textile mill, and the manager was pleased with the speed and the quality of the work. Shook shifted from painting to glass and, working out of the trunk of his car, slowly built his company. In the early 1960s, he expanded into doing storefronts.
“It’s the old saying: necessity is the mother of invention,” says Scott Shook, Joe’s son and the company co-owner and Manager. “The major glass companies were in the Charlotte area, and this area really didn’t have a company that could handle the work. There was a need for it, and my dad was able to fill that need.”
Scott’s sister, Kathie Hazelton, joined the company to help run the office. Her mom had been handling the office work, but the growth of the company required more help. Kathie, now co-owner along with her brother, is in charge of the business and accounting aspects.
“The company just grew by word of mouth; my father didn’t advertise,” Kathie says. “He had a good reputation for doing quality work and for standing behind that work. The business really started to grow when he started getting work as a contractor.”
Her son, Seth Hazelton, worked as a forklift driver and at a car wash before joining the family business five years ago. At first, he worked in the office helping his mom, but then transitioned to working job sites. He was a part-time crew member with Dixie Glass as a teenager and that allowed him to quickly pick up the tricks of the trade as a full-time worker. His experience working in both the inside and outside aspects of the company positions him perfectly to eventually take over as a third-generation owner.
“Mom taught me everything in the office, including how to deal with customers and how to price projects,” Seth says. “Many times, customers come in and don’t know exactly what they want, so we have to guide them. Mom helped me learn that. That’s going to be a big help when I take over because I’ll know how the office works along with how the installation works.”
Dixie Glass is a self-reliant, self-contained shop that rarely needs outside resources to complete its jobs. That’s a major factor in one of the company’s proudest claims—it has never missed a project deadline.
“The people who know us—the general contractors—know what to expect from us,” says Scott, who started working for the company when he turned 18 in 1982. “They know the quality of our work, and they know we don’t miss deadlines. I’d say 90 percent of our business is repeat business. It sounds like we’re tooting our horn, but the facts are the facts.”
How Dixie Gets the Job Done
Into the early 1980s, Dixie Glass handled mostly residential jobs before transitioning to designing and installing commercial storefronts. Competing with large glass companies, Scott likes to keep his jobs four stories and below. The profit margin for Dixie Glass involves jobs that range from $5,000 to $1 million projects.
“The majority of the commercial glass companies these days are storefront brokers,” Scott says. “They’ll bid and get a job, but they don’t have their own installation crews. They’ll subcontract that, and the quality of the work suffers.”
Scott built the glass racks for the company’s trucks and trailers plus the tilt-top glass tables used in the workshop. He visited numerous equipment displays, but decided that what was being sold wasn’t up to snuff.
“It just wasn’t high quality or heavy duty enough for what we need and want to do,” Scott says. “I knew what we needed and how to build it. We try to be as self-reliant as possible.”
About 12 years ago, Scott took classes to learn digital AutoCAD (computer-aided design), which was another step to keep work in-house. The AutoCAD drawings work off architectural blueprints and specifications.
“It’s a very precise industry,” he says. “We have to be plus or minus one-sixteenth of an inch. And most shops our size don’t do what we do because we do our own digital AutoCAD shop drawings.”
Dixie Glass’ in-house production abilities allow it to control its work flow. When a finished product leaves the shop, it’s ready for installation.
“They’re not depending on someone else for anything other than their stock material,” says Ron Pantuso, President of Pinnix General Contractors in Gastonia. Pinnix has worked with Dixie Glass for the last 30 years, and Pantuso says that the company is as reliable as the sun rising and setting. “Anytime we’ve asked them for a price estimate, they do it,” he continues. “Anytime we need them to schedule a project, they do it and complete it on time. And if there’s ever any fixes or corrections the customer needs or asks for, they take care of it. They’re easy to work with. We’ve been in business for 90 years and we rank our subcontractors A, B or C. ‘A’ is the best and Dixie Glass has always been in that ‘A’ category.”
Pantuso also points out that Dixie Glass is accurate with its bids for projects. Pinnix negotiates its work and needs its subcontractors to hit the mark when it comes to estimates. “It’s important that you get an honest number and Dixie does that,” Pantuso says. “They’re also very knowledgeable about their craft. I’ll sometimes call them if I have a question about a project where we’re not using them and they’re helpful with answers.”
A Future Based on the Past
Dixie Glass has thrived with its personal hands-on approach, customer service and quality work. This has made the company successful and is a formula that will continue to be applied. The day-to-day work orders supply a solid base for the company’s bottom line, along with occasional big-ticket jobs.
Scott’s business philosophy has been to not grow too big to fail. As the company’s website explains, Dixie Glass “does not aspire to be the biggest glass company, but the best.” He prefers to limit job orders so that he, Seth and their crew can maintain a high-quality level of service. Unless and until they can hire and/or train site supervisors and add to their workforce, the plan is for Dixie Glass to just keep on keeping on.
“I like it being a small business—fewer headaches than you would have with a bigger business,” Seth says. “We’ve got enough work to keep us going. We just finished a job at a local school that was about a half-million-dollar project. That will pretty much carry us through 2018, but then we expect to have the steady, smaller jobs that also keep us busy.”
For now, the biggest expansion planned includes the addition of a loading dock and staging area at their main facility to better accommodate the company’s trucks. The expansion will double the current 4,000-square-foot facility.
Joe Shook passed away in 2006. His legacy has been continued by Scott, and with Seth next in line, Dixie Glass is positioned for continued success.
“It means a lot for this company to continue as part of our family into the third generation,” Scott says. “Most companies don’t make it past the second generation. The third generation is the crucial generation, and we’ve trained Seth from the bottom up. The future is looking good.”
![Wendell Barnhouse](storyassets/contributors/WendellBarnhouse.jpg)