After the start of a new business from the Haag family, the
search can end in Parker.
In May 2005, Jim, Penny, Alex and Emily Haag decided to create a
family-owned business to help supplement the need for wooden
baseball bats in the area and the state.
“There were two reasons we decided to start this business,”
family patriarch Jim Haag said. “My high-school-age son and his
friends couldn’t really get their hands on a big barrel wood bat.
We’d bought a few products from different companies around the
country, but their products didn’t match the large barrels like on
an aluminum bat.”
Eventually, Haag and his cohorts decided to create the product
on their own since coaches and teams began looking for the same
kind of bats.
“The other reasons we started were to get our kids into a summer
job,” Haag said. “Sure, they could have worked at Burger King, but
we said ‘why don’t we have them take this on?'”
As the Haags began to build the business, each member of the
family has a position to play. Penny Haag, the matriarch, handles
the accounting. Emily Haag manages the Haag Bat Co. Web site at
www.haagbatco.com and all the digital photography the business may
require.
Alex Haag is elbow deep in the company’s sales, marketing and
some manufacturing. In fact, Alex Haag took an entrepreneur class
in high school and used the Haag Bat Co. as his business model,
including a marketing strategy.
“As we rolled the business out, it started to become popular,”
said Jim Haag, an electrical engineer by day who lends his talents
as a woodworker to the business. “We don’t even have a full year
under our belts, but we certainly understand the business better
than when we started.”
Many believe using a wood bat instead of metal makes young
baseball players better hitters, Emily Haag said.
“There has been a trend over the last few years toward using
more wood baseball bats among high school and youth baseball
players,” she said. “We wanted to deliver big barrel maple bats
that were well balanced and designed to make an easy transition
from metal to wood.”
The Haag Bat Co. decided to sell only maple bats since they are
known for their longevity and performance compared to other
traditional woods like ash.
The work involved in making the bats is not performed entirely
by the company. In fact, only the finishing stages of the process
are actually performed by the Haag family.
“Bats start with hard rock or sugar maple wood harvested from
the northeastern part of North America,” Emily Haag said. “Tree
logs are turned down into 4-inch by 40-inch billets and then vacuum
kiln dried to 8 to 10 percent moisture content.
“The wood is then turned on lathes to design specifications. We
pay a premium for the best maple wood and for the barrel design,
but we feel this is necessary to deliver a superior
product.”
The Haag Bat Co. decided to have two companies perform the
initial work. Once the bats are received by the Haags, already cut
and sanded, they are completed in Parker to keep costs
low.
The finishing process involves coloring the bats with most
common wood stains, covering them with a clear gloss lacquer or
using a colored dipping lacquer, Emily Haag said.
“More of the manufacturing process may be done in Parker later
as the business grows,” she said.
On special orders, using another company named Summerwood, the
Haags can also laser engrave a player or coach’s name on the barrel
of the bat along with other desired information.
The Haag Bat Co. sells its bats through five distribution
outlets in Colorado and directly from its location in Parker at
8651 North Pinery Parkway. Play at the Bullpen in Colorado Springs,
RMBI at the Edge Sports Center in Fort Collins and the Yard
Southwest in Littleton, among others, are some of the company’s
direct customers.
For more information on the Haag Bat Co. visit www.haagbatco.com
or call 303-358-0695.
Contact Benn Farrell at
bfarrell@ccnewspapers.net