Trow & Holden: Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year, Vermont and New England
by Small Business Administration For more than 130 years, Trow & Holden has been crafting fine stoneworking tools in its iconic red brick building on the banks of the Winooski River in Barre. At the heart of this historic building site and business is the Akley family, whose legacy is evident in every aspect of the business. It is this legacy that earned Trow & Holden the distinction of being named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year for Vermont and New England.
For six generations, Trow & Holden has been manufacturing stoneworking tools for the local granite industry. As the business has grown and matured, it has expanded into international markets.
Photo: Jordan Keyes, Gina Akley and Norman Akley display T&H’s quality management certificate. Courtesy photo.
Founded in 1890 by John Trow and Clarke Holden, the company is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. Gina Akley, the current president and CEO, and her brother, Benjamin, took the reins in 2019 from their parents, Norman Akley and Lauren LaMorte, who both still work at the company.
Gina Akley resisted joining the family venture at first, instead taking time to explore other places and career options.
“I was living in Scotland for a few years,“ she explained, “and then came back to the company full time in 2016 and worked for about three to four years before we transitioned ownership of the company.“
While the type of merchandise the company manufactures — which Akley jokingly refers to as ’caveman tools’ — has changed little through the years, the manufacturing process has evolved to keep up with the times.
Photo: Hammers on display against a dry stone wall. Courtesy photo.
“We’ve been making the same thing since we started, but the way we make things now is really different,“ she said. “Over the past several decades, the company implemented the next generation of manufacturing techniques, and now we’re looking at another iteration of that.“
This commitment to excellence is central to Trow & Holden’s success. Most businesses are fortunate to survive more than five years, let alone 130.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that approximately 20% of small businesses fail within their first year. The failure rate increases to 30% by the end of the second year, 50% by end of the fifth year and 70% by the 10th.
So, the Akley family as certainly beaten the odds. But that’s not to say they haven’t faced their share of adversity over the years.
Like most companies, Trow & Holden was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2020, the company was forced to shut down for a few months while it implemented safety measures to protect its employees.
This was made possible in large part by the SBA’s COVID Economic Relief programs. Trow & Holden applied for and received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan to cover working capital and other normal operating expenses, plus two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program loans — later forgiven — to cover employee wages.
While the pandemic presented numerous challenges, it also sparked an unexpected boom in home improvement projects as people spent more time at home. This trend significantly benefited Trow & Holden with a remarkable 35% increase in overall sales in 2020. Impressively, sales have maintained this momentum and show no signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Over the course of Trow & Holden’s long history, Gina Akley and the five generations before her have developed a sterling reputation for making superior products and backing them up with outstanding customer service.
Photo: early 20th century photo of the Old Forge Shop. Courtesy photos.
In central Vermont, Akley and her parents are renown for their community leadership and philanthropy, supporting education, the local arts and women’s health organizations, among other causes.
Akley said the family loves being a part of the fabric of the region and expect to live and prosper here for many more years.
“It is a really exciting time for us,“ she said. “We’re thrilled to still be here doing what we love.“
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