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American Holtzkraft, Inc was founded in February 1985 by Phillip and Barbara Apple. Phillip C. Apple hails from a third generation apple farm; which he and his father, the late Herbert Apple, operated 1000 acres of the A/A Orchards until the summer of 2002. In addition to the A/A Orchards, Phil and his father created H.V. Farms and Troyers Mill. Troyers Mill was established by hiring local Amish wood workers to build wooden bins and pallets to ship apples to grocers and food processing plants. Troyers Mill grew into a very large specialized wood pallet business which was in full operation until March 2005, when a fire burned the building to the ground. Only a small portion of Troyers Mill remains operational today. Between harvest times the employees of A/A Orchards would be looking for work, so Phil and Barbara set out to find a niche that would utilize their employees' Amish workmanship and enhance their wood operations. After much searching for that niche and the need for an outdoor umbrella in their backyard, Phil and Barbara realized only one outdoor umbrella manufacturer existed in the country in California. American Holtzkraft, Inc. was created and our first umbrellas were manufactured in an Amish barn, with hydraulic sewing machines. Many of our original employees continue to work for American Holtzkraft, Inc.