I know this is not Sullivan County but still pretty cool Theres a whole team behind the curtain at the OCC shop By Donna Kessler Times Herald-Record Posted Jan. 5, 2015 @ 8:32 am In “The Wizard of Oz,” there was a man behind the curtain making it all happen for the mighty Oz. Well, you can kind of say that the same goes at the Orange County Choppers shop at 14 Crossroads Court in Newburgh. But there is a whole team behind the curtain here that folks very rarely see or hear about, making it all happen at OCC. * * * First up is Jason Pohl, senior designer. Pohl is originally from Illinois, where he worked as an animator of video games. He happened to work on a digital pinball prototype for OCC and modeled and designed the choppers featured in the game. Paul Teutul Sr. was impressed with Pohl’s work and asked Jason to join the team. He has been with OCC now for 11 years. Pohl’s responsibility is basically designing the bikes. He talks with customers about their hopes and dreams, “and then I crush them.” He usually comes up with a better idea as far as the design and engineering of the bike. Pohl keeps it old school, starting with a charcoal rendering on paper before having a 3-D sculpture created and a graphic print that he shows the client. This gives the client a clear vision of what the bike will look like when completed. From art to engineering, everything has to function and perform. “I love showing up for work,” Pohl said. He doesn’t care if it’s a celebrity bike or one for charity; he enjoys coming up with new designs. Phol graduated after four years at the Illinois Art Institute with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Art. * * * In the next office is Jim Quinn, lead engineer and machinist. Quinn is from Montgomery and has been with OCC for 10 years. He previously worked for Imperial Schrade in Ellenville until it closed in 2004. There he designed knives using the same program he uses at OCC to design parts. Quinn’s responsibility is making sure things work - and work safely - on the bikes. However, his engineering and machining skills don’t stop there. Next time you are in the OCC Cafe, take a look around. Half the racks and signage in the Cafe were designed by Quinn and built by the shop. One of their most impressive projects is designing the championship belts for the World Wrestling Federation. In fact, Brock Lesnar wears one of the belts engineered at OCC. Many of the parts that are machined are not just for motorcycles but also bring to life folks inventions or ideas, tools and retirement plaques. Among other things, the shop donated the nose cone for the airplane that is being restored in Airplane Park in Monroe. They also work with the Pine Bush Engineering Academy, helping the students there as well as giving them tours of the shop. From building a bike for a 7-foot man to building a trike for a 4-foot man with a disability, to carving out a wheel from a 60-pound aluminum slab, Quinn engineers from one extreme to the next. “I love what I do,” Quinn said. Quinn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology. * * * Rick Petko is probably one of the most recognizable faces in the shop. Originally from Bath, Pa., he came to work for OCC in 2003 as a fabricator and builder. Petko does metal work and builds exhausts. Everything is by hand. Petko’s dad used to build bikes. At an early age, Petko was riding motorcycles to four wheelers. “I learned to do stuff by breaking stuff,” he said. A passion for old-school bikes like flat heads led him to partake in the Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood, N.J., in October. Petko lives on a farm in the Poconos and has a shop of his own. He is also has a dirt track where he and his friends can “play.” It may be an hour-and-a-half drive from his home to OCC, but he says it’s worth the trip. * * * Christian Welter, originally from Asbury Park, N.J., now living in Wallkill, is another face that you might have seen from time to time. He is a fabricator and machinist in the shop, performs test drives and does the wiring and assembly. Working previously at two other shops, Welter finally came to rest at OCC in 2002 and has watched the company evolve to what it is today. “I never anticipated the cameras. I just wanted to build bikes,” Welter said. “The cameras take getting used to. I really don’t like people watching me work.” Welter had ridden motorcycles his whole life as well as raced in motocross and on ATVs. “I was a tinkerer when I was young. I would take things apart and put them back together. I took apart Mom’s vacuum cleaner once. I was just always interested in how things worked,” Welter said. One of his other passions is music. Welter was the drummer for the OCC Band. His entire family is made up of musicians. “Music is a big part of my life as well as snowboarding and traveling,” Welter said. “I love what I do,” Welter said. “There’s something new most of the time and it’s good to be tested to see what you are capable of. You use a lot of math you thought you would never use in school.” Welter graduated in 2000 from the American Motorcycle Institute in Daytona, Fla. * * * Ron Salsbury, operations manager, is from Pine Bush and has been with OCC for 12 years. Salsbury is in charge of the shop from fabricator to machinist to print shop and the cafe and retail shop. It’s quite a lot to handle but he seems to have no worries. Salsbury formerly worked at Orange County Ironworks with Paul Sr. He then went to work for AT&T for about five years before returning to OCC. He has pretty much been with OCC since day one. “I was able to see it take off. It’s a great experience,” Salsbury said. * * * These are just a few of the talented guys that make up the shop at OCC. Others are: Evan Favaro, fabricator; Phil Nask, body work/mechanic; Ralph Estrada, painter, who has been with OCC since 2003; Mike Tampone, CNC machinist; John Koerner, CNC machinist who has been with OCC since 2006; Mike Burkehouse, parts; and Paul Miller, parts/mechanic. They may be behind the curtain at OCC, but you can see them doing what they do best by taking a shop tour or just by seeing what is displayed in the retail store or the next project on the lift. dkessler@th-record Above is the team thats behind the curtain at Orange County Choppers shop that folks very rarely see or hear about. DONNA KESSLER/Times Herald-Record
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:36:19 +0000
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