Michael Showers and I have been friends for many years. We had met years ago when the Pennsylvania Trappers Association had their yearly Convention in the Gettysburg area. Mike was a young Taxidermist and eager to learn and improve. I was impressed with his plans for the future - and we had long talks about the tanning industry. Mike struck me even then, as someone who had a lot of potential in the Taxidermy and Tanning fields.

So when I received a call from Mike in September of 2001 - it wasn't very surprising to hear that he had plans to start his own Tannery in Pennsylvania - Keystone Fur Dressing - and that he had every intention to offer only top quality work and service. He also explained that he wanted me as a Consultant, to help him launch the project, help him procure tools, chemicals and equipment, and train his Staff. This was an opportunity I couldn't refuse!

Keystone's new sign in front of their facility.
A large building with plenty of room to grow. It's beautifully set in the middle of Pennsylvania's apple orchard country

The driveway leading to the rear of the Keystone facility and its main office.
It provides convenient access with a full drive-in area as well as a loading dock.

In the planning stages of the project that Fall - we set some goals! We planned the scale of the project, discussed some of the pitfalls to avoid, and we set a timetable to accomplish the completion of the project. This was not intended to be a small Tannery - but a very competitive business, offering only the best quality tanning, and having the capacity to grow with its customer base!

Mike has an excellent business sense, and he planned this project well. He wanted the best tanning agent available - EZ-100, and a chemical system to support it. He wanted the best in Machinery to support the operation, and to minimize his maintenance and labor costs! His facility choice in Aspers, Pennsylvania is a Tanners dream come true - high ceilings, access to water, heat and sewage - and lots of room to grow in the future. Already they have available 20,000 square feet that is being used, and will probably use more in the future. This is a well maintained Tannery - clean and neat!


Michael Showers, Bruce Rittel and Richard Raudabaugh
at the Keystone Driveway Sign.


Skins that are received slightly damp and not dried hard - can be spread out on pallets and dried to ensure that they process successfully later. The process begins the moment your skins are received, inventoried, identified and invoiced! Every precaution is taken to ensure you get your skins and capes back, intact and tanned, and ready to be prepped and mounted!

Damp Skins and Capes being dried out before storage and processing.
This is the only way to ensure that they are all tight and it dramatically reduces losses!


But Keystone Fur Dressing isn't just a Tanning facility. Mike has also incorporated his Taxidermy business into it. Shower's Taxidermy - and it produces first class quality Taxidermy! This is the area that Mike developed his experience and reputation in, and like his Staff, he demands that knowing Taxidermy, and doing it well, also makes you aware of what Taxidermy customers want and need when it comes to tanning, to conduct their own successful businesses. Meeting these wants and needs in the Tannery produces satisfied successful customers who will use your services again in the future.

About Michael Showers!

Michael has quite a resume. It reflects a lot of involvement in Taxidermy as a successful Taxidermy business owner for 23 years, being on the Board of Directors in the Pennsylvania Taxidermist Association, and being extremely active in working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, as well as fighting for the rights of Pennsylvania Sportsmen and Taxidermists. Mike has spent 7 years in and out of Federal Court fighting for protecting Taxidermists rights against unlawful search. He has won numerous awards at the State, National and Safari Club International levels, including the National Award of Excellence.


Michael Showers.
Keystone's Owner and Manager.

Meet Michaels Staff

If you Call Keystone Fur Dressing or visit their facilities in Aspers, it's more than likely that the first person you make contact with is Donna Trout. Donna is their receptionist and besides managing the Office, also oversees the shipping part of the operation. A very attractive and intelligent woman, she is a very important part of Keystone, and has been extremely reliable.


Donna Trout.
Keystone's Office Manager and in charge of the shipping department.


One of the top Key players at Keystone is Rich Raudabaugh. Rich is the Operations Manager of the Tannery and Michaels right hand man. Rich is responsible for the day to day operations of the Tannery and training new personnel. Extremely concerned with producing only the very best quality work - Rich has been responsible for many of the newer innovations and improvements at Keystone. His background, besides having had his own successful Taxidermy business for 18 years, includes an extensive career as a Machine Development Technician at Ametek, working with and fabricating machinery. He and Michael make a very good team.

"Rich" Raudabaugh. Keystone's Operations Manager.
This is the man responsible for the Chemicals, the process, Quality Control and Training employees.
Here he is with finished EZ-100 skins about to be sorted and shipped to customers.


If you require Taxidermy work from Keystone's Taxidermy department, you'll probably be talking with their Taxidermist in charge, Randy Kuntz. Randy is a very talented Taxidermist and Mikes personal choice for this important position. Make sure if you visit Keystone's facilities that you take the time to view their Taxidermy showroom where Mike and Randy have a lot of their work displayed.

Randy Kuntz. Keystone's Taxidermist in charge of their Taxidermy shop.
His talent and creativity produces top quality work for Keystone's customers.

Keystone's Shaving Staff!

This is the very heart of any successful Tannery - and they have some of the very best on their Team! Besides both Mike and Rich being very capable shavers, when they are needed - they also employ 3 full-time professional Shavers. Josh Raudabaugh, Andres Sandoval and Jason Raudabaugh. All of them are well trained, meticulously proficient on the shaving machines - and experienced! Their expertise and quality work is a very large contribution to building Keystone's reputation!

Josh Raudabaugh. One of Keystone's full-time Shavers.
He is an extremely talented and conscientious Shaver who produces excellent work.

Andres Sandoval. One of Keystone's full-time Shavers.
Andres is an expert on fine detailed shaving. Very talented.

Keystone also employs several part-time workers. They are fully trained on the Shaving Machines and produce top quality work. They include Robby Weidner, Spencer Showers and Joey Wagner. This whole Team produces top notch shaving - and Rich Roadabaugh will accept nothing less than the best! He supervises and trains these employees and maintains Quality Control.

My Involvement with Keystone!

I arrived at Keystone, in Aspers PA, on April 10th 2002. Mike had secured the location, all the equipment was in place, the chemicals were available, and we were prepared to complete the training portion of the project and develop their future operations. We planned to place an emphasis on training the Shavers, fine tuning their formulas for future use, resolving any equipment problems, and provide a convenient layout to the Tannery to facilitate production.

Bruce Rittel at work during our initial 2 week training period in 2002.
Everyone had an opportunity to get trained on shaving. This is the heart of the operation and everyone has to be prepared to provide backup during vacations or sickness.

We accomplished a lot in the 2 weeks I spent at Keystone's facility. We shared information, sources, reflected on mistakes other Tanneries had made, and we made it a top priority that we wanted nothing less than a top quality product for our customers. The day to day future operations of the Tannery were developed. We talked about potential sewage problems and how we could manage the costs and overhead involved in creating a successful operation. And plans for future expansion were discussed.

When I left the project to return home - I was convinced that this was a very well trained and capable team! As in any project - changes will be made - but basically I was proud to be part of such a project, and to work with such a professional Staff. This was a very satisfying project!

The big difference!

Almost one year later, on March 12th, on my way to the Pennsylvania Taxidermy Convention in Altoona, PA, I again stopped into the Keystone facility. Although we have chatted frequently over the phone, nevertheless, I had wanted to see some of the changes that had taken place, as well as look at their newer equipment.

2002 - Keystone's Finishing end area with it's 1 Sawdust Drum and enclosed Caging Drum.

2003 - Keystone's Finishing end area 1 year later!
Notice it now includes 2 Sawdust Drums and 2 enclosed Caging Drums.


What a difference had taken place! More vats, more Wet Drums, more Sawdust and Caging Drums, more Shavers, a larger drying room area, a large showroom for the Taxidermy section, they had just purchased a Centrifuge, and they had expanded into more of the vast facility. Their Wet Drums are now computerized. They have just installed a new efficient drying system. They streamlined their receiving and storage areas. I was impressed with the feeling that Keystone was growing rapidly - and it felt good knowing I had contributed something to its beginning!

2002 - Keystone's Wet end area.
This included vats and 2 original 1000 gallon open door Wet Drums.

2003 - Keystone's Wet end area.
Notice that it now includes 4 new 1500 gallon Wet Drums, for a total of 6 open door Wet Drums.
This is a dramatic increase in their production capacity. These Drums are now all computer controlled.

2003 - Keystone's Shaving area.
We started out with 2 Eager Beaver shaving machines in 2002, and now there are 4 machines available for production.

2003 - Keystone is growing rapidly!
This is their new recently acquired Centrifuge waiting to be installed. This will provide drastically reduced drain times
and contribute to a more efficient system.


Other things you should know about Keystone Fur Dressing!

Keystone is licensed to receive Safari shipments and to clear them for either tanning at their facilities or to be distributed at the clients request. They can also provide Taxidermy services for these shipments. They have a U.S. Import license to clear your shipment at the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) airport. They also have a USDA license which allows them to be able to process Swine and Primates.

2003 - Keystone's very organized and efficient Storage area for skins and capes waiting to be processed. They have an excellent tracking system.

Keystone also accepts frozen unskinned or uncaped shipments. They will professionally cape, skin, prep and tan your specimen at a very reasonable extra charge for such services.

Dry tan or Wet tan? Keystone offers both.


Keystone's furs waiting to be identified, sorted and shipped.
Notice the mix of EZ-100 tanned Fox furs!

Why use Keystone?
The top priorities at Keystone include providing the very best tanned cape or skin, excellent customer service and reasonable prices and turn-around. They use EZ-100 exclusively for all their tanning. You receive a very stretchy, washable, long shelf-life product that's an excellent choice for Taxidermy, rug work, garments or crafts. This is a Tannery run by people who have been involved in the Taxidermy industry. They know your business and they have the experience to provide you with the same quality they would also expect. They want to help you become successful!

"Rich" Raudabaugh inspecting an EZ-100 tanned Whitetail Deer cape before shipment.
Rich is in charge of Quality Control, and monitors your shipments progress throughout the process.

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