About: Who We Are

The Affiance Story

Our founder, Pat Stillman, always saw business as a way to give back. To the community, yes, and even more than that, to each person involved behind the scenes. Pat worked as hard as anyone, and he expected his partners and employees to do the same. He knew that hard work leads to growth and opportunity.

Pat had an uncommon approach to building his portfolio of businesses. He considered a company’s culture to be as important as its financials. He became personally invested in each business he owned, mentoring its people to become effective, independent leaders.

Today, we follow his example by acquiring businesses with strong offerings and even stronger values. And by striving to build organic leadership from within, rather than imposing it from without.

“We do what we say we're going to do.” by Pat Stillman

Our Founder, Pat Stillman

Pat Stillman was our founder, and also our father. In his early years, he was a dedicated athlete. He attended The University of Utah on a football scholarship, and after graduating, played professionally for the Philadelphia Bulldogs (part of the Continental Football League).

Dad’s true calling, however, was in business. Like many successful entrepreneurs, he began by taking on odd jobs like delivering newspapers and selling Christmas trees. In 1969, he purchased his first business: a Dairy Queen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Over the following years, he went on to purchase, overhaul, and establish various businesses in the service sector. These ranged from popular restaurants to Camp Woodward, a summer sports camp that eventually became an international enterprise.

But he saw his greatest success when he began investing in manufacturing companies. He started small, with niche manufacturers like Mac-It. Over time, he built a strong portfolio of large, respected companies. Among them were brands like MKT Metal Manufacturing, Master Spas, Wolfgang Confectioners, and Sensing Devices.

Our father was a mentor to many and an active member of Convene, an international forum of Christian business leaders. He volunteered on many missions projects, supported ministries around the world, and served on Cairn University’s Board of Trustees for nearly 40 years. His connections ran deep, leaving behind a legacy of compassion and leadership, which to those who knew him will never forget.

Our Leadership Team

Our Core Values

Loyal

In both challenging and successful seasons, you will find us dependable. We understand through experience the ebb and flow of business. We also highly value our relationships. Many of our partnerships have lasted decades, a testament to our loyalty.

Faith

Our words and actions flow from our personal relationships with God. We do our best to live our lives in ways that honor God and are uplifting toward others. Central to this is doing what we say we will do. We also define a good deal as one that is good for everyone.

Dynamic

Our broad range of experiences as a group, coupled with our energy and enthusiasm, creates an exciting environment where many ideas flow. This synergy helps us problem solve, develop and grow our businesses at a higher level.

Generous

Our businesses, partners and employees are the foundation of our success, and we recognize that strong communities build strong businesses. With kind hearts and generosity we seek to return the very best to those who have given so much to us.

Authentic

What you see is what you get. The best relationships are built on honesty and transparency. We are reliable and we communicate directly with respect and tact. We say what needs to be said as tactfully as we can. (As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17)

Growth Oriented

Our goal is to cultivate, nurture, develop and grow businesses to the best of our ability. We continually learn, keeping abreast of the latest developments in both technologies and industries, and then apply this knowledge to our businesses.