ABOVE: Matt and Steve Petrowiak stand outside American Glass, which started in 1991.

FAIRMONT – For American Glass owner Steve Petrowiak, his shop has been his baby since he opened it in 1991.

Petrowiak cut his teeth at Harmon Autoglass in Mankato, picking up the tricks of the trade. After a few years, he opened his shop in Fairmont with competition from Glass Man. Petrowiak said he nearly started his career there instead.

“A month after I started working for Harmon Glass, the owner of Glass Man at that time called me to see if I’d want to work for him,” he said. “I said ‘I just started this job, I don’t want to leave them so quick.”

The original ambition to start his own business came from the drive he had to take every day, as he lived in Fairmont while working in Mankato.

“I wanted to be down in this area more rather than driving back and forth,” Petrowiak said. “I started the business and went from there. A lot of hard work at the beginning, trying to get established.”

That hard work included what Petrowiak called “pounding the pavement”, going to all the insurance companies and other agencies to let them know he was open and what they could expect. He said until around the second year, he grappled with doubts.

“You can just start to see it growing,” Petrowiak said. “There’s so many times that were like ‘Okay, is this worth it? You got to keep telling yourself it’s worth it, as long as you put the work in to get it going.”

Since 1991 cars have changed a lot. From the glass side, Petrowiak said there are a lot more electronics they have to deal with and take care of before installing the glass. In addition, windshields are more vital than ever.

“Back then the vehicle bodies were strong enough to where they didn’t consider the windshield as part of the body structure,” he said. “They’ve got more to where you have to use better urethane to hold the windshield in because it’s considered part of the body structure. You got to make sure the windshield stays in to keep everybody in the vehicle and the roof doesn’t cave in.”

After over 30 years, Petrowiak said he would know when to stop because his body would tell him. In the spring of 2024, he was told.

“It’s hard on the body,” he said. “Cutting them out, setting the windshields, getting them out of there. My shoulder and elbow are just screaming at me because the year before, I didn’t have any issues. I thought another three, four years would probably be okay. This last year, my body was telling me enough to know.”

Petrowiak’s son, Matt Petrowiak got his start in his father’s shop after college, before the opportunity to purchase Squeegee Brothers came up and subsequently became his major focus. Matt will continue to own it but will hire some more help in busier seasons to compensate.

Even so, Matt said this was always the plan.

“Before squeegee brothers was a possibility, that was the plan at the beginning,” he said. “Dad was a good 10 to 15 years away from retiring [at that point].”

Steve said he had gotten inquiries for years about the shop and his eventual retirement. He heard them out, but let all of them know his son would get first crack at it.

“[I said] ‘You better make up your mind because if you don’t want it, I’m going to be calling these other people,'” he said. “That’s when he decided. Of course, I kept asking him throughout the whole year just to verify.”

As for what he learned from his father, Matt said the most important thing was the priority of customers.

“Even with squeegee brothers, make sure they’re very happy with the products or service you give them and everything else will come after that,” he said.

Going into retirement, Steve said he is ready to rest and work on other projects.

“Letting my body heal,” he said. “I can already feel the difference since he’s been doing more of the work. My arms not throbbing or killing me as much, it’s getting better. Hopefully, I didn’t cause too much damage. Get some of the stuff done I keep putting off because there’s only so much time in the day, especially in the wintertime.”

Of course, with how important American Glass is to him, he certainly won’t be a stranger.

“I’m not going to leave [Matt] hanging whenever he needs help,” Steve said. “If he’s got an issue, I’ll come down and help. I feel good about it, I just don’t want to see him fail because this [shop] is my baby.”

* Editor’s Note: This article ran in the Sentinel’s winter car care section on Thursday, Jan. 16.