🔒Made in Maine: CM Almy produces religious goods in Pittsfield

Choir robes, clergy hats, altar candles, communion cups, sprinklers for holy water, bishops’ crosses. The religious articles might seem like the kind of thing that are passed along from generation to generation — and indeed many are. But a Pittsfield company, CM Almy, has been producing such items since 1892 and continues to offer them to customers around the world.

CM Almy was founded in New York by tailor Clarence Mortimer Almy and his son James. It passed through to James’ cousin Donald Fendler and eventually to Fendler’s sons, Thomas and Ryan, who moved the company to Pittsfield after World War II. Ryan Fendler’s sons, Michael and Stephen, brought it up to modern times by adding toll-free phone lines, credit card processing and, eventually, e-commerce. In 2023, the company was acquired by Tulsa, Okla.-based F.C. Ziegler Co., whose tagline is “For the love of worship since 1929.” Ziegler sells religious articles, church goods and related books and media. The privately held company does not disclose sales figures for CM Almy.

Pittsfield site

In Pittsfield, CM Almy has a 44,000-square-foot site with a range of 75 to 85 employees, says David Dube, general manager.

The customer base is mostly in the U.S., with about 10% of sales to institutions around the world. “A little over 50% of our sales are to Anglican — Episcopal churches — with around 20% being Catholic, and the rest comes from Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Methodist and a few others,” Dube says.