Laser engravers are making their mark

What started as a home-based operation has blossomed into a thriving downtown business for one Sedalia couple.

Harry Hoffert and his wife, Julie, own and operate Stone Laser Imaging, a business that specializes in doing custom laser etching on a wide variety of items ranging from trophies and wedding glasses to gun cabinets and gravestones.

Hoffert acquired an Epilog laser machine and said he started doing small jobs out of his house before moving the business to its present location on Ohio Avenue in October of 2009.

“I saw the potential and started doing it out of our house, and it just took off from there,” Hoffert said. “I didn’t really believe that in six months we would outgrow our space in the basement. That’s when we looked for a space downtown.”

Hoffert said he had a booth at the 2009 Missouri State Fair, where he displayed his laser engraving work and people really liked it.

“After the fair, we just had to open the shop,” Hoffert said. “We were well received.”
The building the business moved into, at 115 S. Ohio Ave., was ready and waiting for them, Hoffert said.

“We just painted and did the windows,” he said. “This place was completely redone from bottom to top.”

Hoffert said the laser engraving machine he uses to create his products works much like a printer, with all the information being fed to it through a computer.

Hoffert said he mostly taught himself how to use the machine, but he did attend a class in Olathe, Kan., to boost his knowledge.

“I learned a lot of short cuts,” he said. “There’s a lot of different things you can do with it, but it’s pretty much user-friendly.”

Hoffert now has two of the laser machines at the business, saying they allow him to engrave just about anything in glass, wood, metal, acrylic, marble and granite.

Hoffert said he’s been doing a lot of work for weddings lately, especially crystal wine glasses, and also does glasses for Hotel Bothwell and some work with Wine & More, both in Sedalia.  

“If you can imagine it and want a unique gift, well, we do a lot of them,” Hoffert said.

The shop also carries rustic furniture, floral decorations, gifts and other items for the home.

Stone Laser Imaging also does engraving work on recessed plates that can be set into gravestones as well as for foot markers that are set into the ground at the end of graves.

Hoffert said words about a loved one and even a photo image can be etched into the stone.
Hoffert said the custom markers are about 12 inches by 18 inches in size and are economical compared with etching work on a much larger stone. They’re also extremely durable and resistant to weather, he added.

“Water can’t get into the stone,” he said. “They last forever.”

Hoffert also does custom engraving work for funeral urns — for pets and people.

Trophies are another big part of the business. The bases are built out of Missouri walnut by a friend and then Hoffert finishes it. The trophies are customized and can include logos and pictures, Hoffert said.

He also does a lot of work for churches, schools, youth football, the military, funeral homes and car shows.

Hoffert’s work has even gained some recognition outside Sedalia, including work for the AMA professional motorcycle racing group for an awards show in Las Vegas, and the Missouri Recreation and Parks Hall of Fame in Jefferson City.

“We’ve even done work for people in New York,” Hoffert said. “It’s really spread out.”

But Hoffert stressed that the business is dedicated to serving Sedalia and his local customers, and he’s willing to do what it takes to get the job done.

“If I have to stay late to give someone what they want, we’re gonna make it happen,” he said. “I feel we’ve done really well after just being in business for a year. We’re really fortunate how Sedalia has given us a chance.”