About Us

Welcome to Furnace Record Pressing
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Founded in 1996, Furnace Record Pressing is known for high-quality vinyl records. Our latest venture is our 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art record pressing facility in Alexandria, Virginia.

Read on for what separates us from the rest.

Experience

We’ve been doing this for 20+ years and we’re pretty good at it – we’re excited to see how we can get better in the next 20 and we want you on board. We care about the industry, and we care about doing it right. Between all of us, we’ve touched pretty much every part of the music industry from playing in bands, to recording bands, to distributing records and of course buying records.

Customer Service

Furnace Record Pressing is what you’ve been looking for: a legit pressing plant who gives a shit. Hi. We pick up the phones, we know what we’re doing and we care a lot. Everything we’ve built (state-of-the-art facility, obsessive knowledge of the industry, smart and fun team who can suggest things you never thought of) supports our customer-centric core value.

Capacity & Turn Time

We work hard to keep our teams small and scrappy, but Furnace’s pressing operation is anything but small- we’re capable of pressing close to 10m vinyl records a year. As if that wasn’t enough (it is) we offer pressing in Europe too. This translates to faster lead times and filling the world with happy customers.

One Stop Shop

Who has time for chasing down parts from 2 or 7 vendors for each project? Let Furnace handle all of the headaches. We offer a robust line of mastering, print, packaging and mailing services all under one roof. Jackets, Boxsets, Inserts, Download Cards and Hosting, Slipmats, Hedgehogs – we do it all.

Direct to the Source

At Furnace, pressing vinyl isn’t about cashing in or chasing a trend. Our owner has been pressing records since the 80’s and has been obsessed with machines, processes and controls all his life. This isn’t a hobby or a side project. This is vinyl manufacturing done right. We own and operate the machines so the buck stops with us.

Value

Furnace’s quick turns, responsive team and one-stop-shopping means you’ll spend less time and resources managing your vinyl production and more time on marketing, artist relations and eating / petting dogs / happy hours / hiking / knitting or whatever the hell the kids are doing these days. Time is money and we care about your time and your money.

Furnace In the News
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In The News: Eric on Independent Minded
In The News: Eric on Independent Minded
Client Feature: Neurosis Stops By
Client Feature: Neurosis Stops By
Client Feature: Smog Veil’s Peter Laughner Box Set
Client Feature: Smog Veil’s Peter Laughner Box Set
Bravo to Furny’s (and Mark’s) Reality TV Debut!
Bravo to Furny’s (and Mark’s) Reality TV Debut!
Our Collection Of Weirdos

Meet the only other people who wake up in the middle of the night thinking about your record

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Eric Astor
President & CEO
Eric is the president and CEO. He’s our chief and if you hang out with him long enough (or for 20 minutes) you’ll hear how he started thinking about how to do things the BestFastestMostEfficient way when he was a kid collecting baseball cards. These days he leads the team here by example- working to constantly refine and improving what we can deliver. When he’s not at Furnace, he likes to surf, mountain bike and hang out with his two gigantic Bernese Mountain Dogs and his cool folklorist wife.
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Ali Miller
Vice President
Ali is the Vice President and not the Production Manager. She interviewed and accepted this job in 2008 because she was bored at her corporate office job. She’s never been bored since and is excited to see what the next ten years brings. She handles a little bit of everything at Furnace if you have a problem, she can fix it. Though surrounded by music every day, Ali used iTunes for the very first time (for non work related purposes) in July 2013. She has not used it since.
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Mark Reiter
Operations Manager
Mark is our Warehouse Manager. If our Lean Manufacturing program had a spokesmodel, it would be Mark. He can explain what it is, why it’s important and why you should care in 5 minutes or less. He runs a tight ship of an awesome team that has fun kicking ass and getting records out the door a little faster every time. Mark shares his non-Furnace home with wolves (ok, they're Siberian Huskies) and his awesome and slightly dangerous (MMA fighter) wife. Fun fact: Mark is the second drummer we hired (Eric is the first) and now we have five. Weird.
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Emma Reiter
Production Manager
Emma’s our kick-ass production manager—and we mean that literally. She’s a blue belt and active competitor in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. If Furnace had an underground fight club, all bets would be on Emma. When she’s not keeping the presses on schedule or in her gi, Emma spends her time watching Seinfeld, drinking coffee, and going to taco bell. She’s also dog-mom to two huskies, who walk around Furnace like they own the place.
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Jenn D'Eugenio
Sales & Marketing Administrator
The leader of our sales team who also runs our social media, Jenn has been collecting records for over 15 years! With all those records, Jenn keeps an extra close eye out for every “Master of Reality” Black Sabbath record variant she can get her hands on. Coming from a design background, Jenn has done everything from designing kids clothes to working as a traveling rep for an art college, and is happy to be pursuing her passion for the art of vinyl here at Furnace. On the side she also keeps busy empowering and sharing the stories of women working in the industry with her blog Women in Vinyl.
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Ric Sherman
Senior Sales
Ric’s moved through radio advertising, HBO films, video production and spent many years handling a large segment of the music industry’s CD manufacturing requirements. But vinyl had somehow escaped his resume…until now! When he’s not collaborating with labels, artists and managers to find the best production & packaging solutions for their vinyl and CD releases you can find him playing guitar.
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Anne Stickley
Sales & Marketing Assistant
Anne comes from the classical world, having been trained as a trombonist and musicologist. And no, that’s not just a word a streaming service made up for an ad campaign. She enjoys weightlifting and chilling with her cat, Mr. Fuzzy. Her condo houses her collection of 80-something houseplants and is known to bring in propagations to share with her coworkers. With time, her desk will likely evolve into a jungle as well.
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Tim Nagy
Production Coordinator
Tim’s one of our production coordinators loves animals and spent years volunteering and working alongside them, with the battle-scars to prove it. Somehow he remains a DC sports fan, no matter how many times he’s let down. In his free time, Tim does a lot of reading and painting, but the one constant is that music is playing from sun-up to sun-down. He’s thankful to be at Furnace, especially since his sweet dog Bowie gets to be his desk mate.
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Dennis Warren
Designer
Dennis is our in-house designer and pre-press extraordinaire. His areas of design interest include branding, continuity, and aesthetics. As an audiophile and musician, music influences the visual art he creates. Dennis also travels the world with his lovely wife to broaden his scope and understanding of the world around us. Oh, and his resume included a pic of him in a Furnace t-shirt. That’s some dedication right there.
Thao Nguyen - Furnace Record Pressing
Thao Nguyen
Office Manager
Thao is our Office Manager and handles our H.R. She handles everything (which is a lot of things) thrown at her and keeps us all in line. Reruns of “The Office”, pumpkin spice lattes, top-40 music, ombre hair; if it’s super basic, she probably likes it (her words). Thao referred to Furny in her cover letter and told us she had a dog named “Ken” in her interview so you already know she’s sharp and funny and does her research.
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Jessica Chinlasith
Warehouse Admin
While she’d rather be at the beach all year round, working here is the next best thing! A lover of all kinds of music, this is Jessica’s first exposure to the vinyl industry, and she can’t wait to learn more. Outside of work, Jessica likes spending time with her Yorkshire Terrier, Milo, and working on crafts.
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Justin Price
Front Desk
Justin’s our front desk dude and does so many things around Furnace we really can’t list them all here. He’s even gotten to flex is handyman/interior decorator skills, turning our listening room from a white box into a cozy audiophile’s mid-century modern paradise. Outside of work Justin performs and teaches music, enjoys indie movies, good food, and is probably Tool’s biggest fan.
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Carol Ceglar
Accountant
Carol loves accounting and Furnace! Prior to coming to Furnace she worked in the mortgage loan industry which took her from D.C. to Colorado, California, and back to Virginia. When not being “supervised” by her dog at work, Carol volunteers weekly at a local National Battlefield Park and is the Vice President of a community band where she has been a flutist for 17 years.
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Ray Blevins
QC Manager
Our QC manager, comes to us from another record pressing plant’s QC and plating department and knows his way around a record having been an all vinyl DJ of everything from hip hop to psych rock and collector since the 90s - he was one of the few keeping vinyl alive even when other people thought it died. He’s got that supersonic hearing and vision (his superpowers) to make sure he and his team are only providing you with top notch vinyl.
Minh Phan - Furnace Record Pressing
Minh Phan
QC & Assembly
Minh worked on our first ever vinyl assembly order with us. On day two of that job, the ceiling lights exploded (don't ask) and in the rain of tiny glass Minh put her sweatshirt hood up and kept working while everyone scattered. Don't try that at home but yeah, she's hardcore.
Aaron Keller - Furnace Record Pressing
Aaron Keller
Inventory Manager
Aaron is our inventory manager. When he started he drove 65 miles (each way) to work and was never late and never complained. He also started at one of the worst weeks in Furnace history and is one of the few who 1. remembers the bad times 2. still loves us and his job. Aaron is a keeper.
Willem Ytsma - Furnace Record Pressing
Willem Ytsma
Lead Engineer
A mechanical engineering graduate and self-proclaimed record manufacturing nerd whom we fondly refer to as Tesla, Willem moved here recently and says he’s still trying to figure out how to be an adult. While he’s working that out, he continuously finds new ways to keep things fresh and interesting here at Furnace through his work on automation, engineering, and mechatronics. In his off time, he enjoys pursuing a passion for photography.
Michael Hsu - Furnace Record Pressing
Michael Hsu
Mainenance
Michael came on board in 2013 via his nephew who told us his name was Otis. We were confused about his nickname of ``Michael`` for about a year until we figured it out. Michael can fix anything. Literally anything that breaks, he'll put it back together and it'll probably work better than before. When he's not making machines out of spare parts and kicking ass on the finishing line, Michael is a super skilled photographer and a golfer.
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Du Cao
Assembly Tech
A long-time D.C. resident, Du moved to Virginia 12 years ago and hasn’t looked back. Since starting at Furnace in 2016, Du has handled a little bit of everything, but spends most of her time in the vinyl assembly line. In true Furnace spirit, Du says she can’t wait to come in to work every day– rain or shine!
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Quan Le
Assembly Tech
Like most of the team here at Furnace, Ms. Lee is a huge music lover. Unlike most of the team, she loves getting up on stage for Karaoke on the weekends to prove it! Working on the assembly line in our warehouse, Quan also loves cooking for friends and family and relaxing at the beach.
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Hoa Nguyen
Assembly Tech
With 12 siblings and four kids, Hoa knows a thing or two about family. Now, after immigrating here from Vietnam with her kids, she’s ready to bring that family-first attitude to the Furnace team. A member of our assembly crew, she thinks it’s strange that Americans keep their trash cans in the house and leave their valuable cars out on the street.
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Hung Nguyen
Finishing
An avid world traveler, Hung is currently planning a month-long trip to his home country of Vietnam. When he’s not stamping his passport, Hung keeps things running smoothly here at Furnace by organizing our boxes of vinyl onto our expertly packed pallets to prepare them for shipping.
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Nghia Nguyen
Finishing
Nghia has worked at Furnace since 2015, mostly handling packaging, but doing a little bit of everything around the warehouse. Having lived in Virginia with his three kids for six years now, Nghia looks forward to continuing to watch the vinyl industry grow from his vantage point here at Furnace.
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Su Tran
Finishing
One of the quietest members of our warehouse team, sometimes we don’t even notice he’s here until we see all the work he’s gotten done! Focusing mostly on wrapping items to prepare them for shipping, Su is a huge help in getting things out on time. Having lived here in Virginia for around seven years now with his two kids, we are certainly happy to have Su on our team!
The History of the Furnace Logo
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About Us

There’s one member of the team who has worked here longer than Eric. It’s Furny, the welding dude who you may recognize because he is also featured in our logo. He was created in 2001 but born many years before that. He was pressing records before you were even born.

His physical form was conceptualized by Shepard Fairey, who you know from designs like André the Giant Has A Posse (OBEY) sticker collection and the Barack Obama “HOPE” poster for the 2008 US Presidential election. Fairey’s non-Furnace works can been seen in similarly illustrious locales such the Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.

In addition to repping Furnace on all the official forms and publications, Furny has also appeared in costume as Johnny Cash, Santa Claus, and all four original members of KISS and most recently a 3-D bobblehead. He gets around.

Furny himself does a lot more than represent Furnace. He’s a visionary in his own right. His side hustle is in the self help business. He wouldn’t call himself a guru, but his followers would. If the fire burns your feet, you’re doing it wrong. It’s not all work and no play though. Furny is semi-pro in night skateboarding. You’ve probably never heard of it. Maybe he’ll show you sometime.

You’re not the first person who found themselves desperately asking: where can I get a copy of Furny’s book? Where can I get some merch with this dude on the front? What’s night skateboarding? Join our newsletter and we’ll give you the scoop.

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