A Massachusetts company helped create the glow of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree topper
Borg Design in Hudson has made parts for radars and satellites. Its latest handiwork now sits atop the New York City holiday display.
Borg Design Inc. in Hudson makes parts for gadgets and mechanisms usually for another company — difficult to make, intricate metal and plastic parts found in everything from medical equipment to radars.
Holiday decorations are not typically part of the machine shop’s repertoire, says President Andrew Borg.
“That’s not to say that we haven’t made a Christmas ornament or two for friends and family,” he told Boston.com Tuesday.
But that changed for one project this year — and one much larger than an ornament.
The company’s latest handiwork help craft the core of the star that will shine atop the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City, which will light up for the 86th time and for the first time this season on Wednesday at 9 p.m. (A national broadcast on NBC airs from 8 to 10 p.m.)
The company was called on for assistance creating parts by Orion RED, a manufacturer in Rhode Island that was building the flashy accessory with architect Daniel Libeskind and jewelry giant, Swarovski, according to Borg.
His company’s contribution, which also included parts needed to lift the glistening topper to its 72-foot-tall perch on the Norway Spruce, took between 500 and 1,000 hours to build, he said.
HappyMonday
Borg Design also made components for a second star, to be featured at a kiosk for visitors to take in up close.
“We started working on it, I want to say, in April,” Borg said of the project. “We delivered most of the parts in early October, and we delivered the lifting mechanism right at the end of October.”
Architales
Fully assembled, the star, 9 feet and 4 inches tall, features 70 modules that make up the sphere and the overwhelming majority of them are covered with LED lights, according to Borg. Some three million Swarovski crystals also give it that distinct holiday twinkle.
HappyMonday
Borg Design, founded in 1945, is in its third generation as a family business and employs about 20 people at its Hudson facility, said Borg, adding he works with his father and brother.
And as with much of the company’s work, crafting the star core was a family affair.
Borg expects to make it down to the city in the coming weeks to see the final product in action.
“It’s … a very fun project to work on, and it’s nice to know that some of our ideas and assistance helped create the star,” he said. “It’s definitely a unique opportunity.”
The Christmas tree is slated to light up every night from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. until Jan. 6, with hours changing to 5:30 to 9 p.m. for Jan. 7. On Christmas Day, the tree will be aglow for 24 hours.
