# Stern Pinball Plans to Increase Number of Employees By 10%

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-02-18  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/stern-pinball-plans-to-increase-number-of-employees-by-10

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball is expanding its workforce by 10% (40-50 new employees annually) following a factory move to a 50% larger facility later this year. Vice Chairman Dave Peterson confirmed to CoStar News that the company currently has 450 employees and plans hiring increases to meet rising demand.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern Pinball is moving to a factory that is 50% larger later this year — _Author's November article referenced; confirmed by CoStar reporting_
- [HIGH] Stern Pinball currently has 450 employees — _Direct quote from Stern Vice Chairman Dave Peterson to CoStar News_
- [HIGH] Stern expects to add 40-50 workers annually to keep up with rising demand — _Direct quote from Stern Vice Chairman Dave Peterson to CoStar News_

### Notable Quotes

> "Stern's real estate deals come as the company, which has 450 employees, expects to add 40 to 50 workers annually to keep up with rising demand"
> — **Dave Peterson, Vice Chairman of Stern Pinball**
> _Official confirmation of workforce expansion plans and baseline headcount; indicates sustained demand growth_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer expanding operations; 450 current employees; planning 10% workforce increase |
| Dave Peterson | person | Vice Chairman of Stern Pinball; confirmed expansion details to CoStar News |
| CoStar News | organization | Commercial real estate publication that reported on Stern's expansion plans |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Stern Pinball factory expansion, Workforce expansion and hiring, Production capacity increases
- **Secondary:** Market demand for pinball

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Expansion announcements are framed as response to positive demand signals; growth indicators suggest healthy business conditions

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern Pinball expanding manufacturing capacity by 50% and increasing workforce by 10% (40-50 new employees annually) to meet rising demand (confidence: high) — Direct quote from Vice Chairman Dave Peterson to CoStar News: 450 current employees with plans to add 40-50 workers annually
- **[market_signal]** Rising demand for pinball machines driving capital investment and workforce expansion at largest manufacturer (confidence: high) — Peterson cited 'rising demand' as rationale for facility expansion and hiring increases

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## Transcript

Back in November I wrote about how Stern Pinball is moving to a new factory that is about 50% larger later this year. 

https://www.knapparcade.org/post/details-on-stern-pinball-s-new-50-larger-factory

This week a commercial real estate publication associated with CoStar recently picked up on the news. Almost of it is what I posted about earlier, but the article did contain one very interesting new piece of information. 

Stern Pinball's Vice Chairman Dave Ashley Peterson told CoStar News the following:

"Stern’s real estate deals come as the company, which has 450 employees, expects to add 40 to 50 workers annually to keep up with rising demand..."

So it sounds like Stern is going to increase its headcount by approximately 10% after the move. That, coupled with the additional space, will definitely help Stern to increase production. 

World's Biggest Pinball Maker Expands After Bump in Demand

https://www.costar.com/article/1684457330/worlds-biggest-pinball-machine-maker-expands-after-bump-in

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 40eec9ee-26f0-4327-808c-5475c9812c8e*