The managers of a Poynette manufacturing company are winners of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Persons of the Year award. They will be honored at a May 16 breakfast in Milwaukee.
The winners are Stuart W. Varner, president; Lester J. Gaunt, vice president/engineering manager; Randy R. Brookens, vice president/general manager; and Mark G. Shaap, vice president/controller/treasurer of Non-Metallic Components Inc. (NMC) of Poynette in Columbia County.
NMC is a custom manufacturer of injection molded thermoplastic products, producing extremely close tolerance parts in both high and low volumes. Its technology gives it the ability to manufacture one-piece ultra fine filters. That, along with its ability to integrate resources to create innovative and cost-saving solutions to manufacturing challenges, has made the company a leader in the fields of custom injection molding, engineering and tool design, SBA officials say.
As Wisconsin’s Small Business Persons of the Year, NMC’s management team is judged on the company’s staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past financial reports, innovations of product or service, response to adversity and contributions to aid community-oriented projects.
NMC’s management team will be honored at the May 16 breakfast along with 11 other small business and advocate winners. They include:
Runner-Up Small Business Person – Art Smith, president & CEO of Keystone Travel Services, Milwaukee.
Small Business Exporter of the Year (state and regional winner) – James Schwartz, president of J&Y International Enterprise, Menomonee Falls.
Emerging Small Business Person of the Year – Kevin Schippers, president of E&G Franchise Systems, Eau Claire.
Small Business Legal Assistance – Trina Dennis, managing attorney of Dennis Law Firm, Milwaukee.
Small Business Journalist of the Year (state and regional winner) – Paul Zukowski, owner of Wordz for Business.
Minority Small Business Person of the Year – Anthony Arteaga, president of Arteaga Construction, Milwaukee.
Minority Small Business Advocate – Mike Schmitt, process manager-supplier diversity, Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee.
Financial Services Advocate – Ty Taylor, executive vice president of Waukesha State Bank, Waukesha.
Women in Business Advocate – Christine Shields Kann, president of CSK Marketing, Racine.
Small Business Research Advocate (state and regional winner) – Phil Sobocinski, associate director for technology development & commercialization at UW-Madison, Madison.
Home Based Business Advocate – Mark Reiland, vice president and founder of Home Based Business Association Inc., Green Bay.
NMC’s management team is among 53 top small business persons -one from each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands and Guam-who will be honored by SBA at national ceremonies in Washington, D.C. later this year.
As the winners of the Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year Award, they could be named National Small Business Persons of the Year during the national event.
The May 16 Wisconsin SBA winners breakfast will be at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee beginning at 7 a.m. For more information, contact Mary Trimmier at 414-297-1093.
March 21, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
