K-Sun Corp.: Receives SCEDC business award

K-Sun Corporation in Somerset, Wis., has been named the 2008 St. Croix Economic Development Corporation’s Small Business of the Year.

Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Richard J. Leinenkugel addressed the 2008 SCEDC award winners at a recognition banquet Feb. 19. The Secretary noted the importance of small business in the state’s economy and said he especially enjoyed visiting the part of the state where his family’s 167-year brewery started. “I always feel good when I get north of Highway 29,” he said.

K-Sun President Mike Kasun shared some labeling industry history with attendees at the recognition banquet.

“Many people don’t realize that type printed on adhesive tape got its start right here in the St. Croix Valley,” said Kasun, who in the mid-1970s worked for a company headquartered near River Falls, Wis., that developed the first machine, using impact lettering, to print on adhesive tape. That company later went public, moved out of state, declared bankruptcy and was sold several times.

“While the technology has changed, type on adhesive tape has taken off to become a huge, multi-billion dollar global business with many companies now in the mix,” said Kasun. “We are very happy to still be competing among giants in the business and doing it right here in Wisconsin.”

Kasun founded K-Sun Corp. in 1978 in Stillwater, Minn., to develop the K-Sun brand of proprietary labeling machines, equipment, software and supplies. Since 1997, K-Sun Corp. has been located in St. Croix County of Wisconsin, the state’s fastest growing county, one of the 100 fastest growing counties in the country, and part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 2008 K-Sun Corp. celebrated 30 years in business and the launch of several new products. K-Sun’s label, bar code and heat-shrink tube printer, the BEE3®, was launched in 2008 and selected by the editorial staff of Wire & Cable Technology International magazine as one of the Top Wire & Cable Connector Products of 2008 for its versatility, portability and durability, making it a powerful tool in many industries, from electrical, laboratory and manufacturing to data, telecom and computing. K-Sun’s newest BEE3+ printer with larger heat shrink tube capabilities was just released in late 2008 and along with new versions of K-Sun’s MaxiSoft® MaxiSign® award-winning safety sign-making software and MaxiSoft® PipeMarker software.

Other SCEDC award winners include BOH Electronics in North Hudson, named the 2008 emerging business of the year, and Derrick Companies of New Richmond, named the 2008 large business of the year. “The 2008 winners all reflect the depth and diversity of businesses in St. Croix County,” said Jeremy Price, president of the SCEDC, which is a private, nonprofit, independent economic development organization. “All three businesses are innovators in their respective fields.”

For more information, contact K-Sun, 800.622.6312, ext. 214, or visit http://www.ksun.com or email info@ksun.com. The St. Croix Economic Development Corporation can be contacted at http://www.stcroixedc.com, 715-381-4383.