On February 27th, St. Croix EDC honored its 2013 business of the year winners at a banquet hosted by Kilkarney Hills Golf Club in rural River Falls, Wisconsin. The 2013 winners include Precision Converting Technologies, LLC (Town of Hudson; ‘Emerging Business of the Year’); Air Motion Systems, Inc. (City of River Falls; ‘Small Business of the Year’); and Northern Metal Fab, Inc. (Village of Baldwin; ‘Business of the Year’).
EDC president Marian Furlong served as the evening’s emcee.
About the Winners:
Precision Converting Technologies is a specialty printer with an emphasis in the areas of security printing and converting. The company was founded in early 2012 by Daniel J. Gabrielson, a resident of the Town Saint Joseph. Precision Converting’s capabilities include ID laminates, hologram laminates and thin films, security labels, UV reactive inks, color shifting ink, and unique material converting services.
Air Motion Systems (AMS) is the leading North American manufacturer of high performance ultra violet systems for the printing industry. Recently AMS introduced a system driven by LED technology into the market. Stephen J. Metcalf serves as company President and CEO. In 2013, AMS celebrated its fifth year in River Falls, after relocating from Arvada, Colorado. AMS operates in a 31,000 square foot LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certified corporate headquarters in the Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park.
Northern Metal Fab was founded by Mark Lightfoot in the late 1980s as a job shop manufacturer of light to heavy weldments and piece parts. Mark’s son Chris now plays an important role with the company. Northern Metal Fab offers integrated solutions to a wide range of projects, including prototypes or long production runs. Services include laser cutting, plate fabrication, assembly, painting, engineering, blasting, project management, and detail drafting. The company operates two facilities in the Baldwin Industrial Park, a 51,000 square foot building on Vandenberg Street and a 42,750 square foot building on Evergreen Street.
Each of the winners received a plaque from the EDC as well as a Legislative Citation from the State Senate and Assembly in Madison, and congratulatory letters from Governor Scott Walker, Reed Hall, Chief Executive Office, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC); U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy; U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin; and County Board Chair Daryl Standafer.
Past business of the year recipients were introduced during the program.
Comedian Roger Radley provided the entertainment.
The 20th annual awards banquet was sponsored by Bremer Bank, Eckberg Lammers Law Firm, First Bank of Baldwin, First National Community Bank, WESTconsin Credit Union, Wipfli CPAs and Consultants, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corporations, and Xcel Energy.
