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Touting Brass City Small Biz
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Business New Haven
2/19/2001
By: Priscilla Searles
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WATERBURY - The Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce recently announced its 2001 Small-Business Award winners. Named after Harold Webster Smith, the awards are presented to local companies for achievement and excellence.
The awards were established to honor the legacy of Smith, founder of Webster Bank, who supported and help nurture small-business development in the Waterbury region. Award recipients were nominated by business leaders in the community and selected by the chamber's Small Business Council.
Entrepreneur of the Year honors went to Hank Paine of the Howland Hughes Company Inc., d/b/a the Connecticut Store. “Working tirelessly” to bring Connecticut-made products to national prominence, the chamber reported that Paine's “Made in Connecticut” brand has contributed to a 20 percent increase in retail sales for Connecticut-based craftsmen and companies. The Connecticut Store is located at 120 Bank Street in Waterbury.
Paine helped establish and is now a board member of the Made in Connecticut Guild. Serving on numerous downtown groups, “Paine has continually demonstrated a unique awareness and dedication the importance of the downtown Waterbury business district,” said the Chamber. He is a member of the Waterbury Downtown Business Council, a committee of the chamber.
Manufacturer of the Year was Atlantic Steel & Processing (ASAP). The chamber reports that “Joe Vrabely, owner, and Atlantic Steel's employees have worked hard to develop their business. The goal of the company,” said the chamber release, “is to be the leading supplier of flat-rolled metal by running a quality outfit that delivers a quality product, strives for operational excellence and total customer focus.”
“Atlantic Steel prides itself on providing customized orders to mid-size stamping companies and delivering the product within four days,” said Vrabely, “hence the acronym ASAP. In just two short years ASAP has achieved a sales volume in excess of $2 million and has a growing employee base.” The company, located in Waterbury's Enterprise Zone in part of the old Chase Brass building at 1875 Thompson Avenue, turned the unused space into a modern, fully operational shop.
Small Business of the Year went to Giglio & Krasney Commercial Real Estate. Founded a decade ago, it has become a leading Connecticut real-estate firm. The company has been involved in major transactions in the Waterbury area, including brokering sale of the land hosting Home Depot, Sports Authority and the recently-opened Rowland Government Center. Owners Dominic Giglio and Steve Krasney are both active in community and civic organizations: Giglio is a director of the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce and chairs the Chamber's Executive Dialogue Committee.
Pam Monahan, chairman of the Small Business Council, notes that the recipients, from retail, service and manufacturing sector, “testify to the ongoing vitality of the small-business community in the Waterbury region and could each serve as role models for excellence in the small business category.”
Atlantic Steel & Processing's Vrabley sums up the spirit of the awards event. “People in Waterbury are special people who take risks and understand what it takes to succeed,” he says. “They are willing to help one another, and that's how we grow.”
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