SAGINAW, MI — Three Saginaw County companies and one Bay County company have been listed among the "Michigan 50 Companies to Watch."
In Saginaw County, Fullerton Tool Company Inc., Amigo Mobility International and EZ Pro Delivery Inc. all made it onto this year's Michigan 50 Companies to Watch list, sponsored by Michigan Celebrates Small Business.
In Bay County, Everbest Organics, made the list.
The 50 companies on the list and other award winners will be honored on May 6 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
“This event really fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in Michigan and highlights the incredible economic impact these companies have made,” Carol Lopucki, state director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center, said in a prepared statement.
This year’s honorees have $110 million in total revenue for 2013 and employ 1,653, with an expectation of creating 436 new jobs in 2014, according to a Michigan Celebrates Small Business news release.
See the complete list of award winners here.
Here's a look at the Great Lakes Bay Region's award winners:
In this file photo, Dick Belill installs a drive and steering wheel on an Amigo scooter at the Amigo Mobility International Inc. plant in Bridgeport Township.
Amigo Mobility
In 1968, Amigo chairman and founder Al Thieme invented the first mobility power-operated vehicle/scooter, and Amigo has been a pioneer in the industry ever since, according to a company news release.
Today, Amigo Mobility, at 6693 Dixie Highway, serves a variety of markets by designing and manufacturing powered vehicles/scooters and motorized shopping carts, the release states.
Those products are manufactured in Bridgeport and shipped worldwide.
Last year, company officials announced plans to expand the Bridgeport headquarters. Construction began in November.
Beth Thieme, chief executive officer of Amigo Mobility, said the company is grateful for the honor.
"Our mission of 'Improving Lives Through Mobility' is accomplished with the talent and resources available to us in Michigan," Thieme said in a prepared statement. "As a family-owned business, we are proud to be located in Michigan and appreciate all the great resources available to us that support our growth."
EZ Pro Delivery
EZ Pro Delivery, at 300 Ames St., produces and sells dry ice and offers same-day delivery service for dry ice, X-rays, legal, lab specimens, blood and emergency medical supplies, among other things.
Candace Larkin started the business in 1998 in Saginaw with three employees. Today, the company employs about 38.
“It’s an honor for me,” Larkin said. “... I don’t know if I can even explain in words how we all are feeling right now.”
“Just to be recognized for helping other people ... is more of a joy than anything.”
Larkin's daughter and manager at EZ Pro Delivery Tara Crawford said her mother treats her employees like family, giving them birthday presents and throwing a Christmas party every year.
Crawford said Larkin is well deserving of the award.
She "has done nothing but work from sun up until sun down for this business," she said.
Fullerton Tool
For more than 70 years, family-owned Fullerton Tool, at 121 Perry, has operated a successful manufacturing business in Saginaw.
Company leaders say a diversified customer base for its carbide cutting tools has been a key to growth.
The company makes solid carbide cutting tools for a variety of industries. The company also has started manufacturing polycrystal and diamond-tipped tooling.
Fullerton's largest industries are automotive, aerospace and medical. Some of the company's big customers are Nexteer Automotive, medical manufacturers, Boeing, Chrysler and General Motors Co.
Marketing director Kelly Radka provided the following statement on behalf of the company:
“It gives us great pride to be named a 2014 Company to Watch. The competition in the manufacturing industry is fierce and, as a privately owned company, we are always looking for ways to innovate beyond the big corporations,” read the prepared statement.
“As a family-owned business, it is important to us that our customers know they are a part of our extended family. It’s not just about the product, it’s about everything that leads up to and follows it. Our business is growing and we are ecstatic to be recognized for reaching and excelling far beyond our goals.”
In this file photo, Jim Sattelberg displays a bag of black beans at Everbest Organics.
Everbest Organics
In Bay County, Everbest Organics is a certified organic/food grade facility that processes locally grown dry beans and grains, and markets to domestic and international end users.
Last year, Jim Sattelberg, co-owner of Everbest Organics with his wife DeAnn Sattelberg, took The Bay City Times on a tour of their Merritt Township facility. At the time he said one of the company's fastest growing markets was
.
Sattelberg said they bought the Merritt Township facility, at 136 E. Munger, in 2011 and started processing dry beans there in May 2013.
The availability of the facility and the acreage that came with it were part of what drew the Sattelbergs to Merritt Township. In addition, the facility has tall ceilings that allow the sorting, washing and drying equipment to be stacked.
When asked what it means to have been named among the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch, DeAnn Sattelberg said, “We're very honored. We're excited about being a part of Bay County.”
“We're seeing a lot of national and international business, both,” she added.
In a prepared statement, Jim Sattelberg said, “We are very excited to part of a very young and growing industry. I am always looking for farmers interested in growing organic crops — to help fill the fast expanding market."
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Heather Jordan covers business for MLive/The Saginaw News/The Bay City Times. She can be reached at 989-450-2652 or hjordan@mlive.com. For more business news, follow her on Twitter and Facebook.