First Place Winners

Edart Truck Leasing - Large Business Category
Louis Siegal and his sons Edward and Arthur, founded Siegal Transportation in 1934. The company served its customers as strictly a for-hire trucking company. However, when a major account approached the Siegals with the idea of leasing trucks and overseeing all administrative functions, the Siegals jumped on the idea Siegal Transportation became Edart Truck Rental.

In the 1960s, the second generation entered the business, beginning a trend that would be followed in successive generations of starting from the ground up. The third generation followed suit in the 1970s, and the fourth generation entered the business in 2003 - spending time in a training cycle to learn about the business while maintaining a clear division of responsibilities. The management team is small, which gives the company a competitive advantage, by enabling them to make decisions quicker than their national competitors.

While remaining incredibly philanthropic, Edart has been able to retain its workforce and provide exceptional innovative programs to its customers. They've become the largest independently owned full service truck leasing firm in New England, and the 5th largest in the US. The business has grown from a 1-truck fleet in 1934 to a fleet larger than 2600 vehicles in 12 offices throughout the region and sales in excess of $50 million.

Better Bedding - Medium Business Category
When John Wholly, Sr. and his wife, Rosemary, founded Better Bedding in 1976, they probably had no idea what kind of a family affair it would turn into! John had worked in the bedding industry on the wholesale side for 30 years, and decided to strike out on his own - inviting his sons, Tom and John Jr., to join him.

Nowadays, Better Bedding has grown to 16 retail stores throughout Connecticut and Western Massachusetts with another 2 on the way before the year is out. Annual sales growth continues at 20% per year since 1990 and the staff has increased to include Tom & John's wives, John's mother-in-law, sister-in-laws and brother-in-law, each having their own responsibilities within the operation. John and Tom's children, who represent the third generation, are also beginning to work part-time.

All sales staff are certified by the National Sleep Foundation and maintain superior customer service. Better Bedding was the first in the Northeast to have a 2-hour delivery window - the narrowest window available in delivery with a delivery rate of 99%. Better Bedding received the CT Retailer of the Year Award in 1998, and repeatedly donate mattresses to those in need and support many health-related causes.

Thayer's Marine - Small Business Category
A fisherman at heart, Dick founded R.A. Thayer and Son in 1966 with his own savings. Dick and his son, Richard, worked side-by-side selling bait, welding and fixing small motors here and there. With so many customers bringing in boat propellers and marine parts, Dick decided to branch out and grow their product line to include watercraft, boat supplies and sponsor five professional fishermen.

Thayer's Marine provides an atmosphere where family members can thrive in their areas of expertise. Dick's wife, Mary, and son Richard have been with the company since its inception and various family members have helped out from time-to-time. Currently, three members of the third generation are involved in various aspects of marketing, administration and service.

Thayer's Marine has been extremely active in their community. Several years ago, Dick bought a dilapidated 4-story building on the corner of Falls Avenue and West Main Street. Working to restore the building brick by brick, "Thayer's Block" is now a jewel in Norwich that has prompted city officials and citizens to renovate many of Norwich's historic buildings and tear down decaying vacant mills. The Thayer family has also worked tirelessly to promote fishing in the City's waterways as a vehicle to advance tourism through recreational fishing and industry tournaments.

First Runners-Up

Bozzuto's Inc. - Large Business Category
Adam Bozzuto founded Bozzuto's, a wholesale distributor selling groceries and perishables to independent supermarket operators, in 1945 in Waterbury. Like many businesses residing in the area, the flood of 1963 wiped out the buildings contents, and Adam moved the business to Cheshire - the year the company also joined the independent grocer's alliance.

Adam's son, Michael, currently serving as Chairman President and CEO, began taking a management and leadership role in the company in the early 90's and daughter, Jayne, assumed the responsibility as Vice President. Together, Michael and Jayne continue to cultivate a culture of customer service excellence by empowering employees. They established an on-line company "chat room" on their intranet site to enable employees to communicate with each other and senior management. Furthermore, if a problem arises with a delivery, the drivers have the ability to fix the issue right there on the spot. Customer service is equipped with a powerful customer relationship management database that was built by Bozzuto's own IT department.

Bozzuto's has grown successfully and shared with their community whether it's supporting hurricane victims, promoting a turnkey method of hosting events or supporting the Special Olympics. It's the same spirit that has allowed Bozzuto's to become a superior $1 billion-dollar company with 1200 employees and 1 million square feet of distribution space.

Molloy Funeral Home - Medium Business Category
Molloy Funeral Home was founded in 1909 by Marshall Molloy - leaving an impeccable legacy that was transferred to his son, William D. Molloy, who moved the funeral home in 1940 from its original lot in Hartford to it's current home at the corner of Farmington Avenue and Trout Brook Drive.

Third generation, William R. Molloy joined the business in 1973 and his son, William C. Molloy works beside his father as funeral director, making him the fourth generation of family to serve the community. With a fresh generation coming into the business, come new ideas. While life expectancy and cremation rising 60-70%, funeral homes perform more event planning than funerals. With 40% new business last year, Molloy Funeral Home has also had to adapt to change and perform more estate planning and social work, along with long-term care facility consulting and elder care.

The Molloy family is largely involved in their community and industry. In the past two years, they have served for the Connecticut and National Funeral Directors Association, and volunteered time and effort to the Cove in West Hartford, Pastoral Care Training Program at St. Francis Hospital, West Hartford Police Department "Car Seat" Program and Cemetery Advisory Board for the town of West Hartford.

The Trailer Depot - Small Business Category
Steve & Suzanne Duhamel moved their 3 children, Mike Kelli and Danielle from NY to East Haven, where they purchased a small feed and grain store in 1976. Never ones to turn their back on opportunity, they began a retail garden, which branched off into a wholesale nursery. Eventually, the family branched into a wholesale operation with a power-equipment division. But that wasn't it. They began a selling landscape trailers in 1983 and 3 years later, it was obvious that that was a growing part of the business.

The Trailer Depot is now being operated by Mike, Kelli and Kelli's husband, Sean, with Steve overseeing the operation. While the nursery division was sold off to it's employees, Steve was keen to keep the real estate portion, and continues his strategic role by transferring ownership to Mike and Kelli. They have also implemented a Board of Directors with 3 outside advisors, and are looking to form industry roundtable.

The Duhamel family donates generously to area charities, including St. Judes Hospital for Children and 4H club. Within their industry, various family members have sat on such boards as the Featherlite Deales Council, American Association of Nurserymen, CT Nurserymen and Landscape Association, Branford Land Acquisition Committee and Branford Planning and Zoning Commission.

Finalists

Acme-Monaco Corporation - Large Business Category
Acme Spring Company was founded in 1947 by Mr. Harold Davies who approached John Karabin to buy him out in 1965. A 10-employee operation that serviced the ball-bearing industry, John Karabin was at the helm of a company that would eventually be awarded the "Governor's Award for Export." In the late 60's and early 70's, John's sons, Michael, currently Chairman of the Board, and Roger, currently President, joined the business with expertise in accounting and engineering, respectively. In 1971, the family purchased Monaco Spring to merge the spring companies and formed Acme-Monaco Corporation. This merge expanded the company into the orthodontic and medical industries, and enabled the family to open a plant in Presque Isle, Maine.

While Helen, John's widow, continues to work in the business, the third generation has begun assuming leadership positions, Rebecca as Director of Sales & Marketing, Lucas processing quotations and Priya with administration. Monthly goals are set and when the company goals are met, employees share in the rewards of the company through "coupons" which can be redeemed for time off. Through their generous business practices, their average tenure of employees is about 20 years, with several different families working in the business, and they have managed to retain several key customers for over 30 years.

Schaller Auto World - Large Business Category
In 1952, Gustave Schaller sold his tobacco farm and peat bog I Manchester to open an Oldsmobile dealership in New Britain. With the help of his wife, Louise, and son, Richard, Schaller grew his automobile dealership from about 8 employees selling 200 cars per year, to over 200 team members selling over 3000 vehicles per year.

Gustave's other children, Ron and Art, would join the business. While Ron and Art remained onboard, they bought out their brother Richard, who went on to operate Connecticut Tire. Art and Art Jr then bought out Ron in the mid-90's. Today, Schaller Auto World operates 5 franchises (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru) with 5 facilities and a separate full-service body shop.

Schaller Auto World has been a pioneer, becoming early adopters of many of the service-oriented practices you see in dealerships today. They were one of the first dealerships in the area to offer customer shuttle service to customers waiting for their vehicles to be serviced. They began sending their customers "service reminders" in the mail as early as 1982, instituted "team service" strategy and integrated technology in its accounting and parts operations in the early 1980's.

Connecticut Sportsplex - Medium Business Category
When one thinks of the word "entrepreneur" a vision of Salvatore Candelora can easily come to mind. The son of a bindery company owner, Sal started his own bindery repair business when his father retired. In the 1990s, Sal decided to purchase a stitching wire business, Taconic Wire, and grew it into one of the largest stitching wire companies in the country.
Sal's sons all pitched in to the wire business - Anthony, Joseph and Vincent would help run wire on the weekends. Daughters Angela and Michelle, also joined the venture in the 90s. But in 1992, following his love of sports, Sal had a vision to create an indoor/outdoor recreational facility, and his dream became reality in 1996.

Connecticut Sportsplex is truly a family affair with 4 generations and 15 family members working in the business from time-to-time. Prices are set at moderate levels to encourage volumes of families to partake in recreation. Situated on over 50 acres, families can now enjoy 5 outdoor lighted ball fields, a 75000 square foot indoor artificial turf domed arena with 4 fields, a concession stand, 400 square foot bathroom building, and a 25000 square foot Fieldhouse for basketball, laser tag, batting cages, playscape, gymnastics, arcade, pool table, air hockey and golf simulators drawing tournaments from all of New England and strengthening the economic stability of area businesses.

The Candelora family is highly philanthropic, donating over fifty-thousand dollars annually. The family has volunteered time to land preservation, rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, YMCAs, Board of Educations, special Olympics, make-a-wish foundation, town athletic programs, battered women's programs, and even serving as Deputy Mayor.

Inkjetwarehouse, Inc. - Medium Business Category
When Walter and Jeannette Derungs came to the United States from Switzerland in 1990 under a work visa, neither of them was prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. Walter lost his job with the Swiss company that had sent him to the U.S. in the first place, and the Derungs had 2 choices: return to Switzerland or invest in a U.S. based business that employed American workers.

At a time when most couples are looking towards retirement, the Derungs cashed out all their 401K investments, sold their house to downsize, plucked their kids out of private school and relied on family for financial support. In 1992, they founded Inkjetwarehouse out of the basement of their home, which supplies and manufactures printer cartridge kits, precision cores and spools for ink-jet, thermal transfer and inked ribbon printers.

Jeannette took over day-to-day operations while Walter focused on marketing, finance and strategic planning. Their son, Michael, a CAD designer by training, became Product Marketing Manager and runs the second company, an e-commerce based enterprise selling inkjet cartridges. Their daughter, Selina, who is severely dyslexic, manages the 3rd company - an inkjet retail store - which has become outfitted with scanable barcodes, a POS system with touch screen and integrated on-line credit card processing. Currently, there are 2 company locations in Connecticut with 3 sales offices nationwide.

The Derungs understand that the only difference between them and their competitors is service. Inspired by L.L. Bean's service model, the Derungs have enacted strict policies: no phone shall ring more than 3 times, quality or pricing issues are resolved on the spot, refund checks issued the same day, and in-house orders shipped and billed the same day. The Derungs bring in outside advisors in finance, engineering and marketing and their 18 employees are offered generous healthcare, insurance, 401k and tuition reimbursement benefits. To that end, the Derungs no longer fear returning to Switzerland penny-less. Growth has been steady and plans are underway to break ground on a new 25000 square foot warehouse and office building by 2005.

Fire Equipment Headquarters - Small Business Category
In 1973, Jerry and Mary Ann O'Sullivan grabbed themselves a slice of the American dream and purchased a small, but failing fire equipment business established in 1948 - moving their young children from the lights of New York City to the quietude of Torrington.
Sensing a need for modern business practices, the O'Sullivans grew the customer base, and employed family members with specific areas of expertise to organize the books and provide intellectual support for financial decisions. Jerry increased the sales and service of fire extinguishers and also began hydrostatic testing of cylinders - along with the sale of lighting equipment for emergency vehicles. Mary Ann assumed all financial, inside sales, and scheduling duties.

Daughter Maura and sons Jerry Jr and Tim would help out during summer vacations - manning the company booth at home shows and helping out with general office duties. While Maura and Jerry Jr now have their own careers outside of the business, Tim is currently Vice-President, bringing his skills of marketing and business administration into the business. His first goal was to get the company on-line. He expanded the product line, adding turnout gear for firemen, added the service of egress lights and fire hoses and widened the sales territory.

The O'Sullivans are largely involved in their community and industry - testifying before the Connecticut General Assembly and serving on non-profit boards. Timothy volunteers annual at the Winsted Safety Day and the family supports many charitable events for bone marrow registration, cancer research and juvenile diabetes.

Ed Steben Glass Company - Small Business Category
Ed and Zena Steben founded Ed Steben Glass Company, now located in South Windsor, in 1972 in a small one bay shop, employing the family station wagon to bring windshields to the customer site for installation. The 70s, 80s and 90s were a period of rapid business growth for the company as sons Thom and Bob became involved in day-to-day operations. Thom, currently Vice President, joined the business in 1977 to oversee quality control. Robert, currently President, joined in 1975, left in 1982 to work in computer programming, and rejoined the business in 1988. The third generation is getting involved in the business as Thom's son, Brandon, joins on summer vacations.

From the onset, the Stebens have been involved in the industry with Ed helping to launch the Connecticut Glass Dealers Association in the 70s. Thom and Bob have been involved in the National Glass Association to help make a national certification based on safety, quality and integrity. Bob has also been on the board of the Independent Glass Association and was appointed by the Governor to the Country's first Licensing Board for Auto Glass and Building Glass Installers.

Thom and Bob do not compete on price. Quality safety-installed auto glass comes at a premium. With what as grown from a one-bay shop with 3 employees to a 4-location operation with 18 employees, the future is bright as the company includes plans to diversity into replacement windows, shower enclosures and mirrors.