Large Business Category

Allied Printing Services – Large Business Category
In 1949, John and Betina Sommers decided, like many other American families after World War II, to start their own business.  Evaluating the market, John thought the printing industry was a good option.  He gathered enough money to rent a 150 square foot space in a house on Purnell Place in Manchester, and Allied Printing Services was born.

Allied Printing moved frequently throughout the next 10 years to accommodate their growing customer and employee base – upgrading from a cramped 150 square foot space to an 8300 square foot facility within 6 years.  The firm went through a series of expansions, not just in terms of scope of operations or facility size, but also in terms of family involvement.  John and Betina’s three children all became involved – Heather joining in 1982 as Executive VP of Sales, John joining in 1978 and transitioning to President, CEO, and COO in 1980, and Gerry joining in 1979 as Executive VP and Director of Sales and Marketing. 

Allied Printing has been integrating environmentally-friendly best practices for many years.  FSC certification, EPA partnership, recycling of raw materials with their baler, chemical distiller, vegetable based inks are just a few examples of the measures the company has taken – and they don’t plan on ending this anytime soon.  They look to incorporate more environmentally-friendly practices into the business, and they don’t hesitate to invest in technologies that will best serve their customers and expand their services. 

Today, Allied Printing and its 385 employees (many who have been with the company for over 25 years) are located primarily on a 30-acre campus in Manchester, along with another facility in Marlborough, MA and a sales office in New York City.  Ranked among the top 75 commercial printers nationwide, and one of the largest family-owned commercial printers in New England, the stage has been set for the third generation to join the firm.  John’s three children, John, Rachel, and Matthew have all worked in the business with John planning to join the company full time after graduation in 2009.  Growing up in the business, the third generation plans to continue the tradition of making decisions that are in the best interest of the business, because as long as the family takes care of Allied Printing, Allied Printing will take care of the Sommers family and their many employees.

The Sommers family is deeply involved in their industry – establishing The Graphic Source LLC, a nationwide group of privately printing company owners to discuss the printing industry and consolidate purchasing of consumables and equipment.  But the family’s impact on the community is impossible to ignore as their reach is far and wide - supporting numerous local sports programs such as youth hockey, little league, midget football and Special Olympics; holding leadership positions at Manchester Memorial Hospital, Cushing Academy, Manchester High School Vocational Educational Advisory Committee; and contributing over $100,000 in funding for the Northwest Park / Union Pond in Manchester. 

Peter Paul Electronics Company – Large Business Category
In 1918, an Italian immigrant by the name of Paul Mangiafico came to the United States and settled in New Britain.  A barber by trade since the age of 14, Paul became one of the original beauticians in New Britain – opening up several salons before founding Peter Paul Electronics Company in 1947. 

Paul and his wife, Josephine, were intent on providing a firm future for their three children – growing the business into Fajardo Puerto Rico and establishing Peter Paul Electric in 1972.  All three children grew up at the business making coils during school breaks and eventually settled in to work full-time.  Lucy, Paul and Josephine’s eldest child, joined the firm and worked in the sales and customer service functions.; Paul (their middle child) joined the firm and now serves as Executive Vice President of Peter Paul Electric in Puerto Rico; and Michael (the youngest child) joined the firm and now serves as Executive Vice President of Peter Paul Electronics Company in New Britain.

Paul and Michael’s wives, Sandy and Ginny, joined the firm as well as the third generation comprised of two of Paul’s three children (Mark and Gary) and all four of Michael’s children (Shelly, Michael, Kevin and Lisa).  Mark serves as engineering manager, having earned a degree in Electrical Engineering; Gary works as sales engineer, also having studied Electrical Engineering and earning a minor in Business Management; Shelly worked as an inside sales representative, generating 400 – 500 leads per month prior to retiring in 2004 to care for her children at home; Michael works as Operations Manager, having earned a degree in Accounting and Operations Management; Kevin is Vice President of Peter Paul Electric in Puerto Rico and initiated many of the lean manufacturing initiatives at Peter Paul Electronics and Peter Paul Electric; and Lisa serves as Market Research Analyst, having majored in Marketing Management.

The company’s outstanding success can be partially contributed to their excellence in Lean Manufacturing.  They have modeled 5S, Kanban, and Kaizan best practices, and are in the process of completing the requirements to become ISO certified.  As such, the company has received many outstanding awards and recognitions – including the Small Business Exporter of the Year given by the Small Business Administration, Excellence in Lean Manufacturing given by Connstep for increasing productivity in the Series 50-15 solenoid valve line by 30%, Certificate of Quality issued by Underwriters Laboratories Inc, and Certificate of Appreciation given by the National Association of Manufacturing of the United States of America for developing and advocating sound industrial practices and domestic and international policies to further the economic and social wellbeing of the nation and the American people.

The Mangiafico family is deeply embedded in their community – not just for being a major contributor to economic growth and development of the city of New Britain – but also for supporting various programs for child safety, Junior Achievement, and school to business partnership programs.  They have sponsored interns from around the world and family members also serve on various philanthropic boards – such as Capital Workforce Partners and the YWCA of New Britain.

William B. Meyer, Inc. – Large Business Category
In the 1900’s, the Meyer family, like so many other families, emigrated from Germany to America with a dream of creating a better life.  They settled in New York City.  William B. Meyer was a butcher by trade, but in 1915, he bought a truck chassis with two removable bodies (one for freight hauling and the other for general moving of household goods), moved his family to Connecticut and founded William B. Meyer, Inc.

William saw an opportunity in the moving industry – although he no such experience.  But, he was an enterprising family man, and he saw a need unfulfilled in the funeral business.  William and his movers would carry caskets to be moved into second and third story parlors – as during that time, family mourned the loss of loved ones in their own homes.  The venture soon expanded and William bought limousines to operate a livery service to family for their additional funeral needs.

William’s son, Lloyd, took over the business after his father’s death in 1943 and quickly expanded the company.  It was World War II, and with Connecticut as an industrial hub, the need grew for moving and storage of manufactured goods.  Lloyd also became a founder of United Van Lines in 1949, which was formed as a cooperative to pool household shipments and coordinate return loads for moving enterprises. 

For the next 20 years, the business would grow under Lloyds tenure, providing opportunities for capable family members to enter the business.  In 1971, son-in-law Chuck Mattes joined the firm in a sales capacity and was eventually promoted to Executive Vice President to lead the Transportation Services Group.  In 1973, son-in-law Tom Gillon joined the firm as General Manager of the Rigging Division and now serves as President of the Company.

During Tom’s tenure, William B. Meyer has expanded the warehousing operations and records management services through organic growth and a series of acquisitions.  They are now considered one of the leading single-source transportation and storage providers in the Northeast offering a wide range of specialized relocation, transportation, storage, and logistics services delivered from state-of-the art facilities in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts.  The company offers a broad range of services through its more than nine business lines: household moving, office moving, office interiors, records management, off-site data protection, library relocation, rigging, order fulfillment, courier services and specialized logistics.

This provides tremendous opportunities for the fourth generation, which includes Tom Gillon Jr, who serves as Director of House Goods Operations and Mike Racette, Tom Gillon’s son-in-law who serves as Director of the order fulfillment business line.  Both members of the fourth generation went to school to earn an MBA degree and worked outside the business prior to joining - Tom working for TEKsystems in New York City and Mike working as an e-commerce manager for Wal-Mart stores.

Relentless community champions, the William B. Meyer family is steadfast in their efforts to: help feed the homeless; send supplies to troops overseas an at home; collect and transport clothing and furniture to the Lakota Sioux Indians; sponsor area families in need; fund scholarships; raise funds for children’s cancer research and patients; support toy drive; and contribute time, money, and efforts to countless charitable organizations.

Medium Business Category

Olenders – Medium Business Category  
In the quiet town of Vernon, brothers Joe, Stanley and Henry Olender set out to earn a living by peddling a couple drums of gasoline out of the back of their pick-up truck.  The year was 1939 and gasoline in those days was only 10 cents per gallon.  Olender’s, Inc. was born.

The brothers soon established a small gasoline service station and 200 square foot repair shop on Route 83 – servicing farm equipment and rebuilding radiators out of a converted barn.  As their reputation for quality service and repair grew – so did their business.  In 1946, a cinder block building was constructed to meet the growing demand for general automobile repair; and within ten years, the brothers would find themselves balancing the demands of automobile repair, radiator repair, and now collision work.

With Stanley and Henry’s ownership transferred to Joe, Joe’s two sons, Mick and Dave, joined the burgeoning business – helping it to grow into a 17,000 square foot facility and one of the largest independent collision repair facilities in the state.   Mick transferred his ownership to Dave, and now Dave’s two sons, Jeff and Dave Jr continue the Olender entrepreneurial spirit to the third generation.

In 1998, Olender’s added another 17,000 square foot auto and truck repair facility in East Windsor, which Dave Jr currently manages.   The brothers rely on each other’s strengths and the expertise of all 41of their employees to grow the business and establish trust and customer loyalty in the community.  The Olender’s reputation is well received – the company has consistently increased sales over the past 15 years and is considered to be in the top 10% of all independent body shops in the United States. 

The Olender family contributes time, resources, and money to local community programs and civic organizations – sponsoring local sports teams and golf tournaments, supporting the Vernon police department, and providing funding for scholarships.  True to their business philosophy, the Olenders don’t cut corners when it comes to quality and compassion.

Paines, Inc. – Medium Business Category
In 1929, Albert I. Paine, a Simsbury farmer, was in search of an inexpensive way to feed his pigs.  In the throes of the Depression, he contacted two private schools in town and offered to pick up the garbage from their lunch room.  The free pig food helped the Paine Farm survive the Depression, and also got Albert his first two customers who would become the basis for Paine’s, Inc.

A.I. Paine & Son’s business was farming - and a family business from the onset.  Albert’s wife, Mary, worked as bookkeeper, and his son, Don, worked part-time when not serving with the Marines or studying at the University of Connecticut.  But, by the time Don graduated from college to join the firm fulltime, Simsbury was undergoing massive economic development – and farmland was giving way to subdivisions.  So, in the early 1960’s, Don decided to add the collection of residential home waste as a permanent and full-time operation.

In the early 1970’s, Don’s sons, Michael and Russ, joined their parents and grandmother at the family firm.  Don’s wife, Joyce, was now serving as bookkeeper, and Mary was still working in billing.  At this point, Don had moved the primary focus of the business from farming to the collection of residential and commercial rubbish.  Paine’s also merged with another locally owned company and began hauling bulky waste and adding additional rubbish customers in the Farmington Valley.  Paine’s now served over 12,000 customers and operated a fleet of 9 trucks.

Over the course of the 1980’s and 1990’s, many family members came into the business to accommodate the growth in business - Russ and Mike’s wives, Molly and Jean respectively, joined the firm – as did Russ’s father-in-law and mother-in-law.  The business was now providing service in Canton, East Granby, Granby, Simsbury, and Wethersfield and was growing into Litchfield county – and they became the first rubbish company in the northeast to provide automated rubbish removal for residential customers.

Now with 80 employees, Paine’s serves more than 25 towns, 50,000 residential homes, and 1,000 commercial businesses with a 54-vehicle fleet.  Russ and Mike’s children, representing the fourth generation have also worked in the business during school breaks, and two have joined the business full-time – Mike’s son, Mike Jr, and Russ’s daughter Julie.

Paine’s has had the same values for the last 79 years – treat customers and employees with respect and provide excellence in service, satisfaction, and value.  But it doesn’t stop there.  The Paine family has had a tremendous impact on their community; when Simsbury had to close the landfill as a recycling center, Paine’s volunteered the necessary staff to keep it open.  They have supported local cleanup efforts of local towns and roads (even beginning to use bio diesel in their trucks to reduce vehicle emissions), sponsored the Hartford Symphony’s outdoor summer concerts, started up “Operation Look Out” where drivers report suspicious activity while performing their routes, participated in local educational efforts to encourage recycling, served on legislative waste advisory committees, and served on national industry boards.  And still, Don was honored by the town of Simsbury as a Hometown Hero.  Having served in two wars, he and his fellow veterans speak yearly at area schools to tell children of their experiences during this time.  As a result, Paine’s has been honored with numerous awards commending their citizenship and service to their industry and community.

Willington Nameplate – Medium Business Category
                In 1965, at the age of 27, Marcel Goepfert sold his house and car, packed his bags and set out to earn his slice of the American Dream by owning his own company.  His skill was in manufacturing nameplates, having worked in the industry for a number of years upon graduation from High School.  But with his wife and three young children, Marcel – like many entrepreneurs – made many sacrifices.

The family settled in South Willington, within walking distance to the budding establishment that Marcel had just founded and named Willington Nameplate.  Marcel worked long hours seven days a week selling, quoting, doing production, delivering products, and collecting payment.  During those first ten years, the company’s primary products were metal nameplates used for identifying a variety of appliances, equipment, and military parts, and the business found loyal customers in General Electric, Westinghouse, Waring and Hamilton Beach.

In 1972, Marcel bought a building in Stafford Springs that would allow the company  to accommodate its growing customer base.  Marcel’s children, Steve and Lynn, joined their parents at the business, and Marcel was able to hire more employees – including a sales staff.  They added their first label press in the late 1970’s which increased the company’s identification products offerings and even began making their own tools in house.

In 1982, Marcel’s second son, Michael, came to work in the business as a sales representative after earning a BS in Industrial Technology from Central Connecticut State University.  One year later, Lynn’s husband joined the firm’s production staff.  Diverse product offerings continued to grow and included decals, silk screen, metalphoto, etch, hot stamp, flexograph, and roll screen.  They even established New England Label in Burlington, Vermont.

Willington Nameplate went through many changes in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  They implemented a computer-based estimating program, built a 40,000 square foot state of the art building in an industrial park, and hired an outside manger with 17 years of accounting and operations experience.  Most recently, Marcel stepped down as President and handed management over to his son Michael.  Michael has since launched the company into its Lean Journey, investing in continuous improvement education and training.  All employees received a minimum of 10 hours of education/training and many received over 100 hours.  In fact, two internal lean leaders were identified, becoming state certified and receiving approval from the Aerospace and Defense Initiative (ADI) to conduct their own projects.

The Willington Nameplate family remains highly committed to its community – donating to local and national charities, including Special Olympics, Salvation Army, and the American Diabetes Association; supporting school programs such as Safe Graduation; providing banners for charitable events; and sponsoring many youth sports programs.

Small Business Category

Baronet Coffee – Small Business Category
Baronet Coffee was founded in 1930 by Dave Baron.  But it wasn’t until 1947 when brothers Isedore and Nathan Goldsmith, European immigrants, purchased the business from Dave Baron that it prospered into the coffee brewing powerhouse it is today.

Isedore and Nathan had arabica beans running through their veins from previous experience in the early 1900’s as owners of the Manhattan Coffee and Sugar Company in New York City.  The brothers continued Dave Baron’s operation – supplying hotels, restaurants and institutions wholesale coffee.  But in 1958, Isedore’s son, Leon joined the company after graduating from New York University and expanded the business into serving the office environment.

The family’s inroads allowed the business to thrive to third generation as Leon’s son, Bruce, joined in 1988 after working outside the family business at Procter & Gamble.  Bruce’s experience served the business well.  After he came onboard, Baronet Coffee developed the specialty coffee program, successfully branded the “Baronet” name, entered into the coffee pod and single serve coffee business, and expanded the company’s geographical reach through distributor programs.  Currently, Baronet has expanded coffee sales across the country and internationally in Europe and the pan-Scandinavian region.  They’ve doubled the size of their manufacturing facility and have achieved a fourfold growth in business since the 1990’s.

Baronet Coffee, and all 35 employees, understand the founder’s simple business philosophy to “provide customers with the highest quality coffee and continually exceed their service expectations, and you will have a customer for life.” It is in upholding this philosophy, and in embracing the latest in coffee technology, that has allowed the Goldsmith family to become only one of five coffee roasters in North America providing single serve coffee pods- and the leader in providing specialty coffee in pods.

The Goldsmith family has remained active in their communities and industry – providing yearly support of product for various civic events, serving on the board for the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative, and sponsoring Connecticut Breast Health Initiative events.  Bruce Goldsmith also sits on the Board of Directors for the National Coffee Association of America.

Marcucio Gardens – Small Business Category
Hand dipped strawberries, a violin serenade, green thumb tips, and complimentary custom design service isn’t all that customers receive when they walk through the doors of Marcucio Gardens.  What they get is an eco-partner that has served the valley with integrity, knowledge, professionalism and the highest standards for plants and craftsmanship for over 5 generations.

The Marcucio family has been planting and beautifying the Valley since before the depression – growing vegetables on their farm on the top of Sentinel Hill.  In the 1960’s, brothers Philip and John took their agricultural know-how that had been passed through the generations and decided to work together – starting with mowing lawns and evolving to installation of athletic fields, and design and maintenance of corporate and municipality landscapes. 

With the next generation, comprised of Philip’s sons, Phil Jr, Michael, and John now involved in the growing business, Philip Sr and his wife, Carol, decided to formally establish Marcucio Gardens in 1998 to consolidate and organize the family’s varying areas of expertise in landscape design, lawn care, growth of annuals, and most recently a nursery to grow perennials.   Marcucio Gardens is now a full-service vertically-integrated landscaping/garden center business which begins with the growing of plant material to retail sale, design, and installation services.  Philip and Carol have also begun the process of transferring ownership to their three sons who each have a unique skill set to bring to the business.  Philip Jr graduated from UConn with a degree in Horticulture and manages the garden center and landscape design.  Michael graduated from Trinity College and manages the landscape crew, as well as the company’s website and technology initiatives; and Anthony (also a Trinity College graduate) manages office operations and bookkeeping.

Marcucio Gardens is ever the family affair.  John, Phil Sr’s brother, and his daughter Linda grow the various trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials sold at the garden shop.  A number of cousins and friends also work in various positions in the greenhouse, on the landscape crew, and pitch in at busy seasonal times of year.  But it’s the customers who pitch in the most: offering input and ideas on new product lines and design styles.  In fact, customer input has changed the Marcucio’s plant guarantee.  The garden center now provide a five-year, 50/50 guarantee in which the Marcucio’s will pay for half the replacement cost for shrubs or plants that do not prosper.  The customer is responsible for the other half of the replacement cost – holding the Marcucio’s to providing a generous warranty on the quality of their plant materials while holding the homeowner responsible for better plant care.

Nonetheless, the entire family remains dedicated to beautifying Derby and the surrounding areas, and being socially responsible.  The Marcucio family has initiated and worked on redesigning and replanting the Derby’s Founders Green, donated plant material and labor for the Derby Green-way walking trail, volunteered to serve on local boards and environmental committees, given to a number of local charities, and helped out on various environmental projects.

Nursing Services, Inc. – Small Business Category
Nursing Services, Inc. (NSI) was established in 1980 as a division of a healthcare management company to provide temporary personnel to managed and owned nursing homes.  Larry Tucker served as the company’s CFO while Linda Tucker managed its operations.  It wasn’t until 1989 - after the company expanded its temporary staffing business to non-owned nursing homes, hospitals, retirement homes and other health care providers – that Larry and Linda decided to purchase the company.

The company has gone through a number of growth spurts since the Tucker’s acquisition – establishing NSI/Elderforce in 1991 to provide various support services to help older adults maintain their independent lifestyles, expanding its health services in 1992 to become a home health agency certified for Medicare and Medicaid, opening a staff recruitment and document processing office in Old Saybrook in 1994, and acquiring Older Adult Services, Inc., a companion and homemaking company with offices in Danbury and Farmington in2003.  As a result of their growth, NSI was recognized by the Hartford Business Journal in 2003 as the 5th largest women-owned business in greater Hartford.

A family business, Linda’s daughters Yvette and Melissa Roming, both grew up in the business working as companion/homemakers during summer break and school vacations.  After graduating from college, Larry and Linda insisted they get outside experience before making a decision to join the business full-time.  After working for a number of health care providers and institutional facilities, Melissa joined in 1996 as Director of Quality Improvement, and Yvette, who had been working in marketing communications, joined that same year as Director of Community Relations.  Nowadays, Melissa is Administrator of NSI while Yvette is Vice President of Operations for both Nursing Services and NSI’s affiliate, NSI/Elderforce, Inc.

In April 2007, with the help of a professional advisory team, Linda and Larry completed a succession to Melissa and Yvette, and 90% of the corporate stock of NSI and NSI/Elderforce was gifted to the next generation.  With 25 full-time staff and 175 companion and homemaker part-time staff, the company is well-positioned to handle the aging baby boomer population.  They’ve purchased land adjacent to their East Hartford based office building, and the family remains active in various industry associations and local health/outreach initiatives.

Shawmut Equipment Company – Small Business Category
Shawmut Equipment Company was founded in 1957 by George O’Connell, a former equipment manager for the F.H. McGraw Company.  Together with a group of partners, George bought the building at 20 Tolland Turnpike in Manchester to serve as a distributor for Lorain Cranes.

George’s passion for the business was passed onto his son, David, who earned his law degree and worked for a short time as a practicing attorney prior to joining his father at Shawmut Equipment as a sales representative.  It was during this time in the early 1960’s that Shawmut Equipment entered into an agreement with American crawler cranes and Grove Worldwide to become of the hydraulic crane manufacturers’ first distributors. 

The business continued to grow through the following decades with David becoming President in the early 1970’s - bearing responsibility for overseeing operations and setting company strategy and goals.  In the 1990’s, the Manitowoc Company of Manitowoc Wisconsin offered Shawmut Equipment the opportunity to become a distributor of Manitowoc Crawlers Cranes.  The agreement made Shawmut Equipment the exclusive Manitowoc Crawler Crane dealer for all six New England states.  At this time, the company grew from servicing Connecticut and western Massachusetts to serving the entire New England region for two premier manufacturers.  This growth allowed additional O’Connell family members to join the firm.  David’s sons, Brian and Kevin, and nephew Joe Vergoni, all joined the firm and serve as Vice Presidents and Sales Representatives responsible for different regions and each with a different product line expertise.  Kevin’s wife, Kristina, also joined the family firm and manages much of the company’s marketing efforts. 

Shawmut Equipment Company finds that its ability to specialize in one type of construction equipment – selling, servicing, and supporting cranes - provides great advantages.  Their technicians can develop an unmatched expertise in the function, service, and repair of cranes – allowing them to acquire substantial product knowledge and cater to the people and particularities of a specifically-defined industry.  To support this, all technicians are equipped with modern service trucks that contain all tools and technologies to repair cranes – leaving from home and traveling to a job site without returning to the shop until the repair is done.  And if a customer ever needs to contact a technician or O’Connell family member, there is a 24 hours a day, 7 day a week answering service to handle customer inquiries.  It’s this attention to detail and insistence on superior customer service that influenced Manitowoc Crane Group to agree to expand Shawmut Equipment’s territory to three Canadian Maritime provinces, including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. 

Shawmut Equipment Company now has 38 full-time employees spread over three full service locations in Manchester Connecticut, Saint John New Brunswick Canada, and Norfolk Massachusetts.  But, the O’Connell family still finds time to give back to their community.  They sponsor the RHAM Youth Football League and are regular contributors to the Jimmy Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Saint James School Fund of Manchester, and Easter Seals.