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Spotlight shines on minority
businesses Area
finalists named for state's top innovative company Two Green Bay-area
businesses are finalists for state Department of Commerce minority business awards. Global Refractory
Installers and Suppliers Inc. of Howard and Oneida Total Integrated
Enterprises of Ashwaubenon are finalists in the Rising Star category, which
recognizes an innovative young company. Oneida Total Integrated
Enterprises, according to its Web site, provides project management services,
environmental remedial and restoration services, environmental engineering
and infrastructure engineering. Global Refractory
rebuilds air pollution equipment, designs and builds heat-recovery systems,
designs and builds aluminum-melting furnaces, distributes and applies
refractory material, which is used to hold molten metal, and distributes and
applies an energy-saving coating for use in such items as melting-furnaces. "I think it's
really an honor. This is a huge stepping stone for us," said Ed
Piwonski, president of Global Refractory Installers. The owners are
Piwonski, Scott Harmsen, vice president, and Lynn Piwonski, chief financial
officer. Lynn Piwonski is a member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
in Michigan. Ed Piwonski is the
chief salesman, Harmsen is a chemical engineer and Lynn Piwonski has a
master's degree in management. They located the
business, started 17 months ago, in Wisconsin because that's where they
expected most of their customers to be. They have a warehouse in Howard, but
no office because most of their work is done on the road, Ed Piwonski said. However, their reach
has expanded well beyond Wisconsin. The company recently completed a project
in China. "Because Ed's
been in the field for 30 years, he built these relationships," Lynn
Piwonski said of the business's ability to secure global projects. "We
sold a little under $1 million in our first year." Global Refractory
has four employees — the three owners and a project manager. It hires local
subcontractors to complete onsite work, which it oversees. The company is
minority business-certified and is on the federal General Services
Administration vendor list. The Piwonskis said
they are in a competitive industry, but two things that set them apart are
their primary suppliers — Plibricko Co. and Thermal Ceramics — and their
around-the-clock customer service. "We sell and
service. That's the key," Ed Piwonski said. "The service and
knowledge is the edge." Piwonski said
receiving the Rising Star award could be helpful in their efforts to buy a
company in Florida and relocate 10 to 12 jobs to Wisconsin. "This will help
with that. I want the ear of the governor," he said, with a smile.
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Global
Refractory Installers and Suppliers Inc. of Howard recently completed a
project lining two towers at a chemical plant in Weifang, Shandong province,
China. The 17-month-old company is a finalist in the Rising Star category of
the state Department of Commerce's special business awards for minority
businesses. Submitted |
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