In this the 11th year of Business Champions, our winners run the gamut from new technologies to new spins on old products. The common thread is they all understand and serve their unique market with top products and customer support.
The companies contained in this special section are the true lifeblood of our communities, producing the jobs, creating the products and delivering the critical services we all count on each day. They are not only business-savvy, but are innovators as well, generating industry buzz that resonates throughout our communities and beyond.
We take tremendous pride in again joining with the MetroHartford Alliance to celebrate the many successes of our region’s privately-held companies.
In this section, you’ll meet some of the best and brightest, as determined by our independent panel of judges. Nominees were judged on the basis of information they submitted covering four criteria: workforce excellence, innovation, sustainability and year over year revenue growth.
The overall winner is Protein Sciences Corp., a Meriden company that’s developing the next generation of vaccines. This is the second straight year Protein Sciences has been honored; last year it won the innovation category.
The winner in the revenue category is NorthStar Wealth Partners in West Hartford. The service isn’t new but the approach is. And it’s clearly working.
BL Cos. Inc. in Meriden topped the workforce practices category. The firm is owned by the staff and there are lessons to be learned from this model.
Kenai Sports LLC of New Britain wins top honors for sustainability. The business model focuses on designing and manufacturing sportswear from reused ingredients.
Advanced Copy Technology of Cromwell wins in the innovation category for its work with 3D printing. The new technology appears to be a game changer for manufacturing.
The best new start-up is Hartford Denim Co., a group of young entrepreneurs who are putting a new custom spin on an old staple – jeans. And they’re deeply committed to doing it in Hartford.
Congratulations to each of our winners and every other company who took the challenge of competing in this year’s Business Champions.
As always, we hope you’ll find these stories inspirational, educational and motivational. We look forward to celebrating your company’s successes in these pages next year.
— Norman Bell
Editor
2013 Business Champions Winners
Category Winner: Overall, Protein Sciences
Category Winner: Revenue, NorthStar Wealth Management
Category Winner: Workforce Practices, BL Companies
Category Winner: Sustainability, Kenai Sports
Category Winner: Innovation, Advanced Copy Technologies
Category Winner: Best Launch or Start-up: Hartford Denim Co.
Click HERE for information about the judges.
