IET - Press Releases

Leaders of a cookie bakery that rose from 30 employees to 3,000 over 35 years and of a plastic molder that transformed from a start-up operation to sales of more than $7 million in three years were among the top award winners last night at Ernst & Young's annual Northwest Ohio Entrepreneur of the Year program.

So were leaders of a construction company purchased at bankruptcy, the third largest single outlet appliance store in the country, and an engineering firm that grew from one worker to 110 in a decade.

The program, which attracts hundreds to honor owners of fast-growing companies who are committed to their communities, was in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. Recognized were:

James Appold, president of Consolidated Biscuit Co. in McComb, OH., one of the largest privately owned cookie and cracker companies in the country with $150 million in annual sales. The company has facilities in five states and designs and builds specialized bakery equipment.
Arthur Hagen, president of Pinnacle Plastic Products in Bowling Green, along with Gary Gratop, vice president and chief financial officer, and Kevin Tearney, vice president of sales and marketing. They met in the 1980s when they worked at a closely held plastic blow molding operation. When the business was phased out, they formed their own company in 1995. It has grown from 12 employees to 92.
Robert Moyer, chairman of Mosser Construction, Inc., Fremont. He had been with the company for 15 years when it filed for bankruptcy in the 1970s. He and three others risked all they had to buy the company and save 400 local jobs. The company today has 500 craftsman and an employee stock ownership plan.
Charles Oswald, president of The Appliance Center in Maumee. He bought a radio and television store in 1963 with two partners whom he eventually bought out. The 30,000 square-foot store yields more than $19 million in annual sales and involves many of his children and extended family among its 72 employees.
Timothy Stansfield, president of IET, Inc. in Toledo. He left a management position with a large engineering and architectural firm in 1989 to strike out on his own, where he worked by himself the first year. The company has grown 50 percent each year to sales of more than $5 million.

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