June 19, 2006: Fulton Tool Company
Receives “Business Excellence Award” from SBA
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
recently recognized Fulton Tool Company with a “Business Excellence
Award” at the eighth annual Small Business Excellence Awards
luncheon and ceremony in Syracuse.
Fulton Tool Company, established in 1959, was nominated for the
award by Operation Oswego County (OOC).
The company, owned by Bruce Phelps and Peter
Russell, is a provider of machined parts and precision machining
services. In 2003, Fulton Tool Company’s 47-year legacy was
reduced to rubble by a fire that tore through the facility and several
shops and businesses in the Schuyler Street Commons plaza on Fulton’s
west side. However, after considering several reconstruction options
both within the city of Fulton and outside, and being presented
with an incentive package developed by OOC, the Fulton Community
Development Agency, the County of Oswego Industrial Development
Agency, the city of Fulton and the SBA, Phelps and Russell purchased
the 35,000 square foot former Oswego Wire building on state Route
3 in Fulton in 2003. Since then, they have also renovated and expanded
Schuyler Street Commons and lease a 4,000 square foot section of
the Fulton Tool building that was not damaged by the fire. Fulton
Tool Company currently employs 22 people and utilizes about 17,000
square feet of its building. The company plans to lease 3,200 square
feet of the remainder of the building to D. Arnold Overhead Door
Company.
“These businesses may not be big in
size, but their contributions to our economy are gigantic,”
said Bernard J. Paprocki, Syracuse SBA district director. “You
rely on them for the products you use and the services you need.
Their names are on little league uniforms and their sponsor banners
fly high over community events. The businesses we honor are part
of the 25 million businesses across the nation that by their success
contribute daily to our prosperity.”
“Bruce and Pete’s dedication
to their trade and to their community truly represents the spirit
of Oswego County’s small business owners. We are grateful
that Fulton Tool Company will remain one of Fulton’s most
notable manufacturers and were proud to nominate the company for
the SBA’s ‘Business Excellence Award,’”
said L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD, executive director of OOC.
The SBA 504 program is designed to promote
economic development growth and job creation in small businesses
and make the overall financing structure for a new business or project
more attractive and affordable. OOC, a SBA Certified Development
Company, is authorized to finance projects using the SBA 504 loan
program. The program offers accessible, fixed rate, long term financing
for land, buildings and equipment. Businesses eligible for SBA 504
loans are independently-owned, for-profit businesses that are ready
to expand and create jobs. They must have a net worth less than
$6 million and annual after-tax profit of less than $2 million.
For more information about the SBA 504 loan
program or other economic development services in Oswego County,
call Operation Oswego County, a private, non-profit organization
working to enhance and protect the economic climate of Oswego County,
at 343-1545 or visit www.oswegocounty.org.
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