Manufacturing Sector Remains Strong Force in the Economy of Metro North
Published Apr 17, 2008
Michael and Deborah Wanasz, owners of Arvada-based Wanco Manufacturing, are leaders in the production of illuminated signage.
Metro North is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, both in terms of people and economy. The residents in this region are highly educated and highly skilled.
While the region is a leading energy producer and a leader in health care and technology, manufacturing is a strong component, as evidenced from the following vignettes from throughout the area.
These and other Metro North manufacturers produce products that are sold throughout the country, and, in many instances, globally.
Clear Signals
The products made by Wanco Inc. are meant to be seen. The company is the leading manufacturer of road safety and traffic control devices such as electronic message boards, caution boards and speed limit boards.
The company’s success is made more impressive by the owner’s personal history. Founder Michael Wanasz arrived in America from Poland with $25 dollars in his pocket and a limited vocabulary. He was not lacking drive. He pursued an education, ultimately earning a master’s in electrical engineering, and he pursued his dream to have his own business.
He started Wanco Inc. in 1984 and led it to become the leader in the industry. Wanco sells products across the country and globally. In 1998, Wanco moved its operations to Arvada. With 150 employees, the company continues to thrive, garnering 35 percent of the market in its industry.
The personal drive that Wanasz brought with him from Poland remains strong and is matched by that of his wife of more than 30 years, Deborah.
“The drive to succeed is the most important part of me,” Wanasz says. “I always had the drive to have my own business.”
Embroidery Solutions
Since 1972, Melco has been the industry leader of complete embroidery solutions for the home-based entrepreneurial and commercial markets.
Melco offers digitizing software, embroidery components and supplies, technical support, training and leasing for embroidery businesses of every size. Melco is the only company that engineers and manufactures embroidery equipment and related software in the United States. Melco Embroidery Systems is a leader in the manufacture of machines and embroidery machine software and accessories.
“We offer a full range of embroidery solutions,” says Scott Fowle, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
The company is a unit of Saurer AG in Switzerland and has sales offices and training centers throughout the U.S. Melco does its final testing and all distribution from its facility north of Denver.
The company is positioned for future growth, with enough land to double the size of the existing 30,000-square-foot warehouse, if necessary.
“Denver is established, developed – and expensive,” says Fowle. “Outlying areas are cheaper.”
The company was founded in Denver in 1972 and moved to its current location 20 years ago, when few other industries were located in the area.
“Today we’re surrounded and more businesses are being built every day,” he says. He calls the area a source of “good, stable growth.”
It Can Be Contained
That wide-mouth plastic container of Tootsie Rolls on the convenience store counter likely carries the mark of an Arvada company, CCW Products.
“We make 400 different sizes and shapes,” says Dave TenEyck, president. The products are referred to by customers as fishbowls, candy jars, bowls, globes, jugs, tubs and buckets. CCW manufactures many shapes such as rounds, squares, grip jars, hexagons, barrels, canisters, flattened globes and novelty shapes. They may hold candy, beef jerky, pretzels or products sold at Home Depot.
TenEyck’s in-laws started the company in 1979. They struggled for about a year or so, trying many different products, until the candy business, and its trade show, beckoned.
The company hit it big in 1982 with Laffy Taffy – recently bought by Nestlé and still a client. Today, CCW counts more than $16 million in sales annually, with more than a hundred employees working out of its 80,000-square-foot facility in Arvada.
One mom has worked there 30 years; her son is sales manager and her daughter is GM. “It’s a family business for employees, too,” TenEyck says.
Eat Fresh
Sales doubled at Fresca Foods in 2006, as has been the case every year since 2003.
With offices in Adams County, the company also occupies 55,000 square feet in Boulder County. In 2007, the company was awarded Adams County Business of the Year.
Fresca Foods emphasizes healthy offerings and natural foods. Fresca makes pizza and bread dough (try the Neapolitan or wheat), entrees and sauces, for food service and restaurant clients, as well as the nation’s major grocery stores.
The company has its own products, and a research and development staff for reproducing handed-down family recipes.
Sleep Aids
Respironics Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, manufacturer and distributor of innovative products and programs that serve the global sleep and respiratory markets.
Respironics markets its products in 131 countries and employs over 4,900 associates worldwide. A good deal of research and development is done at its facilities in Thornton and Westminster. Respironics Colorado Inc. develops respiratory therapy products, mainly in home ventilation.
The company looks at its products not just as helping “problem sleepers” – though it does this – but also as a way of pursuing promising new treatments, such as administering medicine by the respiratory pathway.
In October 2007, Respironics acquired 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Apollo Light Systems Inc., a 20-year-old, privately held company and a leading manufacturer of light therapy systems for melatonin suppression and circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
“Apollo’s light therapy technologies further our strategy to expand into the broader sleep market,” says John L. Miclot, president and CEO of Respironics. “Apollo will become part of our Sleep Well Ventures business, which is focused on pursuing opportunities in insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders and other sleep/wake market segments.”
They’re on the Ball
A manufacturer of beverage cans and other products, including an aerospace division, Ball Corp. has some 3,000 employees in the Metro North region, as well as its corporate headquarters in Broomfield.
Company spokesman Scott McCarty praises the quality of life of the region, the highly educated population and an entrepreneurial spirit.
“The Denver/Boulder area is usually ranked as one of the most educated regions in the country,” McCarty says. “So many people in this area have degrees, and many have advanced degrees. It’s a good business climate.”
In addition, the entrepreneurial spirit pervades the area, he says.
“It’s the western spirit of independence and getting the job done and done right,” he says. “One of our keys to success is for all of Ball’s employees to behave like owners, and that fits well with the western, frontier mindset.”
Ball’s oldest unit is the aerospace company, which passed the 50-year mark in 2006. It bought the beverage can maker in 1969, and the company has the ability to produce 1,900 containers a second.
Ball moved its corporate headquarters here from Indiana in 1998. The 130-year-old company is publicly traded, with more than 15,000 employees in 90 locations internationally.
Story by Paul Hughes
Photo by Michael W. Bunch
Current Weather Conditions In Denver, CO (80234)
Partly Cloudy, and 13 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
