Out of some 1,200 nominees, a northern Iowa manufacturing company has made the top ten in a national contest celebrating free enterprise and innovation.
Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner is a semi-finalist in the Patriot Pitch Competition, part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Freedom 250 initiative.
Dean Sonquist and his wife Marcia founded the technology-driven company in 1993, specializing in precision machining and injection mold design.
“We build injection molds for plastic, so we’ll build the tooling that can mass produce plastic parts for manufacturing,” Sonquist says. “We do it for overhead doors. We do it for sharp disposal containers. We make parts for custom ag. It’s all over the spectrum.”
Sonquist says he’s thrilled his company has done so well in the national spotlight and hopes they can continue on to the finals, and the winner’s circle.
“They’ll whittle it down at the end of the month to the final five,” Sonquist says, “and then the final five get to go out to Washington, D.C., and actually we have a live pitch at that time, so that’s when it gets real interesting.”
There’s a million dollar prize pool, and the top company will take home $400,000 dollars. Sonquist says he has dreams about expanding and purchasing new equipment, including robotic loaders for the CNC lathes.
The company with very humble beginnings now has 50 employees, including his two adult sons, and Sonquist is excited to share his success.
“I believe what has set us aside is our whole story,” Sonquist says. “We started in a two-car garage back almost 35 years ago and we’ve taken it from just building one or two molds here and there to a company that does the tooling, and also our main focus now is production machining for some large companies throughout the United States.”
The SBA says the contest centers on companies “that drive innovation, create jobs, and generate economic growth for local communities…small businesses whose innovation, leadership, and growth reflect the promise of the American Dream.” The competition finale is in September.
