2008 Business of the Year Award
Dan Wentarmini, CFO of Champion, Inc., accepted the 2008 Business of the Year Award on behalf of the company at the Dickinson Area Partnership Puttin’ on da Ritz Celebration, March 15, 2008.
Each Year, Michigan Works! The Job Force Board and Dickinson Area Partnership highlight a business that makes a difference in the Dickinson region by exemplifying business and community excellence.
“It is important for the community to recognize the accomplishments of the small businesses that contribute to the economy of the Upper Peninsula by supporting their local workforce,” states Will Carne, Job Force Board President.
Champion, Inc. was founded in 1921 as a sand and gravel business. It has expanded its operations into construction services, Redi-mix concrete and industrial and electrical supply. Champion, Inc. is comprised of three distinct business units: Gundlach Champion, Inc., Champion Concrete and Champion Charter Sales & Service.
The company has celebrated many achievements throughout their years of operation in the Dickinson area.
On March 17, 2005, the Association of General Contractors of America (AGC) presented Gundlach Champion, Inc. (GCI) the 2005 Build America Award for the St. Mary & St. Joseph Rebuild project in Iron Mountain. They also received the 2004 Build Michigan Award for the same project. GCI’s work on the Pine Grove Country Club in Iron Mountain helped them to receive a Bronze Award from the American Society of Interior Designers. Gundlach Champion, Inc. received the 29th Annual WRMCA Concrete Design Award for the Bay College West Campus in Iron Mountain.
In March 2007 American Concrete International (ACI) presented GCI the 2006 Concrete Design Award for the new Gundlach Champion building and parking lot in Iron Mountain. Additionally, GCI is proud to have been awarded Safety Excellence Awards for the years 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000 and the Safety Honor Roll for 2005 and 2001.
Champion Concrete has supplied over 5,000,000 cubic yards of concrete to numerous facilities throughout the United States, including electrical generating plants, petrochemical plants, dams, nuclear power plants, paper and forest industries, mining and auto assembly plants. Some recent projects include: Units 3 and 4 of the Springerville Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Springerville, Arizona; American Electric Power’s 2,900-megawatt John E. Amos plant in West Virginia and the Motiva Crude Expansion Project in Port Arthur, Texas.
Champion Charter Sales & Service serves customers in the mining, manufacturing, aggregate, construction, pulp & paper, electrical utility and transportation industries in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
Champion, Inc. employs more than 100 full-time employees in the Dickinson County area. “Champion, Inc. is honored to have been chosen the 2008 Dickinson County Business of the Year,” stated Dan Wentarmini. “At Champion we are focused on contributing to Dickinson County for many years to come. Currently, one of our missions is to attract young people back to the area. We have unlimited opportunities for Dickinson County graduates to come back home and grow and succeed in their respective careers.”