Waterbury chamber names Harold Webster Smith award winners

BY MARC SILVESTRINI, REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

A locally owned pharmacy, the owner of a poured concrete company, and a versatile manufacturing company that is also an electrical supply distributor, an engineering firm and an energy services provider have been named winners of the 12th annual Harold Webster Smith awards.

Beacon Falls Pharmacy was named Small Business of the Year, Carol Mulready of CBJ Foundations LLC in Bethlehem received the Entrepreneur of the Year award, and Traver IDC, which is headquartered on Homer Street in Waterbury, was selected as Manufacturer of the Year.

The annual awards program, instituted in 1998, honors Harold Webster Smith, the entrepreneur who in 1935 founded First Federal Savings of Waterbury, the small savings and loan company that eventually became Webster Financial Corp. Like Smith, honorees must demonstrate a commitment to small business development in the Waterbury area, as well as success and excellence in the marketplace.

The winners were nominated by business leaders in the community and selected by the Waterbury Regional Chamber's Small Business Council. They will be honored at the annual awards breakfast Jan. 22 at 8 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Southbury.

Beacon Falls Pharmacy was established by local residents Bob and Marion Bradley in November 2005. Only two years after opening their doors, they were filling an average of 96 prescriptions per day, prompting them to hire an additional pharmacist and a pharmacy technician to meet the growing demand.

Marion Bradley was a veteran pharmacist long before she and her husband opened their business, having spent more than 21 years with a large national drugstore chain. Before joining his wife in the new venture, Bob Bradley spent 27 years in the information technology sector of the corporate world, specializing in financial applications.

The pharmacy offers a full line of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and stocks an array of gifts, jewelry, greeting cards, Beacon Falls logo clothing, educational books and candles.

CBJ Foundations was established 13 years ago by Mulready, who has 30 years experience in the concrete construction industry.

Mulready, who started the business with the financial backing of her sister, launched her new company with three employees and two 20-year-old trucks. Today it has more than tripled in size, with 13 employees and a fleet of 13 trucks.

The company is also equipped with enough forms to set four residential foundations at the same time, and an inventory of state-of-the-art laser optical equipment.

Now in its 70th year, Traver IDC has been a family-run business for three generations. Jack Traver Sr. is the CEO, while Jack Traver Jr. is the president.

Traver IDC is a motor repair facility, field service electrical contractor, electrical supply distribution center, electrical/ and mechanical engineering firm and energy service provider. It services a number of industries, including the aerospace, metal fabrication, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

The company has 50 employees and more than 25 service vehicles. Its recently completed five-year marketing plan sets a goal of doubling the size of the company in the next three to five years.