Irvine Firm’s Chief Earns Competition Nod
Kris Shah, president of an Orange County electronics firm, has been named as a runner-up in the Small Business Administration’s national competition for small-business person of the year.
Shah, 59, who heads Litronic Industries Inc., an Irvine-based builder and designer of computer security systems, was chosen second runner-up in the competition. He qualified for the national contest after being named small business person of the year in California.
The annual entrepreneur award was won by Ross Youngs, who started a company in his basement to develop a cheaper, environmentally friendly product for storing compact discs. His firm, Univenture Inc., is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Using a household clothing iron as a welding tool, Youngs, 41, created a lighter, sturdier packaging system for CDs. Sales have grown to $15 million at the company, which counts Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Warner Bros. among its customers.
In winning the 35th annual entrepreneur award, Youngs was selected from 53 SBA small-business winners representing 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The SBA, which helps entrepreneurs manage their firms, selects winners based on stability, innovation, growth in employment and sales, community service, financial condition, and response to adversity.
First runner-up award went to Mathew Fleischer, David Vollbracht and John Matteson, the top management at Fleischer Manufacturing Inc., a Columbus, Neb., maker of tillage equipment that improves cultivation.
The company, which employs about 10% of the work force in the eastern Nebraska town, has won numerous awards for conservation efforts. Its revenues totaled $14 million last year, up more 60% since 1994.
Shah’s Litronic Industries, which was started in 1970 and now employs 65 people, provides an electronic security system that safeguards Internet users, electronic commerce and corporate communications.
The company, which has created alliances with Netscape Communications Corp. and Microsoft, developed digital systems enabling users to identify themselves by inserting a “smart card” into a PC.
