NFIB

With the rapid pace of technological advances, it can be hard for business to keep pace. This comes as a welcome challenge for Shirley and Scott Reilman, Jason Jasper and Craig Wilson, owners of Spectra-Tech Manufacturing. As a contract assembler of electronic circuit boards, Spectra-Tech provides a complete range of services, from prototyping to high-volume production, to manufacturing top-quality products with personalized customer service.

"A project manager gets assigned to each and every customer," Scott said. "We strive to continuously meet and exceed customer expectations in our responsiveness, flexibility and technical support." As such, Spectra-Tech is able to provide jobs to 45 full-time employees and 20 contract workers.

In the beginning, however, their operation was quite smaller. Started in 1998 by three young entrepreneurs, they were operating out of a small garage space, having to use old, and some times broken, equipment. It was at this point that they turned to Scott's mom, Shirley, for support. Many hours of discussion, a business loan and 10 years later, they ended up with their own specially designed facility, three production lines and are a valued contributor in their community. It's this community involvement that the owners find to be the most rewarding part of owning a small business.

"There really aren't words to describe how proud the four of us are in seeing this company grow from four to 60," Scott said. "With our success comes a real commitment and sense of responsibility to our employees and our customers."

Still, success was not without its risks. From long workdays and sizeable loans, to building a new facility and buying new equipment to keep pace with technology, the four had to be willing to take a few chances to grow their company. "It took unbelievable risks, but we accept the day-to-day challenges to beat our competition, whether it be in our area or somewhere else around the world," Scott commented.

This year, Spectra-Tech is celebrating its five-year anniversary of NFIB membership. As a member, they've stayed active by filling out ballots and surveys, as well as attending seminars and meetings.

"Being a small business, there are so many issues to deal with, whether you're growing or just trying to stay in business," Shirley said. "NFIB provides that link between business and what's going on in government."

Currently, they find the recent paid sick leave proposal very concerning. "We're competing with countries like China and this just adds another financial burden to our product costs," Shirley continued. They also believe that tax incentives would encourage area businesses to grow, and provide additional jobs in Ohio.

For more information on Spectra-Tech Manufacturing, please visit www.spectratechmfg.com.