Business

of the Year

SCEDC’s Business of the Year Awards

Each year, St. Croix Economic Development Corporation recognizes outstanding businesses and organizations in our community.

Awards are given in these categories:



Emerging Business of the Year - Company that has been in business less than five years



Small Business of the Year - Company with 29 or fewer employees



Large Business of the Year - Company with 30 or more employees

And coming for the 2025 award cycle:



Non-Profit of the Year - Non-profit organization making significant contributions to the community



County Impact Award - Organizations making significant contributions to regional needs such as daycare, healthcare, workforce education, housing, etc.

Criteria:

Points will be awarded in five main categories: Innovation & Growth, Financial Performance, Community Impact, Sustainability & Environmental Practices, Regional Impact and Overall Excellence. Points will be awarded for recent noteworthy accomplishments, which may include milestone anniversaries, physical plant expansions, the introduction of new product lines, increases in employment, sales growth, the implementation of new training programs, export sales, or any other significant achievements. Additionally, points will be given for contributions to enhance the community, such as participation in community projects, services provided to area youth, educational programs, and other initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life in the region.

All operations must be headquartered in St. Croix County. Nominations are accepted each fall and winners are announced in January. They are celebrated at our annual banquet each February!

See the past winners:

Small Business of the Year

Large Business of the Year

Business of the Year

Emerging Business of the Year

Year	Small Business of the Year	Location
Year 2004	Small Business of the Year CRI Recycling Service	Location Woodville
Year 2005	Small Business of the Year Press Enter	Location River Falls
Year 2006	Small Business of the Year Action Battery Wholesalers	Location Somerset
Year 2007	Small Business of the Year Riverland Laser	Location Somerset
Year 2008	Small Business of the Year K-Sun Corp	Location Somerset
Year 2009	Small Business of the Year Baldwin LightStream (Formerly Baldwin Telecom)	Location Baldwin
Year 2010	Small Business of the Year GaMra Composites	Location Hudson
Year 2011	Small Business of the Year Stevens Engineers	Location Hudson
Year 2012	Small Business of the Year NDT Solutions	Location New Richmond
Year 2013	Small Business of the Year Air Motion Systems	Location River Falls
Year 2014	Small Business of the Year 45th Parallel Spirits	Location New Richmond
Year 2015	Small Business of the Year St. Croix Castings	Location Woodville
Year 2016	Small Business of the Year Wisconsin Lighting	Location New Richmond
Year 2017	Small Business of the Year SKYCOAT	Location Baldwin
Year 2018	Small Business of the Year Next Generation Automotive	Location Hudson
Year 2019	Small Business of the Year Catalyst Sports Medicine	Location Hudson
Year 2020	Small Business of the Year Laptop Chips	Location Roberts
Year 2021	Small Business of the Year Alms Creative	Location Hudson
Year 2022	Small Business of the Year St. Croix Foods	Location Hudson
Year 2023	Small Business of the Year Aves Studio	Location Hudson
Year 2024	Small Business of the Year Knoke's Nuts & More	Location Hudson

Year	Large Business of the Year	Location
Year 2004	Large Business of the Year Empire Bucket Inc	Location Hudson
Year 2005	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2006	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2007	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2008	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2009	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2010	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2011	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2012	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2013	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2014	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2015	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2016	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2017	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2018	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2019	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2020	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2021	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2022	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2023	Large Business of the Year N/A	Location N/A
Year 2024	Large Business of the Year RESCO	Location Hudson & River Falls

Year	Business of the Year	Location
Year 2004	Business of the Year OEM Fabricators	Location Woodville
Year 2005	Business of the Year Gartner Studios	Location Hudson
Year 2006	Business of the Year Action Battery Wholesalers	Location Somerset
Year 2007	Business of the Year Riverland Laser	Location Somerset
Year 2008	Business of the Year K-Sun Corp	Location Somerset
Year 2009	Business of the Year Baldwin LightStream (Formerly Baldwin Telecom)	Location Baldwin
Year 2010	Business of the Year GaMra Composites	Location Hudson
Year 2011	Business of the Year Stevens Engineers	Location Hudson
Year 2012	Business of the Year NDT Solutions	Location New Richmond
Year 2013	Business of the Year Air Motion Systems	Location River Falls
Year 2014	Business of the Year 45th Parallel Spirits	Location New Richmond
Year 2015	Business of the Year St. Croix Castings	Location Woodville
Year 2016	Business of the Year Wisconsin Lighting	Location New Richmond
Year 2017	Business of the Year SKYCOAT	Location Baldwin
Year 2018	Business of the Year Next Generation Automotive	Location Hudson
Year 2019	Business of the Year Catalyst Sports Medicine	Location Hudson
Year 2020	Business of the Year Nolato Contour (formerly Contour Plastics)	Location Baldwin
Year 2021	Business of the Year Indue	Location Hudson
Year 2022	Business of the Year Isometric Mico Molding	Location New Richmond
Year 2023	Business of the Year Ciranda	Location Hudson

Year	Emerging Business of the Year	Location
Year 2004	Emerging Business of the Year BigBadToyStore	Location Somerset
Year 2005	Emerging Business of the Year SOS Manufacturing	Location SOS Manufacturing
Year 2006	Emerging Business of the Year Interfacial Solutions	Location River Falls
Year 2007	Emerging Business of the Year Resolution Engineering LLC	Location Hudson
Year 2008	Emerging Business of the Year BOH Electronics	Location Hudson
Year 2009	Emerging Business of the Year NCCM Company	Location River Falls
Year 2010	Emerging Business of the Year Engineered Propulsion Systems	Location New Richmond
Year 2011	Emerging Business of the Year Future Farm and Fuel	Location Baldwin
Year 2012	Emerging Business of the Year Hudson Brewing Company	Location Hudson
Year 2013	Emerging Business of the Year Precision Converting LLC	Location Hudson
Year 2014	Emerging Business of the Year Magma Flooring	Location River Falls
Year 2015	Emerging Business of the Year 65 Vines	Location Roberts
Year 2016	Emerging Business of the Year Oliphant Brewing	Location Somerset
Year 2017	Emerging Business of the Year Ciro	Location Hudson
Year 2018	Emerging Business of the Year St. Croix Valley Blow Molding	Location Hudson
Year 2019	Emerging Business of the Year Gallery 77 Stone	Location Hudson
Year 2020	Emerging Business of the Year National Tactical Security (NTS)	Location River Falls
Year 2021	Emerging Business of the Year Aster Beverage	Location New Richmond
Year 2022	Emerging Business of the Year Keystone Medical Technologies	Location Somerset
Year 2023	Emerging Business of the Year Barbell Coffee LLC	Location Hudson
Year 2024	Emerging Business of the Year Perceptive Avionics	Location New Richmond

*Categories were updated for 2024 awards to be labeled more clearly as ‘large business’ and ‘small business’ of the year. The ‘Business of the Year’ category is no longer in use.*

Business

of the Year

Emerging Business of the Year - Company that has been in business less than five years

Small Business of the Year - Company with 29 or fewer employees

Large Business of the Year - Company with 30 or more employees

Non-Profit of the Year - Non-profit organization making significant contributions to the community

County Impact Award - Organizations making significant contributions to regional needs such as daycare, healthcare, workforce education, housing, etc.

Year

Small Business of the Year

Location

Year

2004

Small Business of the Year

CRI Recycling Service

Location

Woodville

Year

2005

Small Business of the Year

Press Enter

Location

River Falls

Year

2006

Small Business of the Year

Action Battery Wholesalers

Location

Somerset

Year

2007

Small Business of the Year

Riverland Laser

Location

Somerset

Year

2008

Small Business of the Year

K-Sun Corp

Location

Somerset

Year

2009

Small Business of the Year

Baldwin LightStream (Formerly Baldwin Telecom)

Location

Baldwin

Year

2010

Small Business of the Year

GaMra Composites

Location

Hudson

Year

2011

Small Business of the Year

Stevens Engineers

Location

Hudson

Year

2012

Small Business of the Year

NDT Solutions

Location

New Richmond

Year

2013

Small Business of the Year

Air Motion Systems

Location

River Falls

Year

2014

Small Business of the Year

45th Parallel Spirits

Location

New Richmond

Year

2015

Small Business of the Year

St. Croix Castings