Our Company's Current Events

The owner of a company that coordinates services for the elderly, the founders of a rapidly growing medical equipment company, and a maker of precision engineered parts were named Monday as recipients of the eighth annual Harold Webster Smith Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Waterbury Regional Chamber, recognize Greater Waterbury's small business community. This year's recipients are: Lisa Taccardi, owner of Angels Watching Over You of Watertown, which was recognized as Small Business of the Year; John Loyer and Lynn Tata of J&L Medical Services of Waterbury, who were named Entrepreneurs of the Year; and Alves Precision Engineered Products Inc. of Watertown, which was named Manufacturer of the Year.

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

The award winners will be honored at the annual awards breakfast on Jan. 20 at 8 a.m. at the Inn at Villa Rosa on Farmwood Road in Waterbury.

"I'm thrilled to have been chosen for this award," Taccardi said. "It's quite an honor to win any award that has Harold Webster Smith's name on it."

Taccardi's 10-year-old company coordinates health care and other services for elderly clients. It has evolved from a single-person, home-based business to a company that uses a network of more than 40 caregivers to provide thousands of hours of assistance to elderly clients every week.

In the past fiscal year, the company has increased the number of service hours it provides to clients by 102 percent and has seen revenues grow 68 percent.

J&L Medical Services, meanwhile, is a respiratory home health care company whose products include oxygen, ventilators and sleep apnea equipment, as well as durable medical equipment like walkers, wheelchairs, and beds.

Since the company opened in March 2003, revenues have exceeded its business plan projections by 115 percent.

The staff has grown from 3 to 20 employees in less than two years and the number of patients under the company's care has exceeded plan expectations by 349 percent.

Alves Precision Engineered Products was founded by Alexander R. Alves in 1969 in a garage behind the family home with two machines and two part-time employees. Though it first concentrated on making prototypes for various companies, the company soon became a full-service precision machine manufacturer with a customer base that boasts several Fortune 100 companies.

It has even patented its own specialized universal joint design.

The company, which has more than 40 employees, is housed today in a 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Watertown.

Its work force has grown 21 percent since last November, the company said, while its sales volume has risen by 18 percent.

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