Three area companies receive EDGE awards

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

Northeast Indiana is home to three of the 20 small businesses in state honored with this year’s round of EDGE awards presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

CapeAble Sensory Products in Fort Wayne received one of the awards in an emerging category. Niche Market Furniture in New Haven and Nurses Etc. Staffing in Warsaw each received one of the awards in an established category.

All of the award winners received Indiana Small Business Development Center assistance. Those honored in the emerging category had been in business for less than a year, and those honored in the established category had been in business for at least a year.

The Economic Development and Growth Through Entrepreneurship awards were presented May 3 by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and by Linda McMahon, SBA administrator, to celebrate the SBA’s National Small Business Week, which recognizes the important role small businesses play in the national economy.

“If you’re looking for what’s driving Indiana’s robust economic growth, look to our state’s small businesses and the Hoosiers behind them,” Crouch said in a statement.

“Today there are half a million small business across Indiana, which are developing new ways to innovate and serve their communities. Today’s EDGE award winners exemplify the hard work and determination it takes to launch and grow a business, showcasing the best of the Hoosier entrepreneurial spirit.”

The Indiana Small Business Development Center operates 10 regional offices across the state, including one in Fort Wayne at 4312 Hobson Road.

The statement on the 2017 EDGE awards said small businesses in Indiana employ about 1.2 million, or 45 percent, of the state’s private-sector workforce.