As in years past, the winners of Partnership Gwinnett‘s annual Movers & Makers Awards in manufacturing and logistics feature strong international connections.
The 10th annual edition of the usually packed ceremony was held in a socially distanced format at the county’s Infinite Energy Center March 25.
Winners of the Manufacturer of the Year were doled out in three tiers according to company size. Porter Steel Inc., which makes structural steel, architectural features and custom designs for the construction industry, took home the award in the 1-99 employee category.
The next winner up, GF Health Products (100-199 employees) is a perennial exporter that has consistently reached new international markets around the globe and recently invested $10 million in a Gwinnett headquarters expansion. And the large manufacturer of the year with 200-plus employees was WIKA USA, the subsidiary of a German company that makes pressure gauges, sensors, thermometers, calibration systems and more.
Another global connection was revealed with the corporate citizen award, which went to Korean subsidiary Doosan Industrial Vehicle America Corp., which sells forklifts out of a 150,000-square-foot warehouse and U.S. headquarters in Buford, Ga. Doosan won the Jim Maran International Award from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce in 2019, just after the company expanded in the county and a delegation visited the its headquarters in Seoul.
Other winners included “Most Valuable Provider” Farmers & Fishermen Purveyors in Norcross, which pivoted during the pandemic from a model supplying restaurants to direct-to-consumer deliveries.
Supply Chain Pioneer winners included The Cutting Board Company, LLC (1-49 employees) and Peachtree Packaging & Display (50+ employees).
“The Movers & Makers Awards celebrate innovation within the industry which pushes these amazing companies to stay ahead of the curve in this technology-driven global market,” said Jassy Ji, project manager for manufacturing and supply chain at Partnership Gwinnett.
