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When you walk through the doors at General Converters & Assemblers (GCA) Inc. in Racine, Wis., it’s clear that the company has made quite an impact in southeast Wisconsin based on the number of awards adorning its reception area.

The most recent of these awards speaks volumes about its commitment to providing professional opportunities for local minorities. In 2007, GCA was named the third-largest Milwaukee-area minority-owned business by the Business Journal of Milwaukee. A value-added manufacturer of packaging, pallets and specialty chemicals, GCA employs approximately 140 people at its 50,000-square-foot facility.

“GCA is profitable, and we’re a provider of service in the area,” President George Stinson says. “We want to give people the opportunity to work and get paid for their contributions.”

For more than 35 years, GCA has been a catalyst in advancing the skills of minorities in the Racine community, a fact about which Stinson says he is particularly proud. “In 1968, there was a need seen by a lot of industry people in Racine – mainly S.C. Johnson Wax – that there needed to be a way for minorities to become employed,” Stinson says. “A lot of them didn’t have the skills to become employed at sophisticated factories. We realized that only one-fourth of 1 percent of people of color owned businesses.Lead by Sam Johnson, the group wanted to do something in Racine.”

Stinson worked for Johnson Wax when, in 1969, with loan money from his employer, he launched GCA not only to serve the packaging, pallet and chemical needs of the community, but to also provide employment opportunities for minorities. “If nothing else, we’re giving people good experience,” Stinson says. “Something that they leave here with is skill. We provide the community with a lot of experienced employees like fork lift truck drivers, assembly line leaders and machine operators.”

The Big Three
GCA’s three divisions serve larger companies throughout southeast Wisconsin and in northern Illinois. The company’s pallet manufacturing division specializes in the reconditioning of used pallets, and can also design and construct new pallets to meet strict customer specifications. Although it can manufacture a variety of sizes, its specialty is a 48-inch by 40-inch four-way entry pallet. The division supplies to clients including Delphi Corp., Chrysler Corp., DCI of Milwaukee and Pallet Links Inc.

The company also operates a state-of-the-art contract packaging division supported by automated pack saws, box sealers and accumulators. The company custom-designs package and repackaging materials for industrial clients such as Abbott Labs, S.C. Johnson Wax and DRS Technologies.

GCA’s fully owned subsidiary KAO Inc. manufactures specialty chemicals, including the blending and packaging of powders, liquid detergents and sanitizers. KAO’s best-selling product is TRI-SAN, a water-sanitizing tablet used exclusively for washing and sanitizing cooking and eating utensils. The product is distributed worldwide within the Boy Scouts of America supply system.

Additionally, the company performs light electrical and mechanical assembly of packaging nuts and bolts, electrical bars, wiring harnesses, circuit boards and communication modules.

Alleviating Unemployment
According to the Racine Economic Development Corporation, the county has more than 4,400 business and more than 450 manufacturing companies in operation. Because southeast Wisconsin has a strong manufacturing base, many people have been able to make livings off low-skilled, but high-paying jobs. But when those jobs are threatened, people find it difficult to find employment in other industries.

As of December 2007, unemployment rates in the city of Racine hovered around 8.9 percent, the highest among Wisconsin municipalities. “That suggests it has a lot to do with the economy and skill level of the people here,” Stinson explains. “We are working to alleviate that so there can be larger businesses.”

Many of the same people who helped launch GCA are still with the company today. “We have people that have worked here for 30 years and now we’re seeing the second and third generation of employees joining,” Stinson notes. “We really don’t have to recruit much. People are always at our door looking for jobs. They know us and they know we have a great cadre of people on our books.”

Ensuring an employee will be successful at GCA starts by training them to do the job right. GCA takes time to train employees, as well as allows them to pursue their professional development goals. Through a 30-day buddy-system training program, new hires are assimilated into the manufacturing and assembly process in their respective departments. The company’s bank also hosts biannual lunch-and-learn sessions where employees learn about money management and investment.

Quality Control
An ISO 9001:2000 certified company, GCA adheres to a strict quality control program that is monitored regularly by internal and external counsels. “Our production manager oversees the quality control systems, which we review through in-house quality control management meetings where we’re looking to see that we’re doing the best we possibly can,” Stinson notes. “We absolutely have to be top-notch.”

Through a “partner in quality” program, GCA maintains its close relationship with local manufacturers, such as S.C. Johnson Wax, who regularly audits the company and suggests improvements.

Community Development
Not only has Stinson been instrumental in growing GCA into a large manufacturing operation, he has also been part of creating the Community Economic Development Corp. In 1999, Stinson, along with the NAACP, the city of Racine and the Racine Economic Development Corp. launched the non-profit organization to provide loans, grants and technical assistance to small and minority-owned businesses.

“I worked hard with the mayor of the city to start a community development corporation to help people start their own businesses, and while they may not be the big businesses, it is a step in the right direction,” says Stinson, who serves as the chairperson of CEDCO.

According to CEDCO Executive Director James Mathis, “strengthening minority businesses in Racine was a critical element in trying to move the economy forward. While there was a minority loan fund available that the City of Racine established, it was unsuccessful in helping minority entrepreneurs.

“George worked in tandem with their efforts to grow and develop minority entrepreneurs in Racine,” Mathis says. “What he and others did was establish an agency to manage a minority loan fund and grants for technical assistance.”

In 2007, about 34 businesses received grants and loans through CEDCO, ranging from hair salons to funeral parlors to restaurants.

In addition, CEDCO provides educational opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners including business-planning workshops, budget and financing classes and courses on tax preparation and insuring a business. CEDCO provides consultation services daily and hosts about two educational workshops per month on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“If you give businesses [loans or grants], but you don’t give them the counselling and the technical support, you’re not giving them the services they really need,” Mathis notes. “The accountability and viability of a business goes hand-in-hand. George is really committed to the Racine community and he feels that piece is really critical.”

CEDCO works in conjunction with the Racine County Economic Development Corp. to underwrite and distribute loans to small business owners and entrepreneurs in the region. Mathis says it also partners with professional Hispanic and African-American associations, as well as the University
of Wisconsin-Parkside Small Business Development Center.   

As for GCA, “The economy has been going up and down, and we have not had several years of smooth sailing,” Stinson explains. “So if the economy plays fair with us, my vision is to expand another 50,000 square feet to complement our pallet department, [as well as] better market our water purifying tablets to overseas companies that may have a substance in the water system.”

A Good Match
In Racine County, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, according to Deneine Powell, director of the UW-Parkside Small Business Development Center (SBDC). “I don’t think we are trying to create an entrepreneurial spirit, I think we are already cultivating it,” Powell says. “Racine has grown leaps and bounds over the past few years when it comes to entrepreneurship.”

Cultivating opportunities for minority-owned business has been a particular focus of the county and, today, opportunities abound for both public and private-sector minority-owned businesses to advance in the community. Community-based organizations such as the Community Economic Development Corp., the Racine County Economic Development Corp. and the SBDC all have programs established to assist business owners in developing their companies.

In January, for the third consecutive year, Racine County Executive Bill McReynolds announced that the county would make available matching grants for small and medium-sized minority-owned, for-profit businesses. The grant program is designed to help them cover costs associated with growing the business and providing additional employment opportunities for minority employees, Powell says.

SBDC, in part, is responsible for managing the grant program and provides educational classes and counselling services to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Racine and Kenosha counties. The center provides free and fee-based courses for owners who are just starting a business and those who are growing their existing business.

Powell says the grants will provide up to $2,500 for qualifying businesses and can be used for staff training, business consulting services, marketing plans and business system upgrades. Grants are awarded to businesses
that are:

• At least 51 percent minority owned
• Based in Racine County
• Have no more than 200 employees
• Have average annual sales of no more than $5 million

Powell says the popularity of the grant program has grown each year. In 2007, SBDC and Racine County awarded grants of varying amounts to 14 companies. Powell predicts that 2008 will be the most successful year for the program. Thus far, about 24 applications have been sent to minority owned businesses. The 2008 budget is $25,000, with some funding carried over from the year prior.