5 Longmont-area businesses receive LAEC awards

LONGMONT — The Longmont Area Economic Council on Wednesday presented five Cornerstone Awards to businesses in the city, recognizing their contributions to the economic health of the community over the past year.

This year’s awards recognized businesses in target industries, but also for the first time specifically honored the role of small businesses.

“Small business is the backbone of Longmont’s economy,” said LAEC president Jessica Erickson, “and we want to recognize the importance of these businesses to our economy and that support of small-business development in our community is a big part of our economic development strategy.”

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The 2015 winners were:

* SK hynix Memory Solutions, a provider of NAND flash solutions that opened an engineering office last year. It employs 12 people, including engineering experts in storage and firmware design.

* RMC Pharmaceutical Solutions, a provider of services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, bio-energy and food industries. It employs 14 scientists and engineers in a combined office/laboratory.

* BW Systems, a low-voltage systems integrator specializing in design, installation, and services of access control, CCTV video recording and commercial-intrusion instruments. Its office employs 12 people.

* Boulder Organic Foods, which crafts organic food using many locally sourced ingredients. It employs 48 people in its facility in Niwot.

* Crackpots, a destination location and anchor for downtown Longmont for the past 14 years. It employs 14 people and offers ceramic painting, glass fusing and mosaics, classes, and summer camps intended to give people the opportunity to be an artist for a day.