LAEC hands out Cornerstone Awards

LONGMONT – The Longmont Area Economic Council honored four companies at its annual Cornerstone Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, April 18, at the Plaza Conference Center in Longmont.

Acertara Acoustic Laboratories LLC, Micron Technology Inc., Advance Tooling Concepts LLC and OnCore Manufacturing Services LLC received awards for expanding operations and adding jobs.

John Cody, president and CEO of the LAEC, handed out the Cornerstone Awards that recognize companies that take risks and embody the highest ideals of business, commerce and quality of life.

Acertera won the Small Technology category. The company, headed by president Wayne Moore, provides ultrasound testing and measurement services for clients as well as developing new ultrasounds products.

Moore founded Sonora Medical Systems in 1996. Sonora then changed hands several times, including ownership by Misonix then Unisyn Medical Technologies Inc., until Moore helped structure a buyback of key intellectual property from Unisyn and reformed the business as Acertara Acoustic Laboratories in June 2011.

The company occupies 4,400 square feet of space in The Campus at Longmont and employs 12 people.

Interface Communications and Precision Solutions Inc. were nominated in the Small Technology category.

Micron won the Large Technology category. Idaho-based Micron, one of the world’s leading manufactures of silicon-based memory components, set up shop in Longmont in 2009 when it acquired DisplayTech. Gary Gentry, general manager, said the company has been able to tap the “technical data talent pool” in Longmont. It added 75 employees to its workforce in 2011 at its office in The Campus at Longmont, and currently it is constructing a facility on Pike Road in Longmont.

Marvell Semiconductor and Wiland Direct Inc. were nominated in the Large Technology category.

Advanced Tooling Concepts LLC won the Small Manufacturing category. Advanced Tooling manufactures high-precision plastic injection molding and tooling. It added nine employees in 2011. The company has been in Longmont since 2005 and expanded to a second location with a clean room in Longmont in 2010. It plans a third expansion in July. Nigel Sutton, president, said the LAEC and the city of Longmont were instrumental in the company choosing to expand in Longmont.

Advanced Machining Inc., and Cam Works Inc. were nominated in the Small Manufacturing category.

OnCore Manufacturing Services won the Large Manufacturing category. Last year it built a 58,000-square-foot plant in Clover Basin Park in Longmont. Oncore engineers, designs and manufactures precision industrial components used in industries such as defense, energy, life sciences and medical devices. It has 900 employees at manufacturing facilities in Longmont; Springfield, Massachusetts; San Marcos and San Jose, California; and Tijuana, Mexico. In 2011, Oncore added 18 jobs in Longmont.

Jim Sipes, general manager, said the LAEC and city of Longmont were instrumental in the company choosing to stay in Longmont. It previously occupied 32,000 square feet of space at 2120 Miller Drive.

Custom Microwave Inc. and Left Hand Brewing Co. were nominated in the Large Manufacturing category.

The Longmont Entrepreneurial Network, a business incubator headed by Alex Sammoury, presented TeraBAT Inc. with the network’s annual award that recognizes entrepreneurial excellence in the Longmont area.

TeraBAT, headed by Eyal Gerecht, is developing a  breath-testing device that the medical community can use to diagnose ailments of patients.