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2012 National Minority Business Firm of the Year Awards

Minority Export Firm of the Year

D.W. Morgan Company, Inc.
David Morgan, Founder & CEO
Pleasanton, CA

D. W. Morgan Company, Inc. (DWM) invests in its own infrastructure in key global manufacturing locations. The company has been growing steadily for more than two decades, with revenue gains of 25 percent or more for each of the last five years and some annualized gains exceeding 100 percent. Today, Morgan makes assigned buys for clients across Asia and serves customers in more than 85 countries. It is a charter member of the World Cargo Alliance, the world’s largest independent freight forwarding network, which furthers DWM’s successful and strategic penetration of domestic and global markets. Founded in 1990 by David Morgan, the company has grown to employ nearly 250 workers and generates revenue of $240 million annually.
 

MarkMaster, Inc.
Mark Govin, President
Tampa, FL

MarkMaster is the largest custom marking identification manufacturer with facilities in the U.S. and the U.K. They are the largest retail marking and identifications company in the U.S. and have extraordinary buying power from domestic and global suppliers. They manage all project phases, from programming and research to planning, design, documentation, and implementation. Use of environmental friendly materials and incorporated recycled plastics for banners, enabled MarkMaster to create Eco-Mark banner material, which is 100% recyclable and machine washable. Today, the company generates $46 million in revenues and has more than 100 employees.

 

Minority Manufacturers of the Year

7Delta Inc.
Michael Sawyers, President & CEO

Columbia, MD

Michael Sawyers is a self-made businessman and CEO of 7Delta, Inc., a leading provider of innovative technology solutions to defense, Federal and civilian agencies. Michael built his service disabled veteran and minority-owned small business from a basement office with a staff of one, and grew to a corporate headquarters employing over two hundred employees and consultants. 7Delta’s projected 2012 revenues are expected to be around $50M. Michael attributes his success in business to having a clear vision of where he is going, and establishing mutually beneficial relationships with customers and employees.

With over 30 years of diverse operational medical IT experience, Mr. Sawyers’ outstanding career was forged from humble beginnings. Born the last of 17 children and the son of a coal miner in Slab Fork, WV, he knew that life held more for him than what he could see. His father died in a coal mine explosion when he was only two years old and he grew up watching his mother struggle to provide for the family. Mr. Sawyers saw his future options as working in the coal mines or higher education. He chose the latter and paid for college through part-time work, a minority engineering scholarship and an Army ROTC scholarship. He graduated in 1979 with a B.S in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the University of Tennessee. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army as a biomedical information systems officer.

In 1999, after 20 years of military service, Mr. Sawyers retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps Chief Information Officer and became a Senior Program Analyst with Apptis, formerly known as Intellisys Technology Corporation. Mr. Sawyers is married to Cheryl (John) Sawyers. Together they have four children, Michael, Joi, Letisha, and Rachel. They also have four grandchildren, Anyah, Michael, Makayla, and Andrew.

 

LSL Industries, Inc.
Ash Luthra, President
Chicago, IL

Ash Luthra is President & CEO of LSL Industries, Inc. He started the company in 1985 with his brother V.J. Luthra. LSL manufactures disposable medical devices for acute care, longterm care, surgery centers, and alternate site care. Ash Luthra holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from the University of Chicago Business School. Mr. Luthra currently serves as a board member on the National Advisory Council for Minority Business Enterprises, which was formed by the Obama Administration to provide advice and recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on a broad range of policy issues affecting the minority business community.

He also serves on the board of the Health Industry Supply Chain Institute, Washington, DC and the Development Council of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. He is married and has three kids currently in college. Ash Luthra and his wife actively support various charities in and around Chicago as well as in other parts of the U.S. and internationally, including a physical therapy clinic in New Delhi, India specifically for seniors with low incomes.