SBA selects owners of Utica’s Metal Solutions as Syracuse district 2018 Small Business Person of the Year

UTICA, N.Y. — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has selected the owners of Utica–based Metal Solutions, Inc. as the Syracuse district winners of 2018 Small Business Person of the Year Award. 

Nominated by NBT Bank, NA, the SBA chose Catherine Thiaville and Joseph Cattadoris, Jr. for the award “based on their company’s long-term success, and growth in sales and employees,” the SBA said in a news release.

Metal Solutions in 2017 used the SBA 504 program with the New York Business Development Corporation and NBT Bank, NA to refinance the Broad Street property and invest in their operational processes, equipment, and employees.

The SBA 504 loan program provides funding to purchases related to real estate and equipment, according to the SBA website.

The SBA Syracuse district honored Thiaville and Cattadoris during its annual awards luncheon held Wednesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in DeWitt as part of SBA’s National Small Business Week observance.

About the company

Metal Solutions, Inc. is a manufacturer of precision-fabricated, sheet-metal products serving industries that include mass transit and companies across the Northeast and Canada that provide heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning services.

The company began as New Hartford Sheet Metal in a small garage in 1954 by Joseph Cattadoris Sr. and Henry Niemczyk “with only $800 in capital and equipment.”

Metal Solutions moved into its current location at 1821 Broad St. in Utica in 1993.

The second-generation sibling team of Catherine Thiaville and Joseph Cattadoris, Jr. has “guided the growth of Metal Solutions into its seventh decade of success,” with 54,000-square-feet of manufacturing space and 80 employees.

Metal Solutions holds ISO 9001:2015; New York State Woman-Owned Business Enterprise; and U.S. Department of Transportation Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certifications.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com