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SBA Upstate district honors veteran-owned business in DeWitt

The Upstate New York district of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has recognized Eagle Metalcraft of DeWitt with its 2023 Veteran-Owned Business of the Year Award. In this photo, pictured (from left to right) are Sonya Smith, director of the New York Small Business Development Center; Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon; Michael Bower, Eagle Metalcraft owner and recipient of the 2023 Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year; Mark Pitonzo, advisor at the Onondaga Small Business Development Center; and Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the SBA’s Upstate New York district. (PHOTO CREDIT: SBA)

DeWITT, N.Y. — The Upstate New York District of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has recognized the veteran-owner of a company located in DeWitt. The SBA has awarded its 2023 Veteran-Owned Business of the Year Award to Michael Bower, owner of Eagle Metalcraft at 3550 Burnett Ave. in DeWitt, across from Lotte Biologics. Bernard […]

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DeWITT, N.Y. — The Upstate New York District of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has recognized the veteran-owner of a company located in DeWitt.

The SBA has awarded its 2023 Veteran-Owned Business of the Year Award to Michael Bower, owner of Eagle Metalcraft at 3550 Burnett Ave. in DeWitt, across from Lotte Biologics.

Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the SBA Upstate New York district recently presented the award to the business as part of National Small Business Week, held this year from April 30 through May 6. He was joined at Eagle Metalcraft by Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

Paprocki said the SBA Upstate New York district selected Bower for the recognition after he acquired Eagle Metalcraft, a precision sheet-metal fabrication business. After the acquisition, Bower led “strong” business growth as general manager during the pandemic, doubling sales and the number of staff.

Bower also gives back as a SCORE mentor and works with the Syracuse City School District P-TECH students; transitioning servicemembers; and the apprenticeship program at MACNY, the Manufacturers Association.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Bower “learned the value of hard work” growing up on a farm in Arkansas and serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, the SBA said in a release.

With a “strong belief in the region’s entrepreneurial spirit,” he sought support from the Onondaga Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in 2020 to purchase and run a business in Central New York. Bower began working as general manager for Eagle Metalcraft in the worst sales month of the pandemic and began making improvements “immediately” while working on the business acquisition, the SBA noted.

SBDC business advisor Mark Pitonzo guided Bower through the business-valuation process, helped him write a business plan, and connected him with Citizens Bank in Syracuse. Citizens Bank approved an SBA 7(a) loan for Bower in 2021 to purchase Eagle Metalcraft.

“I’ve moved a lot for jobs, and I’ve never seen a community come together like Syracuse does,” Bower said in the SBA release. “The best part of business ownership is job creation. I am surrounded by hard working and smart people, and being part of their growth is more rewarding than I could have imagined. I believe in the old aphorism, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ Supporting and promoting growth of my team translates to our company growing and taking better care of our customers.”

Eric Reinhardt