A Mason City businessman has been named the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Metalcraft President Wally Smeby (SMEH-bee) is a life-long Iowan who grew up in Kensett, graduated from Luther College with a degree in business administration, and joined Metalcraft in 1959, eventually buying the company in ’93. Smeby says to maintain Metalcraft’s position as an industry leader, he focuses on his employees and tries to put the team first. He says they started working on team based systems in 1980 and went to it in 1994.By winning the state award, Smeby will compete for honors as the National Small Business Person of the Year at the S-B-A Expo in Orlando May 19th through the 21st. Smeby says he’s looking forward to the experience of meeting people from all over the country.Metalcraft manufactures identification plates, tags and labels that allow property and products to be identified, tracked and controlled. The company has 70 employees with annual sales of over seven-million dollars.
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