At the annual gala event celebrating the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, Craig Kruckeberg, Minimizer’s CEO & Chief Visionary, was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the manufacturing category.Craig Kruckeberg, CEO and chief visionary at Minimizer, has been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in the manufacturing category.
“For once, I’m speechless,” says Kruckeberg, “I was not expecting to win the award. It was an honor just to be a finalist. The real winners here are the entrepreneurial leadership team at Minimizer. Together we won this award because of the success we’ve experienced and that success is because of the Minimizer team.”
The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities, Ernst & Young says.
Kruckeberg was selected from a pool of finalists by a panel of independent judges.
Now in its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
Kruckeberg will advance to compete in the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program. The winners will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif. in November. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.
Minimizer has experienced significant growth over the past decade under the inspired leadership of Kruckeberg and other top management. The company has expanded its manufacturing capacity, invested in research and development, pursued new marketing initiatives like the Innovation & Training Trailers, launched new products such as floor mats, and bolstered its sales and administrative team with a new headquarters building.
“The Minimizer team from top to bottom has worked tirelessly to make a lot of new things happen for our Company,” Kruckeberg says. “Internally, our team has worked beyond the call of duty and created the innovative new products and marketing ideas to push the company forward. It is an honor to be recognized externally as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.”
