Mentor Chamber Names Roll-Kraft Business Of The Year

If you are the president of practically any business, you're going to get calls from various nonprofits and causes, asking for sponsorships or donations.

President Chuck Gehrisch said his company tries to focus on requests from organizations that help young folks.

Consequently, Roll-Kraft sponsors programs and donates to the , the Alliance for Working Together (which promotes careers in manufacturing,) Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts, and the Mentor Schools.

"I prefer we focus on the youngsters," Gehrish said. "That's what we decided to do."

That commitment to the next generation is one of the reasons that Roll-Kraft was named the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce's 2012 Business of the Year.

"What's most important to me is giving back. That may sound cliche but, as a business, you need to do these things," Gehrisch said. "You want individuals who are part of your company to be proud of the fact that they're involved."

Roll-Kraft was founded in 1963 and has grown until it now has more than 150 employees.

Roll-Kraft's products are used throughout the construction, agriculture, lighting, furniture, wire, automotive, oil and mining fields, among many others.

As Roll-Kraft succeeds, Gehrisch wants .

Gehrisch said there's still plenty of room to succeed in manufacturing and to make a good living, as long as people are willing to work for it.

He added that Roll-Kraft also supports former employees who have good ideas of their own.

"We have three ex-employees who we do business with as an outside vendor," Gehrisch said.

When asked how Gehrisch reacted to Roll-Kraft winning the Chamber's award, he said he was surprised and, more importantly, proud of the more than 150 people who worked to deserve the honor.

"There are a lot -- a lot --of people who deserve the credit," he said, adding, "I'm so proud of these guys."

Thank you to for the use of their photograph.