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Terry Bolden of the U.S. Small Business Administration, left, gives an award to Tim Rosengarten of Armcorp Construction.
CELINA - A commercial construction company specializing in work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies has been named the 2024 Veteran Business of the Year.
Terry A. Bolden, district director of the U.S Small Business Administration's Columbus/ Cleveland District Office, bestowed the statewide award Monday morning to Tim Rosengarten, founder and president of Armcorp Construction.
Bolden hailed the local company for its family culture and amazing business structure.
"One of our biggest and most proudest awards that we provide is to our veteran-owned business for the state, and Armcorp is the veteran small business," Bolden told The Daily Standard after handing off the award.
Rosengarten launched the company in 2009 to champion veterans and deliver unmatched client value, prioritizing a client-focused, veteran-supported approach to commercial construction, according to Armcorp's website.
"Tim and his team are the veteran small business of the year for the state of Ohio," Bolden continued. "We're really proud of Armcorp and the work that they do in supporting the community and their legacy for Celina, Ohio."
Rosengarten said it was an honor to win the award, but gave much of the credit to his workforce of about 30 employees, which at the moment includes eight veterans.
"My most important thing is the people here, and we would never have that award without the people," Rosengarten told the newspaper. "I'm just a veteran, and the people that we have here are the ones that have created that."
State Rep. Angie King, R-Celina, also came out to congratulate Armcorp on Monday morning, pointing out that small businesses - those with 500 employees or less - make up 99% of all businesses in the U.S.
"They are the heart and the backbone of our economy and our community, so thank you for fueling our economy, creating jobs and just fostering innovation," King told Rosengarten and company officials and employees who gathered at Armcorp, which is located to the east of the defunct Lake Drive-In and just a stone's throw across State Route 703 from Northmoor Golf Course.
She also thanked Rosengarten and the other veterans for "serving our country, protecting our liberties and our freedom."
Armcorp Construction has been named the 2024 Veteran Business of the Year for Ohio.
Rosengarten was born and raised in Celina and graduated from Celina High School in 1983. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army from 1983-1989, working as a combat engineer.
"After that I worked for a lot of people around the United States in construction, and I fell in love with it," he said. "In 2009, my wife (Mary) and I established Armcorp Construction."
The company launched at the tailed-end of the Great Recession. Notwithstanding the financial challenges of the day, the company was able to find its way.
"We did it anyway," he said. "It's always been a dream of mine to go ahead and start my own business."
The company secured contracts with the federal government.
"Ninety percent of our work is federal government. So we do a lot of VA hospitals and medical centers," Rosengarten said.
Some of its major government projects include the limestone replacement of the Pentagon, facade correction of theVA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, specialty care expansion of the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center, replacement of the roof system of the Kinneary Federal Courthouse, GSA, and the replacement of exterior signage at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center.
Armcorp was responsible for the second floor renovation of the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, the MRI wing expansion at Dayton VA Medical Center and a surgery suite at OSU Veterinary Medical Center.
It also has undertaken projects in health care, higher education and manufacturing, including expansions at Coldwater Machine, Lefeld Welding in Coldwater and Sextet in St. Marys.
Armcorp does a majority of its work in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, Rosengarten pointed out.
The company also places an emphasis on hiring veterans.
"I think that sometimes veterans, when they get out of the military, they don't know what they're going to do (because) they're so used to their structure," he said. "So when they're used to their structure and they come out in the civilian world, I like to help them. They can do other things out here, and veterans are very disciplined."
Armcorp is a place where men and women can start careers, as the construction firm's structure allows for growth.
For instance, Kyle Fortkamp got his start with the company in about 2016, beginning as a laborer and working his way up the ladder to senior estimator.
"It's the culture that we have around us, our field guys, all the way up to Tim being the owner - it's a group of guys that want to do the best for the client that we're working for," Fortkamp said when asked how the company stands out in its field.
Being located in Mercer County, Armcorp has access to a skilled and proud workforce with extensive construction knowhow.
"We're a construction-thriving county," Fortkamp stressed. "There's a lot of construction companies, and we've all kind of found our own niches. Some are manufacturing, some are residential, and we just happen to be federal. So it's a good market to be in when it comes to subs and clients."
Armcorp is also well-positioned to seek out key markets in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, he added.
"It's a nice place to be. It's a central location," Fortkamp said.
