The Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) announced today that Roen Salvage Company is the winner of the Door County Industry of the Year Award.
The annual award recognizes a local construction, service or manufacturing business that has made a substantial impact on the community and enjoyed significant accomplishments during the past year. The announcement came during the DCEDC annual investors meeting at Stone Harbor Resort & Conference Center in Sturgeon Bay.
Roen Salvage Company is a marine construction company working mainly on the Great Lakes. They specialize in dredging, pile driving, stone breakwaters, offshore structures and, most recently, steel sheet pile repair and coatings using a cofferdam. Recently completed projects include, the widening and deepening of berth 11 at Bay Shipbuilding, rehabilitation to the outer breakwater at Petoskey Michigan, dredging in Menominee (MI), Green Bay and Kewaunee harbors, and the inner harbor channel in Sturgeon Bay. The company has been honored for their work on more than one occasion by their largest customer, the US Army Corps of Engineers, including “Civil Works Contractor of the Year.”
Roen Salvage Company has been part of the Door County maritime economy since 1949. The work they performed in their first few years of operations grossed from $25,000 to $100,000. In 2009, the company had the most financially successful year in their sixty-one year history, with sales of over $10 Million.
A true family business, carrying on the traditions of its founders, Roen Salvage employs twenty people year round, seven of whom have been with the company for over twenty years. They have added up to as many as twenty-five additional employees during the eight month construction season depending upon manpower requirements.
Roen Salvage and company President John Asher are significant contributors to a number of different local organizations, none more so than the Door County Maritime Museum. Asher played a huge role in bringing the tug John Purves back to Sturgeon Bay, and his company spent considerable time and resources renovating the boat for exhibit.
“We are very happy to recognize Roen Salvage Company as our industry of the year, especially on the heels of their best year in company history. They have been an important part of our local economy for many years and we can only hope that will continue for many years to come,” says DCEDC Executive Director Bill Chaudoir.
This year marks the 37th year of the Door County Industry of the Year Award, first presented by the Door County Chamber of Commerce in 1973. Last year’s award winner was Door Peninsula Winery. Other recent winners of the Industry of the Year Award include N.E.W. Industries, Marine Travelift and ExacTech, the Washington Island Ferry Line, Baylake Bank and Bay Shipbuilding Company.
The Door County Economic Development Corporation is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. Founded in 1989, DCEDC has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs and initiatives. Additionally, DCEDC places strong emphasis on fostering entrepreneurial instincts in county residents as well as those who vacation on the Door County Peninsula. Door County Economic Development Corporation offices are located within the small business incubator DCEDC founded in 1997 at 185 East Walnut Street in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park.
