News Archive

Total: 4 results found.

• President Obama Visits WDIC Member Gelberg Signs!

  President Barack Obama Visits Washington, DC Based Gelberg Signs

  Small, family-owned business has been able to access capital, leverage recently

  passed legislation, and prosper in a challenging economic environment.

  WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, President Barack Obama visited Washington, DC based Gelberg Signs, one of the mid-Atlantic region's leading sign companies, to  offer remarks on the economy and comment on the July employment numbers.  Gelberg Signs is currently hiring new workers, expanding and making new investments in their equipment and technology thanks to two Small Business Administration loans.  The President toured the business site and operations and made remarks to a small group of workers.

  As the backdrop for the President's remarks, Gelberg Signs is a perfect example of a small business surviving the economic downturn by leveraging the recently passed Federal HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment). Six of Gelberg Signs' most recent hires had been previously unemployed.

  Gelberg Signs, which fabricates and installs large-scale sign packages (including signage for The Washington Nationals ballpark, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Children's Hospital and UMC Hospital), was the recent recipient of several Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.  The access to capital made possible by these loans has enabled the company to reinvest in its infrastructure, improve its physical plant, and most importantly, hire.  This year, the company has brought on 15 new employees and is currently hiring several more. Now that Gelberg Signs has reinvested in its infrastructure, the company's owners are looking toward continued growth for the future.

  "We see Gelberg Signs as a threshold company," said Guy Brami, principal of Gelberg Signs, along with his brothers Luc and Neil.  "We are not using the SBA loans or the federal tax incentives to just get by, but rather using them as a springboard to fuel our future growth. What we seek at this point is additional capital to take advantage of our excess capacity and potential revenue."

  Gelberg operates with a "double bottom line return" philosophy, and hopes to find the right company or investor that sees the opportunities that exist within its double bottom line return.  "We believe healthy financial returns must be met by equal return to our local community and employees.  That is, not just the returns from the business, but also the good and important work we're doing in the community," added Brami.

  To view the President's remarks from this event, please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-and-remarks.

  About Gelberg Signs:

  Gelberg Signs is one of the region’s leading designers and fabricators of commercial signage. Founded in Washington, DC in 1941 by William P. Gelberg, the company was purchased by the Brami family—brothers Guy, Luc and Neil—in 1988, after their father, Georges Brami, spent his career with the Company. From a 50,000-plus square-foot manufacturing facility, Gelberg Signs produces an array of exterior and interior signs, canopies, building Identification, menu boards, dimensional lettering and electrical signs for companies including Marriott, ARAMARK, AARP, Sodexo, Rappaport Mgmt. Co., HMS Host, and Nationals Stadium. For more information, visitwww.gelbergsigns.com.

   

• Class of 2009 Hall of Fame Leadership Series

  June - July, 2009
  

   

  The Washington Development Industry Council in association with the US Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) hosted the Class of 2009 Hall of Fame Leadership Series in the months of June and July, 2009. The theme of the series was “Transforming Leadership in Challenging Economic Times.”

  During six sessions that were held at the Howard University Law School in Washington, DC, business leaders were presented with information and strategies from experts designed to stimulate their company’s sustainability and profitability in these challenging economic times. These leaders participated in interactive training modules that focused on the leadership skills required to grow and strengthen their businesses. Topics included access to capital to finance their growth, strategic alliances such as joint ventures and teaming agreements and growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions. Our presenters and instructors shared million dollar solutions that promoted multi-million dollar growth for small businesses. The series featured lectures, case studies and peer discussions as participants engaged intellectuals, corporate executives, and commercial lenders in a lively and informative exchange of information and technical assistance. In addition, the series highlighted a major development opportunity and helped small and minority owned businesses understand the project requirements and developed strategies for successful participation and partnerships.

  The Class of 2009 Hall of Fame Leadership Series was a must-attend series for CEOs and CFOs from small and minority-owned construction contractors and suppliers, architects and engineers, and real estate developers.

   

  

  
  
  Click flyer to view pictures from the leadership series

• WDIC Announces the Launch of WDIC.com

  WDIC launches its flagship web site and main communication channel to it members.

• 2009 Washington Business Summit A Resounding Success

  (Washington, DC) — Two hundred Washington, DC construction and development business owners and professionals attended yesterday’s 2009 Washington Business Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Business Summit, whose theme was, “Guiding Your Business Through Tough Economic Times,” was presented by the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) and the Washington Development Industry Council (WDIC).