During Small Business Week, Deluzio Celebrates Bon Tool as SBA Local, State, and Regional Exporter of the Year
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio celebrates Bon Tool, a small locally-owned business in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District, for receiving the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 2024 Exporter of the Year award for the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania region, and the Western Pennsylvania region. Bon Tool produces over 8,000 varieties of specialty hand tools and sells them around the world. As the business grew from a garage to a global exporter, they still increased local employment by 5%—investing in training the next generation of union trade workers.
“Running a small business takes a heck of a lot of grit, creativity, and determination—and Bon Tool has it in spades,” said Rep. Deluzio. “John Bongiovanni and his team take Western PA ingenuity abroad while also investing in our local workforce and trades. Congratulations to the folks at Bon Tool on the hard work that led to these awards and for showcasing Made in America excellence.”
“We create those specialty products needed for masonry, concrete, drywall and floor coverings,” said Bon Tool CEO, John Bongiovanni to the SBA. “I need welders and machinists, and everywhere I go, companies and union halls say they can’t get enough workers. My dad was a big advocate of the vocational trades and when he passed, we created a nonprofit group to help students interested in the construction-related trades with scholarships. So far, we’ve doled out about $25,000 to students pursuing two-and four-year degrees."
The SBA’s STEP program makes matching-fund grants for states to increase the number of small businesses that export and the value of those exports. Bongiovanni utilized SBA’s State Trade and Expansion Program (STEP) and attended classes at the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which helped propel Bon Tools as a global leader in the field and while growing the area’s vocational trade pool.
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