[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 63 (Monday, May 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S5029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SEMITOOL RECEIVES SBA AWARD

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I am proud to announce that 
Semitool, Inc., of Kalispell, Montana, has been awarded the Small 
Business Administration's (SBA) 1998 Entrepreneurial Success Award.
  The state of Montana has rapidly entered the high-tech field in 
recent years, and Semitool illustrates the best of what can be done in 
our state. I nominated Semitool, which designs and manufactures 
equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other electronic 
devices, for the award last December because of their great success in 
the high-tech industry.
  As you may know, Mr. President, the SBA grants the Entrepreneurial 
Success Award to companies launched as ``small" businesses that 
received SBA assistance and have since grown. The criteria include 
growth in the number of employees, increase in sales, comparisons 
between current and past financial reports, innovativeness of product 
or service offered, and evidence of contributions to the local 
community.
  With good ideas, hard work, and an initial boost by the SBA, Semitool 
has become a major source for employment in Kalispell, employing 
roughly 1,100 people. It's this kind of entrepreneurial spirit that 
will keep Montana, and our nation, strong.
  Again, I congratulate Semitool on their success, and I yield the 
floor.

                          ____________________