Well, it’s official: PTM has been named “Michigan WBE of the Year” by the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council.
PTM Named “Michigan WBE of the Year”
At first glance, that may not mean very much to you – but we have to say that we’re pretty pleased about it. It’s not that competing for awards is what we’re all about; for almost half a century, we’ve focused on just being the best at doing what we do – making parts, meeting deadlines, and serving customers. Once in a while, though, it’s pretty nice to get a little bit of recognition for doing something right – particularly from an organization that you respect and trust.
The Great Lakes Women’s Business Council is made up of certified WBEs, or Women’s Business Enterprises – companies that are certified as being both owned by women and run by them on a daily basis. Being simply woman-owned isn’t enough; to qualify for WBE status, a company has to fulfill a wide range of demanding requirements, including demonstrating that women are the ones truly calling the shots, keeping the business running, and driving its success.
We are proud to be certified as a WBE by the Council. Out of tens of thousands of women-owned businesses in Michigan, only about 900 have attained this certification. And each year, only one has the distinct honor of being named “Michigan WBE of the Year.” This year, it happens to be us.
Our father founded PTM with a commitment to making this company the best it could possibly be, by doing the best work we possibly could, and generating our own success by making our clients successful. Since the four of us took over day-to-day operations, we’ve done our best to build upon his life’s work to create a company that continually grows and improves, and delivers our very best to our customers every day. Besides striving to do the best work we can possibly do, we want to benefit our community as well: We are proud to support other WBEs, Minority Business Enterprises, and a wide range of community events and programs.
Ours is a highly competitive industry, and it is subject to rapidly-changing market and economic conditions. Over the years we’ve faced more than a few challenges – challenges that many believed that we, as four sisters in what is traditionally a “man’s business,” wouldn’t be able to meet. We’ve managed to beat their expectations, creating a PTM that is stronger and more successful than ever. What’s more, we’ve managed to distinguish ourselves in our field – and the “WBE of the Year” award is proof of that.
There’s no shortage of WBEs that deserve recognition—through our active participation in the GLWBC, we’ve become well aware of that. But this year, it is our turn – and it is an honor made possible only by the committed efforts of the very best, brightest, and most talented teams a company could have. This award is a product of their hard work and their commitment to living PTM Code item number one: “Deliver exceptional performance and peace of mind to the customer.”
To us, the WBE of the Year award represents both an opportunity to shine, and a dual challenge: To continue building upon our record of achievement, and to do our part to help other women-owned, women-run businesses to achieve success. That means that we’re going to keep doing what we’ve tried to do all along: Continually improve our work and our level of service, and maintain our commitment to maintaining a successful, ethical, innovative enterprise. It’s what matters most to us – and we think it’s a big deal to our customers as well.