Beresford recognized for economic development
April 16, 2018
Beresford was named Community of the Year, and Beresford Mayor Jim Fedderson received the Excellence in Economic Development Award from Gov. Dennis Daugaard at the recent Governor’s Office of Economic Development annual conference.
“2017 was an exceptional year for Mayor Fedderson and the entire Beresford community,” Daugaard said.
Without a paid economic developer in Beresford, Fedderson volunteers much of his time to shepherd projects such as Hendrix Genetics, the commercial turkey hatchery that announced a $25 million investment last summer, and Century Custom Molding, a plastic-molding manufacturer that acquired a 20,000-square-foot facility, Daugaard said.
“Beresford has proven to be a progressive community, continuing its investment in the future. I commend Mayor Fedderson and all the community leaders in Beresford for their hard work and sincere commitment to increasing workforce opportunities and improving the quality of life for everyone in their community. It’s that kind of steadfast commitment that earns you recognition as an excellent economic developer and community of the year in the same year.”
The Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Christian Widener, co-founder and chief technology officer of VRC Metal Systems in Rapid City. VRC manufactures cold spray equipment that bonds metallic powders to metal surfaces.
The high-pressure system deposits similar and dissimilar metals on most metallic surfaces in some previously impossible heat-sensitive situations. VRC’s supersonic cold spray equipment enables innovative solutions for repair, additive manufacturing and coatings for many industries.
“A nationally recognized expert in cold spray technology, Dr. Widener has more than 60 publications and multiple patents because of his research and development work in advanced materials processing technologies,” Daugaard said. “VRC’s successful strategy sets the precedent for all Giant Vision competitors, making Dr. Widener an ideal choice for Entrepreneur of the Year.”
