Paul Silvis: Founder

Restek was founded on the vision of a place where people look forward to coming to work as much as they look forward to going home—a vision of a company whose successes make it a model for others to emulate. Over the years, we've used different words to express what we believe, but the core emphasis on developing our people and building strong teams has never wavered.

"A Head Coach puts the right players in the right positions; provides training, tools, and opportunities for them to become star players; encourages an atmosphere of support and honesty; helps to define the team's strategy for winning — all to create a championship team that each member can be proud of!"

Restek Corporation (Bellefonte, PA USA www.restek.com ) was one of 15 companies across the United States selected as Top Small Workplaces by The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces. The winners were announced in the October 1 issue of The Wall Street Journal. "My vision was always to create a workplace where employees enjoy coming to work as much as going home," said Restek founder and board Chairman Paul Silvis.

"Each of the 15 Top Small Workplaces winners has a great story to tell," said Ken Lehman, Winning Workplaces founder and board chair. "The winners come from very different business sectors and are geographically diverse. But, they share a commitment to valuing, trusting, and respecting their employees, and viewing them as the key to achieving business success. These winners should inspire small businesses everywhere that they, too, can become great workplaces."

The Journal and Winning Workplaces, a nonprofit whose mission is to help leaders of small and midsize organizations create better workplaces, began soliciting nominations last fall. More than 800 small businesses — those with fewer than 500 employees and less than $200 million in annual revenue—applied for the recognition. The search sought out companies with workplace environments that encourage professional growth and provide an atmosphere and benefits that encourage employees to remain with the company.

Bellefonte — Restek Corporation has been named the 2007 ESOP Company of the Year by the PA/DE Chapter of The ESOP Association at the Chapter's Annual Meeting on September 19 in Scranton, PA. The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership. The PA/DE Chapter represents ESOP companies in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Based in Bellefonte, Restek is an employee-owned company specializing in high-quality chromatography products. Restek began business in October 1985 and has more than 250 employees. In addition to the company's headquarters and main manufacturing facility in Bellefonte, Restek also has an R&D lab in California, subsidiaries in France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom; and more than 95 distributors throughout the world.