Award Winning Clients

Three SBTDC were recognized for excellence in the last month.

Mojotone CEO named SBA’s NC Small Business Person of the Year

SBTDC client Mojotone’s CEO was named the SBA’s 2023 NC Small Business Person of the Year. Michael McWhorter founded Mojotone in Greensboro in 2000, moved the company to Burgaw in 2005 and then moved into a 40,000 square-foot building in 2018. Mojotone is a supplier of vintage and reproduction musical electronics, parts and speaker cabinets that serves electric guitar and tube amplifier enthusiasts, technicians and builders around the world. Its 78 employees create, repair, market and sell gear to casual pickers and a long list of top-billed acts, including Cheap Trick, Green Day, Keith Urban, Kid Rock, Rush, Sheryl Crow, The Who and ZZ Top.

Carroll International received an Export Achievement Award

SBTDC client Byron Carroll, CEO of Carroll International, was presented with an Export Achievement Award from the US Department of Commerce for expanding his IT and telecommunications hardware business internationally. Byron has visited 8 countries and added sales distribution in 3 countries to support his 2023 International growth objectives. Byron credited his success to working with the following partners – US Commercial Service, EDPNC International, and the SBTDC IBD Program.

Sciencix named the SBA’s National Exporter of the Year

Sciencix in Cary has been named the SBA’s 2023 National Exporter of the Year! Since its founding in 1985, Sciencix has manufactured high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry parts, whose uses include drug testing, contamination analysis, pesticide detection, and more. With headquarters in North Carolina and a manufacturing plant in Minnesota, Sciencix’s Owner Raj Bhandari, Operations Manager Ranjan Karki, and Director of Global Marketing Lisa Bamford oversee the company’s 25-employee team.

With the support of the SBTDC, Sciencix secured $24,000 in SBA State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant funding in 2021. These funds offset the costs of attending international trade shows, meeting overseas distributors, and website internationalization. As a result, exports now account for one-third of Sciencix’s total sales, representing a 10 percent increase from 2020, the year before securing STEP funding. Today, its products support research laboratories in over 100 countries, spanning all continents.

The SBTDC is privileged to work with these companies and contribute to their success!