Charleston entrepreneur named Small Business Person of the Year

UEC Electronics President Rebecca Ufkes has been selected as the SBA Small Business Person of the Year and will represent South Carolina at the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May.

Ufkes started UEC Electronics in Charleston in 1990 with one customer, and the company has since expanded to 115 employees and an 80,000 manufacturing facility in Hanahan.

Rebecca Ufkes, president of UEC ElectronicsUEC designs, develops and manufactures defense-related products related to systems engineering, program management and complex assembly. One of the recent product developments was a portable UV sterilization system for medical facilities.

Although Ufkes had no contracting experience, she entered the Navy’s Manufacturing Technical Assistance Production Program and had become a defense subcontractor within a year of graduation. After two years, her company became a prime contractor.

During this past recession, UEC has expanded into a new facility with a larger work force. In 2009, the company also gained certification from the International Organization for Standardization for its products to be used in aerospace applications.

She will be honored on May 12 at the 2010 Salute to Small Business in Columbia and will head up to Washington for National Small Business Week May 23-29.