HARRISBURG, PA, April 26, 2007 – Forty small businesses from across Pennsylvania participated in “It All Adds Up,” an exposition held at the State Capitol Complex in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 24. The annual event now in its 13^th year, is coordinated by the statewide network of Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) to feature companies that exemplify small firms’ social and economic impact throughout the Commonwealth.

“These small businesses are adding up with the jobs they create, the products they develop, and the sales they generate across the world,” said Gregory L. Higgins, Jr., state director of the Pennsylvania SBDC network. “Successful small businesses are beneficial to the state’s economy. Their success means more jobs, more tax revenues and more Pennsylvania products reaching consumers from California to China.”

Examples of companies exhibiting at this year’s event included:

A research company focused on molecular separations that received $768,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health;

An interior design firm with a two-year sales growth rate of 143% - one of the highest in the Philadelphia region;

A textile manufacturer with over $5.8 million in contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense;

A lumber company with exports to countries throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East;

A radio broadcasting company with 1.7 million daily listeners across the country.

Approximately 200 lawmakers and government officials attended the event, and several exhibiting clients received citations from state legislators in recognition of their achievements. The Renda Broadcasting Corporation also conducted a live radio broadcast from the floor of the exposition.

By providing high-quality consulting, training and information to entrepreneurs and small business owners the Pennsylvania SBDCs have helped thousands of businesses to start, grow and prosper throughout the state.

This year’s exposition focused on many ways in which help for small businesses provided by the Pennsylvania SBDCs equals significant economic returns for the Commonwealth. In the past year alone, the SBDCs have helped clients reach over $1.3 billion in sales, open 2,994 new businesses and obtain over $220 million in start-up and expansion financing.

For more information on the event and ways small businesses add up, visit www.pasbdc.org/expo.

CONTACT

Megan Schmidgal

(215) 898.1219