{"id":759,"date":"2019-07-17T18:18:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/peter-damico-entrepreneur-of-year\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:18:47","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:47","slug":"peter-damico-entrepreneur-of-year","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/peter-damico-entrepreneur-of-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Newtown\u2019s Peter D’Amico named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year\u2019’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"ImageDANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Peter D\u2019Amico, a distinguished businessman and community activist, has been named the 2015 Macricostas Entrepreneur of the Year<\/a> by Western Connecticut State University<\/a>. He will be honored at a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015<\/strong>, at The Ethan Allen Hotel, 21 Lake Ave. Extension, Danbury.<\/p>\n

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\n D\u2019Amico is the founder and president of SCB International Materials<\/a>, a supplier of products to the global cement industry. He was one of the first to import raw materials into the U.S. from international sources. Drawing on his chemical industry background and technical expertise, D\u2019Amico saw the need to integrate technical support services and logistics capabilities in the company\u2019s offerings, setting new industry standards for quality and service.<\/p>\n

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\n SCB International focuses on providing products and technology that have a positive environmental impact. In fact, more than 80 percent of the products supplied to the cement industry by SCB are \u201cwaste\u201d products from other industries. Most recently, SCB has developed a patented technology to capture and remove mercury from various industrial products. <\/p>\n

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\n In addition, D\u2019Amico is respected for his role in the creation of the Newtown Youth Academy<\/a> on the former Fairfield Hill campus, offering affordable programming to promote health, fitness and general well-being through sport competitions, community events and training. He also is the managing partner of semi-professional soccer team AC Connecticut<\/a>, which plays its home games at Western Connecticut State University.<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cPeter was selected because of his business success and his great commitment to Newtown and its youth,\u201d said Dr. David Martin, dean of the Ancell School of Business<\/a>. \u201cHe is one of the people who step up when the community has a need. He figures out how to get the job done \u2013 the true mark of an entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n D\u2019Amico immigrated to America with his family from Italy when he was 14. He knew no English and as he prepared to enter high school in Orange, New Jersey, he learned that administrators planned to send him back to the fifth grade. He spoke to a vice principal and asked for the chance to start in the ninth grade. He told the principal, \u201cJust give me the opportunity.\u201d He succeeded, capping his academic career with both a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree in Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n

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\n He has faced similar obstacles in his business career. When D\u2019Amico was 39, he left his job in marketing and sales at Union Carbide and joined a firm that wanted to start a chemical business. The salary was small but he was confident he could grow sales and revenue. Three months later, the parent company was sold and he was out of a job. D\u2019Amico decided to start his own company and got backing from another businessman in the cement industry. When that backer\u2019s firm was sold, D\u2019Amico was on his own again. Several banks turned him down before he found another private lender who helped the firm stay afloat and eventually thrive.<\/p>\n

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\n D\u2019Amico credits his success to support from people who backed him along his entrepreneurial journey.<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of people help me in life and that\u2019s what drives me now to help other people,\u201d he said.

\n D\u2019Amico and his wife, Marie, have lived in Newtown since 1980 with their four children. Two sons, Chris and Matthew, also work at SCB International.<\/p>\n

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\n The annual entrepreneurship award is sponsored by the foundation of Brookfield industrialist and philanthropist Constantine \u201cDeno\u201d Macricostas and his wife Marie. The couple established the award and other activities to encourage entrepreneurship among students and to recognize business leaders in the region. The award has been given since 2008.<\/p>\n

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\n For tickets to the Entrepreneur of the Year luncheon, go to www.wcsu.edu\/eoy<\/a> or contact Sheryl Scott at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.
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