Suwanee’s Winton Machine Heads to Washington With $400,000 on the Line

A Suwanee manufacturer will represent Georgia on a national stage Friday, competing against four other small businesses for a top prize of $400,000.

Winton Machine, which designs and builds industrial automation equipment at its Suwanee facility, is one of five finalists in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Freedom 250 Patriot Pitch Competition. The finale is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Washington, D.C., after a nationwide field that began with 1,182 businesses from all 50 states.

The five finalists will divide $1 million in prize money funded by Clover Network. First place carries $400,000, followed by awards of $250,000, $150,000, $125,000 and $75,000. That means Winton Machine is guaranteed a prize, with the size determined by Friday’s competition.

For a company that manufactures machinery along Shawnee North Drive in Suwanee, the appearance puts a piece of North Atlanta’s industrial economy in an unusually bright national spotlight.

From a basement workshop to Suwanee

Winton Machine was founded by Lisa and George Winton in 1997, initially operating from the basement of their Lawrenceville home. The company later moved into commercial manufacturing space and today designs and builds its machinery in Suwanee.

Its specialty is equipment used to bend, form and fabricate tubing and coaxial cable, the kind of behind-the-scenes manufacturing technology that rarely attracts much public attention but feeds into industries ranging from HVAC and refrigeration to aerospace, electronics, medical equipment and defense.

Winton has manufactured more than 100 types of machines and has supplied equipment to more than 500 customers in the United States and overseas. Its customer list has included large manufacturers and government organizations, while all of its machinery is designed and manufactured at the company’s Suwanee operation.

The company has also spent years positioning itself as part of Georgia’s advanced-manufacturing sector. Winton represented Georgia at a White House Made in America showcase in 2018 and has received recognition from the Gwinnett Chamber and other state and regional organizations.

Five companies, one national finale

Winton’s competition Friday comes from four other finalists: Compotech of Brewer, Maine; Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa; Red River of Gillette, Wyoming; and VetPowered of San Diego. The SBA said contestants were evaluated on factors including innovation, business performance, economic impact, job creation and their readiness to execute their plans.

The event will have more of a television-production atmosphere than a traditional small-business awards ceremony. Actor Dean Cain is scheduled to host, while the judging panel includes recording artist Nicki Minaj, entrepreneur and investor Grant Cardone and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia. The competition is also being produced for a prime-time television special expected to air in October.

For Winton Machine, the final arrives nearly two months after the company learned it had made the national field.

The company has framed its pitch around a familiar challenge for American manufacturers: using automation to make domestic production more competitive while preserving manufacturing activity and skilled jobs in the United States. Its equipment serves sectors including aerospace, medical technology, energy, communications and transportation.

Friday will determine how much of the $1 million comes back to Suwanee.

Whatever the finish, Winton has already cleared a field of more than 1,100 businesses to become Georgia’s only representative among the five finalists. For North Atlanta, it is also a reminder that some of the region’s most consequential companies are not necessarily the names residents see on storefronts. Some are operating inside industrial buildings, designing machines that eventually find their way into factories around the country and the world.