For nearly 40 years a pillar of St. Paul’s business community, Minnesota Wire & Cable has become a hot growth company. That’s largely due to its flourishing, cutting-edge defense business. The company expects sales of $23.5 million this year, up from $13 million in 2000. Its four-year-old defense unit now generates a quarter of sales.
One key: the company’s “stretchy wire,” used in vests that give soldiers wearable GPS, data processing, and communications capabilities in combat. In 2004, Chairman and CEO Paul Wagner founded the Defense Alliance of Minnesota to help small companies land defense business. Former Navy commander Chip Laingen, the company’s communications director, leads the 250-member alliance, which was honored by the Small-Business Administration this year.
