U.S. Small Business Administration Names Medhat Gorgy Small Business Person of the Year

SANTA ANA, CA – Medhat Gorgy, President and CEO of PYRAMID Laboratories, Inc.(PLI) headquartered in Costa Mesa, Ca, has been named the Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Santa Ana District Office. The district serves the counties of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino. District Director J. Adalberto Quijada announced his selection, saying “Medhat Gorgy is an entrepreneur who has shown drive and dedication in the face of adversity, qualities that propelled him to set new records in a competitive industry like that of biopharmaceutical prescription drugs.” Mr. Gorgy was nominated by Robert Dodge, Senior Loan Officer of Southland Economic Development Corporation, based in Santa Ana.

PYRAMID Laboratories, Inc. provides a wide range of advanced sterile product manufacturing and analytical services to the biopharmaceutical industry throughout the United States and abroad requiring the strictest regulatory standards by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international regulatory agencies.

Mr. Gorgy came to America in 1981 and settled in Southern California. He is a scientist who obtained his degree in Biochemistry from the University of Alexandria School of Science in Egypt. Mr. Gorgy’s religious affiliation limited his opportunities in Egypt, so he moved to America where he could pursue his dreams without discrimination.

In 1988 Mr. Gorgy decided to start his own business and established his own testing laboratories. He began with $10,000 in savings and a 600 sq. ft. facility in Huntington Beach. Twenty years and 50,000 sq. ft. later, PLI has grown to become a successful clinical and commercial contract manufacturing facility for injectable drugs.

Mr. Gorgy is quick to note that the SBA 504 loan program has been instrumental in taking his business to the next level. In 1999, he used an SBA 504 loan to expand PLI’s facility to provide high-end sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing services. A year later, Mr. Gorgy used another SBA 504 loan to purchase a 6,730 sq. ft. building. This is a registered biopharmaceutical facility and offers FDA compliance testing. In order to break into the clinical contract manufacturing business for injectable drugs, everything had to be planned, designed and executed per FDA regulations. SBA approved a substantial loan to fund PLI’s expansion. Next, Mr. Gorgy leased a 35,000 sq. ft. building nearby that would house a state of the art biopharmaceutical facility, which required several million dollars in long term capital equipment. Two additional SBA 504 loans were utilized to purchase equipment and construct leasehold improvements.

PLI currently has more than 40 full-time employees. They expect to have 65 full-time employees by the end of 2009. PYRAMID Laboratories, Inc. is a name recognized in the industry for living up to its motto, “Quality, performance and integrity make the difference.”

Mr. Gorgy is praised by his employees for his personal attention to hiring and training. His staff exemplifies his own traits of hard work, technical competence, and honesty. Although he is a tough businessman, he is known among his employees for his appreciation of their hard work and takes the time to know them on a personal level. PLI has never had to lay off any of its employees and many of their workers have been with the company more than 20 years. Mr. Gorgy shares his business experiences with others, and is a mentor for new companies and helps his employees succeed in their careers at PLI.

Medhat Gorgy and other small business owners and champions were honored at the 46th Annual Small Business Week Awards event on June 4th 2009 hosted by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in the Yuhaviatam Room at 777 San Manuel Blvd., Highland, CA.

SOURCE: SBA Santa Ana District Office