   Greg Kent
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For his efforts at helping industry and government deal with storm water pollution, Gregory Kent, founder and president of Bio Clean Environmental Services Inc. in Oceanside, has been named Small Business Person of the Year by the San Diego district office of the Small Business Administration.
Kent will be one of several local business owners and advocates who will be honored at the annual Small Business Awards Luncheon May 28 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in Mission Valley. Mollie Wilkinson, chief of staff of the U.S. Small Business Administration, will give the keynote address at the event, which is co-sponsored by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Kent, 53, formed Bio Clean Environmental Services in 1997 after working in the construction industry for several years. Bio Clean initially sold bacterial treatment products to restaurants, hospitals, municipalities and other customers for remediation of FOG, or fats, oils and greases. Eight years ago, the company expanded to become a distributor of storm water filtration systems, which has become a major focus of its business. It is now distributing the systems throughout California and the country and Kent anticipates doing international business in the near future. Kent is involved with several national organizations that focus on keeping the nation’s waterways clean and free of pollution.
With an initial boost from the Small Business Development Center of North County, Kent has grown the business from sales of $504,000 in 2004 to $2.1 million through December 2007. During that same period, profits grew from $10,000 to $321,000.
Bio Clean has become a family business. Kent’s wife, Janet, is vice president of the company. Eldest son Zack Kent, 28, heads up the modular wetlands part of the business while son Aaron Kent, 22, is involved in the cleaning and installation of filtering systems. When daughter Abigail Kent, 25, returns from Spain in July, she will start working in sales and marketing for the company.
Kent says there are pluses and minuses in having your family work in the business. "No one is going to be more loyal to you than family," he says, "but sometimes you don’t get the respect you want. But it really can be a great benefit."
The other award winners:
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