UPB Honors Entrepreneurial Alum

By Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing

A University of Pittsburgh at Bradford alumnus whose engineering business now employs 28 people in Olean, N.Y., received the second annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Award Monday on campus.

Chris Napoleon, owner of Napoleon Engineering Services, was honored by the Pitt-Bradford Students in Free Enterprise and the Small Business Administration at a luncheon meeting of the Pitt-Bradford Advisory Board.

Laura Megill, director of the entrepreneurship program at Pitt-Bradford, and Dr. Livingston Alexander, president, presented Napoleon with the award.

Napoleon was chosen, in part, for his work mentoring students from middle school through college.

“I do feel it’s important to remain involved with education. That’s the foundation of everything,” said Napoleon, who after studying engineering for two years at Pitt-Bradford finished his mechanical engineering degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1990. He earned his master’s degree at Kettering University.

He learned about bearings at MRC Bearings in Falconer, N.Y., and in 1997, started his own bearing company in his hometown of Olean.

Napoleon began with contracting to inspect and test bearings but soon purchased equipment to modify bearings and began manufacturing custom orders.

“I’ve always been a very hands-on person,” he said. “Starting my own business played right into that.”

Now that he has 28 employees and a planned 20,000-square-foot expansion to oversee, he doesn’t get much hands-on time as part of the manufacturing process.

“I’m responsible for our strategic planning and making sure we have the right people, equipment, training and facilities,” he said.

His interest in mentoring, he said, is directly related to his being an employer.

“I’m looking for people to hire,” he said. “We’re not going to survive without people with advanced skill sets.”

Napoleon noted that the machinery he operates requires workers with advanced skills.

“These are proud jobs and challenging jobs,” he said.

Napoleon is working with the Allegany-Limestone (N.Y.) and Olean school systems to educate students, teachers and administrators about the opportunities available in advanced manufacturing.

Engineering students from both Alfred University and Alfred State College visit Napoleon Engineering to see its operation. And Napoleon regularly speaks to students of Dr. Ronald Mattis, associate professor of engineering at Pitt-Bradford.

“I’m humbled and very excited,” Napoleon said of receiving the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. “There are so many business owners that work hard every day and don’t get that recognition. I don’t often look back at what we’ve accomplished.

“I was fortunate to have received my education through Pitt, and I would not be where I am today without it.”

Pictured at the luncheon honoring alumnus Chris Napoleon with the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Monday are, from left, Diana Maguire, associate project director for the entrepreneurship program; Laura Megill, director of the entrepreneurship program; Napoleon, chief engineer of Napoleon Engineering Services; Dr. Livingston Alexander, president; and Leyla Lindsay, president of Students in Free Enterprise.
(Photo courtesy of Pitt-Bradford)