Senior master entrepreneur: Marshall A. Rauch, Rauch Industries Inc.

• Author: Eldridge, Lisa
• Position: Entrepreneur of the Year

In the 1950s, Marshall Rauch was in the busineSS Of making crochet thread. When he took some of that thread and wound it around a plastic foam ball, Rauch created his first Christmas ornament. What we really did is, we copied a Japanese item,- Rauch says, -and we made it better and less expensive. - Now, Rauch Industries in Gastonia is the nation's largest maker of satin and glass Christmas ornaments and related products. The company posted $38 million in sales last year and has branched out into...