It is wonderful to be here at Thompson Creek, and I want to thank Rick for showing me how you manufacture more efficient windows at this factory. This is, as he explained to me, a family business. Rick was just 13 when his father Fred opened the company. And back then, his family lived above the store, and Rick started out sweeping the floors.

Three decades later, Thompson Creek has expanded. It’s already outgrown this new 80,000 square-foot facility that it moved into just three years ago. And I’ll bet sometimes Rick still feels like he’s living at the plant. (Laughter.) That’s what happens when you’re in charge.

But building this business has been an extraordinary accomplishment for the Wuest family. And it speaks not only to him -- it also speaks to all the employees here today, the hardworking men and women who make this company work. And it speaks to the promise of America. It’s the idea that if you’ve got a dream and you’re willing to work hard, then you can succeed.

That promise is at the heart of who we are as a people, and it’s at the heart of our economic might. It’s what helps give an entrepreneur the courage to start a business, or a company the confidence to expand. It’s what leads to new products and new ideas, and technologies that have not only made us the world’s largest economy, but also the most innovative economy in the world. Making it possible for businesses to succeed is how we ensure that our economy succeeds and all our people succeed. It’s how we create jobs.

And that’s what’s guided my administration for the past two years. Government can’t guarantee Thompson Creek or any business will be successful, but government can knock down barriers like a lack of affordable credit or high costs for investment or high costs for hiring -- we can do something about that. Government can remove obstacles in your path.

And that’s why we cut taxes for small businesses over the last two years. For example, with a tax break for hiring unemployed workers, Thompson Creek was able to grow its workforce from 200 employees to nearly 300 employees in just one year. And it took advantage of the tax credits that we put into place. We also passed a tax credit for products like energy-saving windows, and that led to a 55-percent boost in the sales at this firm.