Shannon Mullen

@MullenAPP

EDISON - Successful start-ups fill a niche — or in Auto Filling Services’ case, a fuel tank.

The three-year-old Lakewood company provides on-site refueling for commercially owned trucks and other diesel-powered equipment.

With 10 employees, a growing roster of customers throughout New Jersey and big plans to expand into New York, it’s one of many new businesses riding a wave of entrepreneurship within the Lakewood area’s booming Orthodox Jewish community.

That economic activity was evident Wednesday at the JBiz Expo, sponsored by the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, a Lakewood-based organization with nearly 1,000 member businesses in the New York-New Jersey area.

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The sixth annual event, held at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center, here, drew more than 100 exhibitors whose businesses are either owned by Orthodox Jews or cater to that religious community — from flooring to financial services.

The event also included one-on-one business coaching, “Shark Tank” sessions for fledgling entrepreneurs and an appearance by one of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s top advisers on Israel, Jason Greenblatt, among other speakers.

"It’s an event geared to help with economic development, to help small businesses (and) entrepreneurs … and give them the tools and resources to be able to get out there and be independent,” said Duvi Honig, the Orthodox chamber’s founder and CEO.

Lakewood’s Orthodox population is now an estimated 65,000 residents strong, and rising fast, accounting for more than half of the township's estimated population of 120,000 people, according to local officials. A host of businesses, including kosher supermarket chains, hotels and banquet facilities, have opened up in the Lakewood area in recent years to capitalize on that growth. At the same time, many younger Orthodox men and women motivated by the need to support large families are starting their own businesses.

“Lakewood is booming with entrepreneurs,” said Yaakov Young, 24, Auto Filling Services’ director of business development.

“I would say half the businesses in this room have an office in Lakewood,” he said.

Among them was Chaim Smith, 23, of Lakewood. Recently married, he is the founder of Lakewood-based Selfie Terminal, a social media-inspired take-off on the photo booths that have become a popular novelty at parties and other events. A kiosk allows users to quickly share customized selfies or print out high-quality photos.

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The business launched in January and is steadily gaining steam, Smith said, adding that events like JBiz have been a key source of support.

“There’s so much help in the community. People reach out and give you contacts of who would be good for you to network with,” he said. “My back pocket is filled with business cards.”

The expo was an opportunity for lesser known businesses like Auto Filling Services to “show people who we are, and network,” said Young.

Started by two partners from New York, the fuel business drew on an idea hatched in the wake of superstorm Sandy, when commerce around the state all but ground to a halt because so few gas stations were open.

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The company buys diesel fuel wholesale, and delivers it to customers at a discounted price at night while their vehicle fleets are idle. Barcode stickers are affixed to each vehicle that’s scheduled for service; with an electronic swipe, the company's tanker truck driver can generate a report showing exactly how much fuel was pumped, and when the fueling was done. The benefit for customers: saving time and money, Young said.

“The (customers') drivers come in in the morning, they’re ready to go. They don’t have to take time to go to the gas station,” he said.

Ari Finkelstein, vice president of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, believes the business opportunities being created in the Lakewood area can be a “bridge” between the Orthodox community and its non-Orthodox neighbors.

“Commerce is the one language that transcends culture,” Finkelstein said. “Where there’s a lot of economic activity, it’s good for everybody.”

Shannon Mullen: 732-643-4278; smullen4@gannettnj.com