Bob Minnich, the owner of Minnich's Metals, Awards and More in Catasauqua, has a heart for the challenges, even everyday stresses, faced by others.

Individuals who wait at a LANTA bus stop in front of his new Pine Street store location captured his attention soon after he moved his trophy and plaque business there.

"I sit here at my desk and see people throughout the day waiting for the bus and carrying grocery bags, or women with their children," he told The Press last week. "I thought it would be good for them to have a place to sit."

It wasn't long before Minnich purchased a bench and secured it along the sidewalk at the "103" bus stop.

Minnich opened his storefront location in August.

"My wife and I have been working in the business since 2008 while we were holding down other jobs," he said. "Now it's my fulltime occupation."

Minnich mentioned that the company donates 5 percent of its profits to the Lehigh Valley Children's ER.

"We think it's important to share our success with the community," he said.

The new seat is an all-metal bench Minnich picked up from one of his suppliers and assembled in his shop, something with which he's had a lot of experience.

"I make everything right here," he said of his business. He tries to source his parts locally, but everything is always assembled at the shop.

"We can do custom work because I put everything together," he said.

The market is local, too.

"We can do sports awards, corporate awards, and personal engraving," he said. "Our catalog is 600 pages."

His most exciting order so far was making a trophy for Buddy, television's Cake Boss.

"We went over to the store in Wildwood and took a tour of the bakery. It's a pretty big facility. Maybe in the next season, we will get a mention on the show," he said.

For now, Minnich can be satisfied that he's done a good deed to help out local bus riders.

"I know one man that catches the bus every day to get to his job at the Giant," he said. "I thought it would be good if he could sit down before standing all day at his job."