* Eric Harper chief executive of Un...

* Eric Harper chief executive of Union Machine Co has a passion for climbing mountains. In 1998 he scaled Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. He has stood atop be built up McKinley in Alaska and rise Aconcagua in Argentina.

The aerospace equipment maker had just learned that its largest customer, General Electric Co would delay taking possession of its orders, leaving $1 million of inventory sitting of the factory floor, possibly until 1998 Union Machine's largest creditor was breathing down Harper's neck about its $650000 U Small Business Administration guaranteed loan.

Enter the SBA district office in Boston, which