CONCORD — A Manchester small business owner and Republican state representative wants President Obama to apologize to him and other small-business owners who did build their businesses without government help.

Rep. Will Infantine, R-Manchester and president of Aspen Insurance Agency, said when he heard the President's comments about successful small businesses having help building their companies, “I was never so angry as when I heard that comment.”

At a news conference at Concord manufacturer Secure Care Products, Infantine said he listened over and over to what the President had said. “It offended me,” Infantine said. “I would like an apology. I was the one sitting at my desk at 11 at night answering emails and taking the calls at 7 a.m. and working with no vacations. I want an apology.”

The event, featuring Infantine and Secure Care Products president and co-owner Harold Baldwin and the company's director of human resources Anne McPhillips, was one on two held in New Hampshire Wednesday and many more held around the country for the Mitt Romney campaign titled “We did build this.”

Baldwin, whose company designs, manufactures, distributes and services electronic infant security systems and monitoring products for hospitals and other assisted care facilities to help detect patients who may wander away, said he was also offended when he heard the President's comments.

“My partners and I, at great risk, used our homes for collateral to build Secure Care Products,” Baldwin said. “With the hard work of our employees and determination and long hours, we grew this company from two employees to 65 employees with 110 distributors national and international to market our products without any financial assistance from the federal government.”

He did say some federal agencies use his products, but he said his company had no federal grants or state programs to help it grow.

Although he and company representatives have participated in both state and federal trade missions to other countries, he said, the businesses pay for those missions.

When asked about Obama's statement that companies do receive government help with roads and bridges and other infrastructure, Baldwin shot back, “The fact of the matter is those roads and bridges and the American system (the President) referred to were created by our tax dollars. We paid for those roads and bridges, that's a fact.”

Baldwin said he would like to add more employees, but with uncertainty over tax increases, additional regulation and “Obamacare,” he would not.

“It's time for America to wake up, it's a turning point,” Baldwin said.

This week the Obama campaign is holding its own series of events with small-business owners dubbed “Out-Innovate.” The events focus on the impact the President's policies have had on small businesses.

New Hampshire Obama campaign spokesman Holly Shulman said the Romney campaign continues to deceive voters.

“Mitt Romney continues to criticize President Obama by taking his words completely out of context, a tactic that independent fact checkers and journalists have called 'deceiving' and 'misleading,'” she said. “The facts are clear: under Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, small businesses shut their doors. Under President Obama small business had their taxes cut 18 times. Under Mitt Romney startups fell by 10 percent. Under President Obama in the past year alone, 156 loans were issued to new and startup New Hampshire businesses.”

Infantine said he does not believe the President understands small business.

The Romney campaign held a similar event in Rochester Wednesday, and the Obama campaign held a small-business event in Conway.

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Garry Rayno may be reached at grayno@unionleader.com.