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Indiana's top high-potential companies awarded IU's Growth 100 designation
Oct. 25, 2000
EDITORS: A complete list of Growth 100 companies and contact information will be available at http://www.kelley.indiana.edu/jcei beginning Oct. 26. Media may call the IU Office of Communications and Marketing at 812-855-3911 for a faxed copy.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, part of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, today (Oct. 25) recognized Indiana's fastest-growing and most progressive companies at its seventh annual Growth 100 dinner and awards banquet at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.
The Growth 100 award honors Indiana's rapid-growth, high-potential entrepreneurial companies with annual sales of at least $1 million. This year, 80 highly qualified privately owned companies were selected from 165 nominations across the state.
Growth 100 companies are identified through an analytical process based upon the High Performance Organization model developed by the Johnson Center. The screening process may include interviews with a company's CEO and key management team members and often includes a site visit.
"This year's Growth 100 awardees have an average annual sales of $8.8 million, with a growth rate averaging 58 percent," said Elizabeth J. Gatewood, director of the Johnson Center. "These entrepreneurial companies have a strong impact on the state, not only economically but also through employment and community development.
"Indiana is a viable business competitor on the national and global level. We continue to be a major player in the industrial and service areas and are actively establishing Indiana as a technology leader," Gatewood added. "This year, nearly one-third of these high- performance companies are technical business firms.
"We recognize these companies because they represent the entrepreneurial spirit of Indiana business. This award validates all the hard work they've put into their companies. It says to them, their employees and their customers that they are doing things right."
One award winner, Don Garrity of Garrity Tool Co. Inc. in Indianapolis, summed it up by saying, "Receiving the award definitely puts your company in a special category in the business world. It says that your company is a cut above the competition."
Companies that receive the Growth 100 award are invited to join the Growth 100 Winners Circle, a membership organization offering services such as educational programs and seminars, and networking with peers.
Past members have found the network to be extremely beneficial. Sally Byrn, owner and chief executive officer of SSCI Inc. of West Lafayette and a third-year Growth 100 awardee, explained, "My attendance at Growth 100 meetings has not only been instructional, but has enabled me to meet other entrepreneurs who have similar experiences and problems. Sometime I feel I'm the only person struggling with these issues. I've often complained that I had no peer group. But the Growth 100 is just that."
Individuals who wish to nominate their own or another company for consideration for next year's Growth 100 award should contact the Johnson Center at 812-855-4248. For more information regarding the Growth 100 program and the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, visit its Web site at http://www.kelley.indiana.edu/jcei
(Sue Artmeier or Deb Tees, JCEI, 812-855-4248, artmeie@gsob1.bus.indiana.edu)