Last modified: Monday, October 25, 2004
Indiana's leading high-growth companies to receive IU's Growth 100 awards Wednesday
Editors: The Growth 100 Awards will be presented Wednesday (Oct. 27). This story and a listing of companies, also being released today (Oct. 25), is embargoed until 12 a.m. on that day. Thomas Hustad, interim director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will be available for advance interviews by phone on today and Tuesday. Call the contacts listed with this release to arrange for an interview.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- At a time when many of Indiana's top employers continue to cut thousands of jobs, a significant number of entrepreneurs identified in an Indiana University report continue to create important new employment and sales revenues.
The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a center within IU's Kelley School of Business, will recognize 88 of Indiana's leading high-potential, high-growth companies with its 11th annual Growth 100 Awards on Wednesday (Oct. 27) in Indianapolis. The awards will be presented at a dinner beginning at 5 p.m. at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. Event sponsors include the Indiana Venture Center; Katz, Sapper and Miller; and Ernst & Young.
2004 Growth 100 firms employed 8,670 people, which was a 37 percent increase over companies in the 2003 survey and an average increase of 33 percent in the last three years. They also reported a 25 percent increase in sales revenue over firms in the 2003 survey.
"At a time when news is filled with large companies laying off people, it is wonderful to report that a distinct segment of Indiana's business is growing at a rapid rate, by both adding jobs and paying taxes," said Thomas P. Hustad, interim director of the Johnson Center and a professor of marketing. "This year's 2004 Growth 100 awardees have a combined 2003 sales total of more than $1.17 billion, with an incredible growth rate averaging 58 percent. To be able to build this type of momentum in such a challenging economic climate is quite a feat."
While the majority of firms (44 percent) in this year's Growth 100 list continue to be service companies, more than a quarter (26 percent) of them are technology companies, and another 18 percent are in manufacturing. There were almost half as many technology firms among last year's winners.
Growth by this year's firms has been sustained, as demonstrated by the fact that 67 of the companies in this year's survey are previous winners. Twenty-one companies won the honor for the first time this year.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses provide about 75 percent of new jobs added to the economy and employ about half of the nation's workforce.
Among the qualities shared by most of the winners this year was the ability for companies to attract the right employees and focus them on the tasks at hand, in response to strategic thinking by managers, Hustad said.
Nominees for the award must be privately held Indiana businesses and have at least $500,000 in annual sales or have raised a significant amount of funding. They were identified through an analysis process that is based upon High Performance Organization research conducted by The Johnson Center.
Here's more about the Growth 100 firms, by the numbers:
-- Of the 88 businesses, 33 are family-owned and three are minority-owned. Women own seven of the companies.
-- Average sales revenue for the companies was $13,313,474, a 25 percent increase over last year's reported $10,665,266.
-- While Growth 100 companies can be found all around the state, nearly half, or 46 companies, continue to be located in central Indiana. Eight companies were reported in Allen County and nine were in Monroe County.
Individuals who wish to nominate a company for consideration for next year's Growth 100 awards should contact the Johnson Center at 812-855-4248. For more information regarding the Growth 100 program and the Johnson Center, visit the center's web site at www.kelley.indiana.edu/jcei.
