by Steve Kaelble

With the economy still sluggish, who isn't in the mood for a dose of good business news? You're in luck–this is a good-news story. It's about companies that are doing things right, that have been reading the trends well, finding untapped markets to serve, laying the groundwork for sustained healthy growth, adding Hoosier jobs and doing their part to turn the economy around.

They're the region's honorees in the annual Indiana Companies to Watch program, which recognizes second-stage companies and their economic contributions. The Indiana Economic Development Corp., Purdue University and the Edward Lowe Foundation pull together a panel of judges to select the awardees, which must be privately held Indiana companies with six to 150 full-time employees and $750,000 to $100 million in revenues or capital from grants or investors.

This summer, the program inducted its fourth class of honorees, a total of 43 companies from across the state. Collectively, these companies added a thousand employees between 2007 and 2010–essentially doubling their payrolls–and recorded a 57 percent increase in revenue. Of the 43 honorees, 10 are based in the northwest part of the state. They're companies that have been doing great things, and as the program's title suggests, we should keep an eye on these firms as their stories continue to unfold.

Dicor Corp. Inc., Elkhart
As a company that primarily serves the area's recreational vehicle industry, Dicor Corp. felt the sting of the economic downturn in 2008. That's no surprise, but what's remarkable is how quickly the company bounced back. “In 2011, we expect revenues to be at record levels as the RV industry has recovered to long-term sustainable levels,” says Gregg Fore, the company's president. Over the past five years, he says, revenue growth has been 9 percent on an annualized basis, while employment has grown about 50 percent.

“The future of Dicor and all our affiliate companies remains very positive based on product development, market share growth and all the actions we are taking to make sure our efforts are well-timed for our customers and our companies,” Fore says. One area of growth is the addition of the Vixen Composites division, which should start contributing revenue next year. That, plus organic growth, should translate into a 30 percent increase in revenues next year, Fore predicts.

Diversified Marketing Strategies, Crown Point
This company's name sums up a secret to success: diversification. Diversified Marketing Strategies is a full-service marketing communications and public relations agency, but it uses a broad approach to get the job done, from brochure and Web design to branding to promotional items to event planning and business-to-business publishing.

Founded in 1993 and led by Andrea Pearman, the company had a dozen employees in 2010 and was expecting a dozen and a half this year. Beyond being named to the Companies to Watch roster, Diversified Marketing Strategies has landed more than 20 marketing awards in the past few years.

DonLevy Laboratories, Crown Point
We all assume the food we buy in the store is safe. Tim DonLevy doesn't take food safety for granted–on the contrary, his DonLevy Laboratories works hard to ensure that client products are safe. Its business, launched in 1993, is microbiology food testing, and it's all about quietly preventing those scary food contamination headlines that crop up from time to time.

Business is booming. Roughly 500 customers keep the laboratory busy, and revenues grew by 22 percent last year. In 2010, there were 84 on the payroll, and that count was expected to top 100 this year.

V.F. Garza El Popular, East Chicago
This company has a longer history than most Companies to Watch honorees, but it's doing all the right things to merit plenty of watching in the future. It was founded in 1927 by Vicente F. Garza, just a couple of years after Garza came to America from Mexico with a collection of authentic Mexican recipes. Through the years, it narrowed its focus to chorizo sausage, which it makes in a state-of-the-art facility.

Garza's grandson, Edward Garza, runs the company now. Its El Popular sausage is the leading chorizo east of the Rockies, and can be found in many grocery stores from Kroger and Jewel to Wal-Mart and Aldi. Employment was 15 last year and was heading upward in 2011. Says the younger Garza, “We're the oldest Mexican family-owned manufacturer in the Midwest.”

General Sheet Metal Works, South Bend
Another Company to Watch with a long history is General Sheet Metal Works, founded in 1922 and now in the third family-owned generation. The business remains metal fabrication, but that doesn't mean the company is old-fashioned. In fact, millions of dollars of technology investment keeps General Sheet Metal Works up-to-date and better able to serve customers' unique needs, in industries that include lawn-and-garden machinery, RVs, truck/trailer makers and architecture.

John Axelberg is president, and the employee count continues to grow, from 134 in 2010 to an expected 160 in 2011. The recession definitely had an impact in 2009, but revenues rebounded by 61 percent a year later.

In Touch Pharmaceuticals, Valparaiso
In Touch Pharmaceuticals is a long-term-care pharmacy that serves skilled-nursing, assisted-living and correctional facilities. Its fully automated system reduces medication errors, decreases waste and cuts costs, according to Rick Rondinelli, president and CEO. The company is staffed around the clock and also provides consulting services to clients, sending its consulting pharmacists out to customer facilities. In Touch tripled in size in 2010 through an acquisition, and went from 54 employees to 121 now.

One secret to its success is its focus on “short-cycle” dispensing–quantities needed for seven days or less. In 2013, the government will require all long-term-care pharmacies to dispense brand-name drugs in quantities of 14 days or less, but many competitors still dispense 30-day doses, so In Touch is already on the right track for the future. Success, says Rondinelli, is “going to the customer and giving them what they want and doing it better than anyone else. We want to be our customer's partner, not a vendor.”

Kem Krest Corp., Elkhart
Offering full program management of service, warranty and replacement parts for a number of industries–including automotive, power sports, ag/industrial and defense/aviation–“Kem Krest's goals are not to be the biggest but to continue to be the best,” says its president and CEO, Amish Shah. That's not to say it's a small company, though. “Kem Krest has grown over 20 percent year after year, doubling in the past five years. We have exceeded $100 million in revenues and continue to add workforce to accommodate this growth.”

Shah credits a clear and focused strategy that emphasizes expansion into new markets, along with high standards of operational excellence, passionate employees, clear communications internally, and a high level of customer service. “At the end of the day, if we are all having fun, making our customers smile and continue to grow the bottom line, we have succeeded.”

Midwest Orthotic Services LLC, South Bend
This South Bend company is a full-service orthotic/prosthetic practice that serves the whole state of Indiana, which the company claims is something no other orthotic/prosthetic firm has been able to do. One of its key marketing strategies has been education, according to Bernie Veldman, certified orthotist and CEO. “The educational courses that we have created, produced and implemented for pediatric physical therapists and certified orthotists have generated a new paradigm in how we look at the treatment of a patient,” he says. The whole point is to help all players make the best, most informed decisions, and that ultimately benefits the company, too. “Our mission is not to sell products, but to serve a person's needs, ultimately providing them an orthotic solution that allows for mobility, independence, functionality and an improved quality of life.”

With this strategy, along with a focus on selling only through other orthotists plus a variety of product innovations, healthy growth has resulted. Employment grew from 67 in 2010 to more than 80 in 2011. Says Veldman, “The future success of this company can be summed up in three words: innovation, compassion and service.”

Retro-Tech Systems Inc., Valparaiso
“Our lighting solutions are designed to provide maximum financial, technical and environmental performance,” says Kurt Minko, cofounder, president and CEO of Retro-Tech Systems, which designs, engineers and installs energy-efficiency lighting in a wide range of public and commercial facilities. The business was launched in 1993, and in the 18 years since, has installed some $220 million worth of systems and opened seven offices across the country, he says.

“The organization is poised to support a new era of growth by utilizing the latest tested technologies to help drive the 21st century's need for quality lighting systems that are energy-efficient,” Minko says. Its growth has already been impressive–revenues up 32 percent in 2010, and employment up 15 percent. The company expects to hit 140 employees this year. “We have very intentionally put together a team that combines planners and designers, experimenters  and storytellers, researchers and builders. It's our team's unique mix of experience, interests and passion that makes the difference.”

Spin Zone Cycling, Granger
SportCrafters Inc. started in 1996 as a manufacturer of professional cycling training products, and in 2007 branched out by launching Spin Zone Cycling, a retailer and fitter of competitive bicycles and a complete service center for bikes of all kinds, according to founder and owner Pete Colan. Growth has been especially hot since 2007, at a rate of 30 percent a year, he says.

Passion and a commitment to improvement are keys to the company's success, according to Colan. “We are actively involved in our sport, and we enthusiastically share our experiences by organizing events and training opportunities,” he says. “We are truly committed to daily improvements in our product performance, product offering and service technology. We will continue to listen to our customers and evolve to best serve their needs.”