Northern Indiana companies with eye-catching futures.
by Steve Kaelble
They've innovated, they've found new niches and caught the leading edge of hot new trends. Among other things, the 11 Northern Indiana organizations on this year's Indiana's Companies to Watch roster have brought high-tech to sewers and historic buildings, state-of-the-art equipment to filmmakers, gourmet ingredients to chefs, trendy furniture to homeowners, even unusual spatulas to backyard barbecue aficionados.
Indiana's Companies to Watch were chosen by experts with the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the Indiana Small Business Development Center and the Edward Lowe Foundation. The 2013 list includes 33 privately owned companies that are beyond startup and are demonstrating strong, sustainable growth. As a group, they increased revenue by an average of 36 percent every year from 2009 to 2012, and grew their total employee count by 39 percent annually. They expect to add another 36 percent in sales this year, and boost employment by 23 percent.
Read on to learn more about the Companies to Watch from the northern tier of the state.
ATC Trailers
Updating and upgrading business practices has been a significant key to the success of Nappanee-based ATC Trailers. That, and unusual flexibility. For starters, though ATC is short for Aluminum Trailer Co., the company is happy to build a trailer out of steel if that's what the customer wants–few other trailer companies can do that with all models.
As for processes and practices, lean manufacturing helps keep customers' costs in line and the company growing. ATC reduces overhead by stocking only the materials needed in the short-term, streamlining the production process and employing advanced quality control measures to reduce waste. The company, founded in 1999 and led by CEO Steve Brenneman, works closely with dealers on annual planning so that everyone's on the same page. And it's small enough to have strong, hands-on involvement of owners.
Smaller than a lot of trailer companies, yes, but definitely on the move. Revenues in 2012 were up 30 percent and employment was up 23 percent. Its employee roster is expected to grow from 123 to 140.
Complexus Medical
Northern Indiana is a great place from which to serve the orthopedic device and implant industry, given the number of major players operating not far away in Warsaw. Complexus Medical makes the most of its prime location as it manufactures complex orthopedic instruments with multiple components and very demanding tolerances, and it's enjoying significant growth in the process. “We have increased employment by 46 percent in the last 18 months,” says David A. Behrens, president. “We have almost doubled our sales in that same time period.”
The company started out as a Mishawaka tool-and-die shop, was formerly known as F&F Machine Specialties, and it grew by machining orthopedic parts, taking overflow business for other companies. It built its capabilities and expanded its business, and it works on a continual basis to improve on function, cost and time to market. “We have also invested heavily in new machining technologies and plant expansion,” he says.
It takes a lot of talent to succeed in an environment with such exacting standards, and Complexus benefits from developing and hanging onto that talent. “The most important element to our success is our employees,” Behrens says. “We still have employees here from 1990 when I bought the company.”
EmNet LLC
There's nothing terribly high-tech about sewers, right? Wrong. You could say that South Bend-based EmNet LLC has put information technology down the drain, and it's saving municipalities millions and millions of dollars.
Ancient wastewater and stormwater sewer systems are causing trouble across the nation, because in times of heavy rainfall combined systems can become overwhelmed, overflowing raw sewage into rivers and other waterways. Upgrades aimed at eliminating these problems can cost millions or even billions of dollars–some experts estimate that in total, American sewer systems are in need of at least a trillion dollars' worth of upgrades.
EmNet has a different approach, using smart sewer technology to monitor, gather and analyze real-time intelligence and use optimization to minimize the overflows. With its technology, sewer operators can maximize the infrastructure they have, putting off the need for costly upgrades. The technology helped its hometown of South Bend save $100 million in infrastructure upgrades–enough to catch the attention of Fast Company magazine. Other Indiana cities that have signed on include Fort Wayne, Elkhart and Evansville. Growth prospects are high, and EmNet is exploring opportunities across the country.
FRATCO Inc.
Back in the early 1970s, FRATCO Inc. saw the writing in the clay. The Francesville company was a maker of clay drainage tile, and switched to the manufacture of plastic pipe instead. These days, plastic is the standard, so the move was a smart one, setting FRATCO up for growth rather than extinction.
Today, the company makes a wide range of corrugated pipe and related components. It has grown by adopting new manufacturing technologies, finding new applications that need specialty products and moving into new markets. The company had 101 employees in 2012 and was expecting to have 110 on the payroll this year. It recorded annual growth of 30 percent between 2010 and 2012.
Christopher S. Overmyer, president, says the company has its people to thank for a lot of its success. “We understand that in some ways, the business is a family,” he says. “Recognizing and treating employees as important, intimate cogs in the machine goes a long way to promote buy-in and morale.”
Working in Indiana is another plus, he says. “It's a great place to find employees who work honestly and are proud of what they do, and a great place to find customers who are loyal and appreciate growing with us. In Indiana, the word ‘values' still has meaning.”
Integrative Flavors
This Michigan City company has been making food bases since the 1930s, and early on it manufactured bouillon for World War II military rations. Today, it serves chefs with a wide range of soup bases and related products.
“We don't try to be everything to everyone,” says the company's president, Georgeann Quealy. “We focus our efforts on opportunities that are in alignment with our company vision.”
That said, its gourmet product line is diverse–from chicken base to lobster base to organic vegetable base to natural vegan bacon-flavored base. There are products with reduced sodium, products that avoid the eight most common allergens, gluten-free bases, natural and organic bases, products without MSG, and choices aimed at vegetarians and vegans.
Innovation is the name of the game, according to Quealy. “We tend to focus more on what we're planning to do than what we've done in the past. We're looking at growth in the future that translates into hiring and greater opportunities.”
Kessler Crane Inc.
Talk about explosive growth–Kessler Crane in Plymouth got its start about 10 years ago, had a couple of employees six years ago, and is up to 48 now. Clearly there's quite a market for the kinds of filmmaker tools the company makes.
President Eric H. Kessler says the secret to the company's success is “the dedication to truly innovate tools that help people do their jobs, and dedication to offering the highest level of customer service possible.” Those tools include tripods, slider and dolly equipment, motion control devices, cranes and related accessories.
The company's lightweight equipment pairs nicely with the digital technology that has become the industry norm. And its motion control system was the first on the market in a price range more accessible to the average filmmaker. According to Kessler, some of its competitive edge comes from its Indiana address. “Indiana offers a large diversity of skilled workers as well as suppliers, at the same time at a lower cost than other places in the U.S.”
Protective Coatings Inc.
“In order to achieve success in today's marketplace, I believe you must have perseverance and integrity in all you do,” says Michael Murrell, president of Fort Wayne-based Protective Coatings Inc. “The customer must know that what we say we can do, we will do to the best of our ability.”
Protective Coatings, which lines pipes and tanks to prevent corrosion, must be delivering on those promises, because it's growing at impressive rates. According to Murrell, sales were about $5 million in 2011 but about $11 million in 2012 and 2013. Employment has grown from 25 in 2011 to 42 today.
New technologies have helped the company cut labor-intensive steps from its manufacturing process, boosting productivity and allowing speedier delivery. And it upgraded processes to allow it to line the inside of much longer pipes, which helps customers reduce their installation costs.
The company started in 1958 and was originally focused only on lining tanks. That's a cyclical business, so the company found related areas in which to expand. It now provides molded rubber parts, specialized belts and single-ply rubber roofing systems, among other things.
It has stuck with its Indiana location, though. “Indiana is a business-friendly state,” Murrell says. “Whenever we have had an opportunity to expand our business, we have been afforded the chance to make our case to the government agencies that have oversight, and they have helped open the right avenues to allow us to expand in a timely fashion.”
Royal Excursion
Want to get where you're going safely and in style? Shannon Kaser's company can help. Kaser is president of Royal Excursion in Mishawaka, which offers motorcoach transportation for executive groups, sports teams, families and just about any other kind of group. The company will also give you a lift from South Bend, Mishawaka or Elkhart to the Four Winds Casino for a couple of bucks.
Royal Excursion was founded in 1988 and maintains a fleet of motorcoaches, limos, SUVs and cars that can provide transportation for groups of varying sizes. It built upon its business by offering event packages, such as a “Mystery Tour” in October and a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., next May.
According to Kaser, the company had revenues of $25,000 its first year, by 2005 had moved the decimal point two places over for $2.5 million revenues, and was up to $9 million last year. It grew from a single employee in 1998 to 120 last year.
It's those people that make the difference, Kaser says. Yes, its vehicles are luxurious, but “we rarely get feedback on our high-end equipment–90 percent of the time it is about our people. Customers come back because of the relationships they build with quality people that care.”
Indiana's central location is a great advantage, too, for a company that relies on ground transportation. “We are in a good part of the country,” says Kaser. “We can travel almost anywhere in a day. This gives customers the opportunity to use our services over air travel and other transportation means.”
Sportula Products
Take one guess what the company called Sportula Products makes. Yes, it's really what it sounds like. It may never have occurred to you that there's big money in spatulas carrying the logos of sports teams, but it's certainly working out for David Bazzoni, president of parent company iDNA Brands.
The Warsaw company has a product catalog celebrating different sports teams from Indiana and Purdue universities to Notre Dame to select NASCAR teams to all major league baseball, football and hockey teams. There are also specialty spatulas for moms, dads, firefighters, police and people from Texas. Beyond spatulas, there are complete sets of barbecue tools as well as coasters.
“We live out our dreams because we have the right people to make those dreams a reality,” Bazzoni says. Those dreams are getting bigger all the time, he adds. “In 2014, we will double our annual revenue to approximately $30 million.”
StrataShops
These days there are many home decor ideas passed around on websites such as Pinterest, among many others, and a lot of the ideas are focusing on higher-end outdoor settings. Buyers are not only doing their furniture research online, they're more and more comfortable making their actual furniture purchases from their computers, too.
Enter StrataShops. The Elkhart company founded in 2008 runs a family of several online shops that focus on furniture, much of it for outdoor use but plenty for indoor comfort, too. To name a few, WickerCentral.com has all-weather wicker furniture, TheLivingQuarters.com features various kinds of casual patio and indoor furniture, and StoneCrestFurniture.com specializes in furniture made of recycled plastic. And, with the holidays coming up, there'll be a lot more traffic perusing the company's ChristmasEveTrees.com selection of artificial Christmas trees and accessories.
StrataShops is a slim operation. That's because it partners with vendors that can ship directly to customers rapidly and at reasonable prices–there's no inventory at all. Employment has moved from seven in 2012 to an expected 10 this year. Founder and president John Webber has a decade of experience in web and business development, getting his start with a maker of hacky sacks and moving into web development and Internet marketing.
Union Station Technology Center
Kevin Smith has long had an interest in South Bend's Union Station. After he graduated from Notre Dame in the late 1970s, he bought the no-longer-used property to house his family business, Deluxe Sheet Metal. The business moved into the freight part of the station, and Smith renovated the passenger side to host events.
But though passenger rail traffic had faded, a new kind of traffic moved in during the late 1980s–communications and data traffic, handled by carriers that needed a place to add and drop traffic and boost signals. By 2003, the business had evolved into Global Access Point, a hub for digital information serving data centers and others in need of its state-of-the-art connections. Lots of fiber runs through South Bend, making it an ideal geographic location for a hub like this.
Expect lots more growth, as the company's services continue to expand. The company purchased property at the nearby former Studebaker plant, where Smith hopes to grow a first-class technology center.
