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1999 FAST 50 Winners
A-I | J-R | S-Z
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AeroTech Service Group Inc.
Secure extranet solution provider
George Brill
President
12208 Missouri Bottom Road
Hazelwood, MO 63042
314/895-4555
www.aerotechsg.com
Need to allow certain customers, vendors, patients or contractors access to part of the company’s intranet system, but not the entire network? Call AeroTech. The 8-year-old firm provides software development and support that allows companies to offer secure portals to intranet systems. AeroTech offers four software products of its own: a secure gateway system, a control accounts package, a centralized web authentication system and an electronic bidding system. “We then customize our products and integrate them to meet specific client needs,” notes George Brill, president.
Its main account is Boeing, but AeroTech is working on a pilot program with a hospital group in Ohio to use its system for central accessing into the hospital’s network. AeroTech also has formed partnerships with companies in Finland, England and the Netherlands. These joint ventures are separate entities to AeroTech’s St. Louis office and offer the company the opportunity to expand its client base and services. AeroTech has 16 employees in St. Louis and one remote employee in Phoenix.
A first-time winner last year, AeroTech reached number 11 on the local FAST 50 list and number 393 on Forbes’ FAST 500.
Alliance Systems & Programming, Inc.
RCGA Member
Web-enabling systems support
Robert A. Howard
President
1755 Larkin Williams
St. Louis, MO 63026
314/349-4434
www.alliancesys.com
Last year Robert Howard, president, would have said the company focused on systems design and development for major clients such as the University of Kentucky, Toyota, Moog Industries and Mallinckrodt. The company still does that very successfully, but its core services lately are geared toward the Internet and e-commerce.
As a certified Lotus Notes provider, Alliance offers web-enabling systems for companies such as Rawlings Sporting Goods. Last year when Rawlings wanted to promote its commemorative Mark McGwire bat online, it turned to Alliance to develop the system that could handle the thousands of web-site hits and bat orders. Lotus Notes also allows Alliance to set up collaborative computing stations for companies as well as offering online teaching tools.
Howard credits his 65 employees with the company’s success and notes only one lost employee in the last year—a rarity in the technology field. Alliance ranked 13th last year on the FAST 50, its first time on the list, and number 422 on Forbes’ Fast 500. Howard and Bob Jung founded the company in 1992.
Bradford & Galt, Inc.
RCGA Member
Information systems consulting and staffing
Brad Layton
President
12400 Olive Blvd., Suite 430
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/434-9200
www.bradfordandgalt.com
With five offices throughout middle America—Overland Park, Kan.; Oak Brook, Ill.; Irving, Texas; Peoria, Ill.; and St. Louis—Bradford & Galt is focusing its energies on expanding its services in those underutilized markets instead of expanding to new markets to fuel its impressive growth. Brad Layton, president, predicts the company can double its revenues by concentrating on those five markets. The company has 285 employees, 125 of whom are at its St. Louis headquarters.
Most of Bradford & Galt’s business centers on IT consulting. The remainder aids clients with IT staffing needs. In the past year, Layton realized that to keep his good employees from moving to client companies, he needed to analyze what kept the employees happy. “We recently went through a four-month program that analyzed our benefits,” he notes.
Layton says the St. Louis market is experiencing increased competition from national IT firms moving in, but he expects his company to be on the FAST 50 again next year. Last year the company ranked 22nd on the list.
Bridge Information Systems, Inc.
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Stock trading, network systems and market data
Tom Wendel
Chairman & CEO
717 Office Parkway
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/567-8100
www.bridge.com
Bridge is the largest provider of financial information in North America. Founded in 1974, the company’s three main business areas include financial information and news products; trading and transaction services; and network services. With offices in St. Louis and New York, Bridge offers the financial industry comprehensive stock market data, in-depth news and analytic tools by compiling data from more than 50 exchanges, 450 news and research sources, and 3,000 banks, dealers and other contributors. Top money managers, portfolio managers, traders and the media use Bridge services.
With more than 4,500 employees, the company services customers around the globe. Every day more than 250,000 investment professionals in more than 100 countries use Bridge products and services. The company’s technological and trading backbone is headquartered in Creve Coeur.
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Above: Shri Thanedar, Ph.D., president, Chemir/Polytech Laboratories, Inc.
Chemir/Polytech Laboratories, Inc.
RCGA Member
Materials identification specialists
Shri Thanedar, Ph.D.
President
2672 Metro Blvd.
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
314/291-6620
www.chemir.com
More than 4,000 customers worldwide use Chemir/Polytech’s unique service—troubleshooting problems that may be chemically based. The company’s 10 Ph.D.s in chemistry, along with its 20 other employees, analyze materials for identification, testing and deformulation.
Chemir/Polytech typically assists companies in times of crisis—why is the paint not adhering to the surface, why is the pharmaceutical drug changing color over time, why does my competitor have the same product even though its patented? These questions Chemir can answer. Through state-of-the-art testing facilities, the latest in chemical analysis and old-fashioned problem solving, the company helps clients solve complex problems. Analysis is conducted on plastics, pharmaceuticals, surfactants, inks, rubbers, coatings, polymers, oils, adhesives, composites and paints.
In the last year, Chemir expanded its services to include litigation support. The company’s chemists present testing data and conclusions to juries in cases involving product failure, personal injury, product liability or patent infringement. According to Shri Thanedar, Ph.D., president, the company is looking to buy small labs in a 200 to 300 mile radius around St. Louis to continue its growth. Ranked 27th last year, the company is a three-time FAST 50 winner. Thanedar was also named 1999 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Industrial Services category.
Conference Technologies, Inc. (CTI)
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Telecommunication solution provider for presentations
Dennis Woodhouse
President & CEO
11804 Borman Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146
314/993-1400
www.conferencetech.com
Last but not least in 1998 at number 50, Conference Technologies is still creating high-tech environments for some major clients—Boeing, Peabody, Lucent and D’Arcy. The company consults, designs and engineers award-winning conference, presentation and training facilities throughout the United States. Its in-house conference facility allows smaller companies the luxury of a high-tech, executive boardroom and presentation center without the high-price expense of building one in-house. Over the previous 12 months, Conference Technologies has expanded its services to include engineering systems to support litigation activities.
The company is still growing, but Dennis Woodhouse, president, notes that its biggest challenge in maintaining that growth is “keeping abreast of the changes in technology and keeping our sales team focused.” He also says Conference Technologies constantly works to improve its business process “to make our jobs more efficient and improve our customer satisfaction.”
Founded in 1988, the company has 16 employees. Woodhouse credits his employees with the company’s success. “It works because our wonderful team of employees respects our vision and our customers. They have a desire to satisfy our customers,” he notes.
Conley & Associates, Inc.
Technical documentation & electronic system integration
Cecilia J. Conley
President and CEO
910 Kehrs Mill Road, Ste. 111
Ballwin, MO 63011
314/230-0234
www.commo.com
The husband-and-wife team of Jim and Cecilia Conley has ridden the waves of success and almost drowned due to government cutbacks. But the duo has weathered the topsy-turvy world of integrating communication systems for the U.S. Army and Boeing. Their biggest project in the last year was installing GPS communication devices on all Army sea-going vessels. The ‘radio man’ is history and satellite navigation and communication is the future for the military and its contractors.
Things have rebounded so quickly for the company that it is expanding its Virginia office and will open an office in Atlanta later this year. The key to its successful sailing of rough times was Conley’s recent certification by the government as a Small Disadvantaged Business 8 (a). “We’ll see an increase in government business,” Cecilia notes.
In addition to systems integration work for the military and its contractors, the company also provides technical writing and documentation support. A first-timer to the list last year, Conley & Associates ranked 14 locally and 444 nationally. According to a hand-held GPS device, Conley is located at North 38 degrees and 36.327 minutes by West 90 degrees and 33.866 minutes (or Ballwin).
Cornerstone Solutions Group
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Custom software developer
Arnie Sprunger
President
12400 Olive Blvd., Ste. 505
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/469-9910
www.csgsolutions.com
A four-time FAST 50 winner and ranked 34th last year, Cornerstone Solutions Group doesn’t want to be the largest software engineering company on the list, just the best. “We don’t want to be a big company, we want to be a good company handling challenging projects,” notes Arnie Sprunger, president.
The company split in two last year, forming Librix, which produces and markets Internet-based performance support systems for clients who offer online training and assessment. Cornerstone, meanwhile, stays focused on designing and developing custom software. The company’s 16 employees work mainly with St. Louis companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Mallinckrodt. “We’re a family oriented company,” Sprunger remarks. Ninety-five percent of software development is engineered in its West County office to minimize travel.
Founded in 1989 by four partners, Cornerstone is still a Microsoft Certified Solutions Provider.
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Above: John D. Ward, vice president sales and marketing and Jake Amir, president, Data Management Consultants, Inc.
Data Management Consultants, Inc. (DMCI)
RCGA Member
Professional systems developer
Jake Amir
President
11330 Olive Street, Ste. 300
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/997-5728
www.dmci-usa.com
Another four-time winner, Data Management Consultants ranked 10th on the list last year and 365th nationally. Founded in 1985, the 14-year-old firm has outgrown three office spaces. Currently employing more than 100 software developers and support staff, the company has expanded its services in the last year by enlarging its development center.
"Through our in-house development center, we can offer a better solution to our customers that is faster and less costly,” states Jake Amir, president. In addition, it purchased, installed and trained its employees on the new SAP system. This software ties together all of a company’s financial information such as accounting, logistics, warehousing and human resources. Amir says SAP targets middle market companies ($50 million to $200 million), and he believes his company should use the software program it installs and integrates for clients.
Concerned with attracting and retaining quality employees (as are the other 49 winners), Amir works hard to keep employees happy and challenged. He relays that the IT consulting industry states that an average consultant’s tenure at a company is 15 months, especially on the coasts. “The bottom line is if the company treats the employees right, gives them challenging work and offers competitive salaries and benefits, you can keep them,” he says.
Daugherty Systems
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Software application developer
Ron Daugherty
President
One CityPlace Dr., Ste. 240
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/432-8200
www.daugherty.com
Ranked 36th last year, Daugherty Systems employs almost 400 people who work everyday to deliver a business result using information technology. Ron Daugherty says his company keeps reaching its goals and achieving successes because of its hybrid business model. His model includes creating a development center in the company’s four offices that allow people to work where they live; hiring top talent from the Big 5 who are tired of traveling and reducing travel from 80 percent of a consultant’s time to 20 percent.
“We bring more business into St. Louis this way while keeping costs under control,” he states. “It also creates a business opportunity for local people and it’s a great recruitment tool.” The company is also investing heavily in organizational capabilities by building professional practices, hiring senior people and investing in workers.
The company’s new focus has helped it land a major client—the third-largest bank in Brazil. Daugherty is developing a virtual credit card for the bank’s clients as well as a web-enabled help desk. In addition, Daugherty recently purchased a software company from Anheuser-Busch. The software developed there supports the brewery’s beer wholesalers. Daugherty will rebuild the system to take it beyond A-B applications to others in the beverage industry as well as consumer packaged goods industry.
Digital Concepts of Missouri, Inc.
RCGA Member
Designer and builder of electronic control devices
Paul Decker
President
13789 Rider Trail North, Ste. 101
Earth City, MO 63045
314/770-1636
www.digitalcpt.com
Digital Concepts provides the sizzle to fitness devices such as treadmills, steppers and exercise bikes. Paul Decker’s company designs electronic consoles and motor controls that tell an exercise enthusiast his or her speed, heart rate, time, distance and level of workout. In the pool and spa control industry, Digital’s systems pinpoint what chemicals are needed, check the water flow and determine the age of the filter. Decker notes that his company is growing because baby boomers have the disposable income to pay for the electronic add-ons and are very health conscious.
Decker says Digital is expanding beyond the fitness, pool and spa industries. “There are a lot of good mechanical products with electronic capabilities,” he says. Eventually, Decker predicts all mechanical products will have some sort of electronic feature.
The company, ranked 12th last year, 403rd nationally and will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in early 2000. Its 100 employees are located in St. Louis, where the prototypes are designed and engineered, and in Juarez, Mexico, where the products are manufactured.
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Above: Jim Hattrup, general manager, Fast Technology Group.
Fast Technology Group
RCGA Member
Industrial systems integration and factory automation
Jim Hattrup
General manager
19 Kettle River Dr.
Glen Carbon, IL 62034
618/692-9797
Fast Technology Group serves manufacturers and large industrial firms throughout the United States with quality engineering services and high-tech control systems that are custom designed to automate plant-floor manufacturing process and machinery, states Jim Hattrup, general manager. The only Illinois company on the FAST 50, Fast Technology Group is a four-time winner that reached number 29 last year.
Located in Glen Carbon, the 12-year-old company employs 41 people. Hattrup, which co-founded the company with his brother Joe, attributes three factors to the company’s continued success: maintaining satisfied customers by delivering high-quality control systems that maximize return on investment, leading to repeat customers; identifying specific niche market segments for custom control systems that have the potential of turning into standard, repeatable control systems (such as food and beverage, automotive, material handling, water treatment, commercial print and component product identification); and developing talented personnel.
A new area the company entered last year is the aircraft industry. Fast Technology Group Product Identification Control System identifies thousands of holes on the aircraft with military specifications and ID numbering. This previously had been a manual process. The company’s continued growth is forcing it to expand its facilities by an additional 30 percent.
First Class Solutions, Inc.
Network and communication support
Ray Dunn
President
2060 Concourse Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146
314/997-8998
www.FirstClassSolutions.net
A FAST 50 newcomer, First Class Solutions provides Internet and ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) access, network and communications support, server hoteling, web site design and hosting, and computer network installation and support. The company also has a health-care consulting division that provides support to health-care facilities nationwide.
Ray Dunn founded the company as a partnership in 1988, because he was tired of working for others. The company incorporated two years later and Dunn attributes its success to providing service, quality and value to its customers. “Our clients know they will receive personalized service from our staff,” he remarks. The company employs 45 people.
First Class Solutions is one of the few in the region that offers ADSL technology, a high-speed, point-to-point digital Internet connection using the telephone. This technology provides Internet access at speeds up to 10 times faster than ISDN technology. Dunn says the challenge in continuing the company’s growth is hiring qualified staff who are customer oriented, keeping up with the fast pace of technology and “finding enough hours in the day to do everything!”
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Above: Thomas S. Kuntz, president of Image Technologies Corp.
Image Technologies Corp.
RCGA Member
Multi-media presentation and control booth designer
Thomas S. Kuntz
President
523 Hanley Industrial Court
St. Louis, MO 63144
314/646-1800
www.imagetechnologies.com
Need a system to automate and control an F18 air show? How about a new product introduction using multiple screens and the latest in multi-media technology? Image Technologies may be the one to call. New to the FAST 50 list, the 5-year-old company has 17 core people who focus on staging corporate meetings, special events, new product introductions and exhibit designs. Image Technologies uses the latest in 3D technology, multi-screen imaging and computer graphics.
“We provide high-end technological solutions for our clients,” states Tom Kuntz, president. The company does most of its work outside of the St. Louis area for clients such as Sprint, Hallmark, Nortel and Cisco. It is exploring Kansas City and Atlanta for expansion opportunities. Image Technologies is also expanding its art department, offering turnkey services for its clients. In addition, the company rents state-of-the-art graphic equipment, projectors and multi-media technology to a variety of customers.
Kuntz worked 14 years at Busch Creative Services before starting Image Technologies in August 1995. The company recently purchased its building on Hanley Industrial Court.
Impact Technologies, Inc.
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Software developer and exporter of intellectual technology
Bryan Baehr
President
1807 Park 270, Ste. 120
St. Louis, MO 63146
314/576-2661
www.impacttech.com
A stalwart on the FAST 50 list for four years running, Impact Technologies focused its business in the last year on four main areas: network management (reselling off-the-shelf products from Cisco and Siemens), directory services (creating meta directories that interact with a company’s other directories and databases), customer relationship product (call centers) and technology usability assurance (testing for serviceability requirements and market acceptance).
The company’s motto is to deliver to clients integrated solutions with impact. Its services combine telecommunications, systems development and business expertise. Its continued success allowed Impact Technologies to build a new facility in Chesterfield Valley and open an office in Chicago. “We’re looking to establish other offices throughout the Midwest,” notes Bryan Baehr, president.
Founded in 1990 with two partners, the company has 40 employees and ranked 30th last year on the FAST 50. Baehr notes that in this volatile technology job market, Impact has lost just one engineer in nine years.
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Above: Louis Hawn, president & chief executive officer of Insight Technology Group.
Insight Technology Group
RCGA Member
Technology Gateway Member
Software architects
Louis Hawn
President & CEO
3401 Hollenberg Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63044
314/344-5007
www.itglink.com
Number one on the FAST 50 list in 1998 and number 6 on the FAST 500, Insight Technology may not be able to keeps its record revenue increase of almost 30,000% year after year, but it’s still going strong. Louis Hawn and Tom Hill founded the company in 1993 and haven’t looked back. Hawn says the greatest reward of running the business is “watching our clients succeed with new business models such as e-business and e-commerce. I enjoy the challenges of making new technologies practical.”
With 30 software projects actively underway nationwide for telecommunications, insurance and financial services, and Department of Defense clients, the company still has enough resources (100 employees) to handle local work for Southwestern Bell, Monsanto, General American and Mercantile.
In the past year, the company has focused on the web. “As companies migrate their software to the web, Insight is challenged to stay on top of the new technologies,” Hawn remarks. “We must fully understand the potential of these technologies to provide clients with maximum benefit.” He says to continue its growth, the company must build and maintain its reputation on a national level.
InTeCon
RCGA Member
Information technology consulting
Jon E. Jensen
President
10820 Sunset Office Dr., Ste. 130
St. Louis, MO 63127
314/821-3300
www.intecon-inc.com
Another four-time winner, InTeCon ranked number 16 locally and number 488 nationally in 1998. The company started in 1990 providing consulting services in the IT arena. It now offers staff augmentation through its professional services division and e-business solutions through its enterprise solutions division.
InTeCon expanded this past year by acquiring Lakeville Engineering, an Internet professional services company. InTeCon is looking to grow through acquisitions of like-minded organizations. “It’s our goal to become the first choice of Midwest businesses seeking professional technology services,” states Jon Jensen, president. The name InTeCon is derived from information technology consulting and was coined by Jensen’s wife Tammy, vice president of operations.
Jensen says long-term relationships have been the cornerstone of the company’s success, with both employees and clients. “We are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their business objectives. To this end, we look to hire only the highest caliber people,” he remarks. The company has offices in Overland Park, Kan., and Minneapolis.
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