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2001 St. Louis Regional
Fast 50 Technology awards
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2001
FAST 50 Winners
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Karpel Computer
Systems
Custom software developer
Jeff Karpel
President and CEO
5520 Telegraph Rd., Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63129
314/892-6300
www.karpel.com
A three-time FAST 50 winner, Karpel Computer Systems is a custom
software developer that is certified as a Microsoft Solutions Provider,
IBM AS/400 Business Partner and Oracle Alliance Business Partner.
Recent custom solutions include the design and development of: an
extensive 2000 user intranet site for the largest construction company
in the Midwest; a complete manufacturing software application that
runs on a wide area network of more than 200 clients using multiple
Windows NT servers; a purchasing information warehouse for a dental
cooperative that gathers the purchasing information from its members
throughout the United States and Canada; and one of the largest
construction industry finance distribution systems in the St. Louis
area.
With approximately 20 employees, Jeff Karpel, president, says flexibility
is the key to the company’s success over the last 15 years and expects
to have a better 2001 than 2000. “We’re still busy and that’s because
we have quality people that our clients enjoy working with,” he
states.
LiveWire Media
Interactive solutions provider
Don Christy
President and CEO
4814 Washington Blvd., Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63108
314/361-8500
www.LWM.com
A FAST 50 newcomer, LiveWire Media started in 1994 as one of the
region’s first technology companies focusing exclusively on Internet
development. According to president Don Christy, the company has
expanded its services to include intranet sites as well.
“As we go forward, our expertise in health care communications as
it relates to both Internet and intranet web sites is becoming a
real niche for us,” he notes. Christy founded the company with Joe
O’Brien, COO, and now employs more than 20 professionals working
for clients such as BJC Healthcare, Anheuser-Busch, Dow Corning,
and Samsung Semiconductor. As a testament to LiveWire’s success,
Buck Consultants, an international human resources consulting company,
recently acquired a minority share of the company.
“Teaming up with Buck allows us to provide their clients with our
specialized human resources expertise and sophisticated website
solutions,” Christy states.
LSi — Lowery
Systems, Inc.
IBM solutions providers
Daniel J. Lowery
President
1329 Horan Dr.
Fenton, MO 63026
636/349-4556
www.lsistl.com
A FAST 50 newcomer, LSi was founded in 1989 as an IBM software and
hardware provider and a Premier IBM Business Partner. The company
employs more than 50 people and became the only firm in the region
to house an IBM Total Storage Solution Center (TSSC). Storage area
networks (SANs), such as IBM’s, are the latest trend in the computer
industry. “Companies continuously need storage capacity and this
need is resistant to economic downturns,” notes Dan Lowery, president
and former mayor of Shrewsbury.
In addition to its IBM focus, LSi also wrote and currently sells
and upgrades Equipment Rental software for the construction industry.
Fueling its recent growth was the 1999 acquisition of Team Centric,
which provides Lotus Notes sales and support to the IBM mix. Another
key to the company’s success, Lowery says, is “delivering to our
customers what they need and being the best at it.” Lowery, who
started working for IBM in 1973 as a new account salesman, showcases
his collection of IBM memorabilia in his company’s lobby.
Above: Maryville
Technologies is a three-time FAST 50 winner and also ranked 268
in the national FAST 500. (Above): Joseph M. Blomker, president.
Maryville Technologies
Software developer
Joseph M. Blomker
President
540 Maryville Centre, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63141
636/519-4100
www.maryville.com
Maryville Technologies recently reached a milestone. In January,
it held its first company-wide sales meeting in the firm’s seven-year
history. Fueling its growth exclusively by customer referrals, Maryville
is now going to the next level in its development. “We have built
a phenomenal foundation. We have been adding sales resources and
recently hired a VP of Sales to leverage our success,” states Joe
Blomker, president.
The company, which employs more than 160 people, has nine offices
throughout the central United States (St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis,
Chicago, Dallas, Omaha, Des Moines, Tulsa and Milwaukee) and boasts
such clients as AG Edwards, Charter Communications, MasterCard and
Sprint PCS. Maryville Technologies is a leading information technology
engineering firm that provides enterprise systems design, integration
and optimization. The company’s core practice lines are enterprise
management, information technology infrastructure, technology training,
and application deployment and integration. Founded in 1994, Maryville
is a three-time FAST 50 winner.
The Mattson
Jack Group (MJG)
Custom consulting to the health-care industry
Bill Mattson
President
Bill Jack
CEO
11960 Westline Industrial Dr., Ste. 180
St. Louis, MO 63146
314/469-7600
www.mattsonjack.com
The Mattson Jack Group reached two milestones this year—it celebrated
its 15th anniversary and its sixth consecutive year on the FAST
50 list. MJG is a growth strategy consulting firm serving the pharmaceutical
and biotech industries around the world. Its pharmaceutical clients
include Aventis, Pharmacia and AstraZeneca. Bioventure clients include
Agouron, Cephalon and Ligand. Since inception in 1986, the company
has completed projects for more than 400 companies, such as: identification
of the potential of new products/technologies; market modeling of
therapeutic classes and product opportunities; optimal development/commercial
plans for new products in the United States, Europe, and Japan;
assessment of the potential for several unique drug delivery systems;
and acquisition initiatives in the United States for foreign clients.
Employing 85 people around the world (St. Louis, Kansas City, Northern
New Jersey, Philadelphia, Phoenix, London and Tokyo), the company
is expecting 40-plus percent revenue growth this year and doesn’t
feel a pinch from the economic slowdown. “We haven’t suffered an
economic slowdown in our industry,” notes Bill Mattson, president.
“I’ve been in the pharma industry for 30 plus years, and I’ve never
seen a bad year.”
MAVERICK Technologies
Manufacturing integration and IT consulting
Paul Galeski
Chairman and CEO
141 Market Place Drive, Suite 202
Fairview Heights, IL 62208
618/398-9133
www.mavtech.cc
MAVERICK Technologies is a full-service systems integration firm
providing plant floor automation solutions and information technology
consulting and software development. Through its industrial automation
division, the company develops solutions for clients’ enterprise
automation requirements, and through its IT division, it provides
a wide range of consulting services. The trademarked MAVERICK i2i
Process enables corporate and manufacturing divisions of companies
to work together by bringing shared vision and integration to engineering
and IT, providing information solutions from the plant floor to
the annual report.
The company attributes its process with excellent customer satisfaction.
“I am very proud of the fact that our customer satisfaction surveys
have ranked virtually every project that we have executed as outstanding,”
states Paul Galeski, chairman and CEO. MAVERICK currently employs
approximately 100 engineers and IT professionals in Fairview Heights,
Ill. (headquarters), Chesterfield, Houston, Los Angeles, Portland
and Seattle.
Metaphase
Design Group
Ergonomic product design
Bryce Rutter, Ph.D.
CEO
12 S. Hanley
Clayton, MO 63105
314/721-0700
www.metaphase.com
A four-time FAST 50 winner, Metaphase designs handheld products.
Known as the hand specialists worldwide, Metaphase’s recent projects
include designing the steering and control systems for a John Deere
bulldozer, performing the ergonomics testing on the Venus triple
blade shaver for Gillette and designing the grip on an Oral B toothbrush.
Past projects include designing the ergonomic mouse for Microsoft,
the Edge bottle for Gatorade and the Allegro pots and pans for Mirro.
Bryce Rutter, CEO, says companies are paying more attention now
to ergonomics, in addition to size, when manufacturing a product.
“Companies have the ability to make things smaller, but can they
work?” Rutter asks. Metaphase analyzes how customers use cell phones
or brush their teeth or cook before starting the design process.
Using covert and overt observation, Rutter says Metaphase designers
can watch how people really use products versus how they say they
use products.
Miken Computer
Co.
VAR and network integrator
Michael J. Smith, Ph.D.
President
7790 Watson Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63119
314/961-0501
www.mikencomputer.com
A two-time FAST 50 winner, Miken Computer Co. was founded in December
1987 by Mike Smith, president. The company focuses on four key services:
consulting services for clients that need a new network installation
or upgrade of an existing network; support to minimize clients’
non-productive time; service and repair work of laptop and desktop
PCs, servers, mid-range computers, monitors and printers; and designing
custom computers through its affiliations with Compaq, Hewlett Packard,
IBM, Microsoft and Novell.
The company’s nine full-time employees and numerous consultants
work with small- to mid-range clients. That market, Smith says,
appreciates more what the company can bring to the table. The reason
Miken Computer has been on the list the last two years? “Hard work,
dedication and keeping your eye on the ball will get you good results,”
Smith states.
Above: Brenda
D. Newberry, president & CEO, The Newberry Group, founded the FAST
50 newcomer in 1996.
The Newberry
Group, Inc
IT consulting and project management
Brenda D. Newberry
President and CEO
2440 Executive Dr., Suite 208
St. Charles, MO 63303
636/928-9944
www.thenewberrygrp.com
Founded in 1996 in her home after successful positions with the
U.S. Air Force, McDonnell Douglas and MasterCard, Brenda Newberry’s,
The Newberry Group, has grown to more than 50 employees who specialize
in IT and systems consulting services, application development,
LAN/WAN planning, design and implementation, staff augmentation,
training and project services. A FAST 50 newcomer, the company has
received numerous awards last year alone including the St. Louis
Minority Business Enterprise of the Year, Bank of America Excellence
in Small Business and Alternate St. Louis District Minority Small
Business Person of the Year.
The self-financed company has been successful, Newberry believes,
because she’s proven herself to clients. “What I learned in the
Air Force and in the corporate world is that performance is what
matters at the end of the day,” she notes. Clients include the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Ralston Purina, The Weather Channel,
Citicorp and Unisys.
Oakwood Systems
Group, Inc.
Information technology consulting
Robyn Feigenbaum
President
Two CityPlace Dr., Suite 10
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/824-3000
www.oakwoodsys.com
A five-time FAST 50 winner, Oakwood Systems Group celebrated its
20th anniversary this summer. With 80 employees at its St. Louis
headquarters and Chicago office, the company has experienced 30
percent growth every year it has been on the list. However, says
Robyn Feigenbaum, president, “The last two quarters have been the
best we’ve seen, period.” The reason? Clients return to Oakwood
project after project. “We’re offering wider services to our clients.
We’re less contingent on technology and more on services such as
SRM, wireless and document management. We have a strong reputation
already; clients know what we can do,” she says. Oakwood’s mission
is to serve as a single source business partner for large and middle
market clients.
The company’s core strength is its employees. Oakwood boasts a higher-than-industry
average on employee retention. Feigenbaum says that helps the company
“deliver in a time to market type approach,” which helps clients
achieve their business objectives and quicker return on investment.
Optitek, Inc.
Information management
Stephen B. DeVaney
CEO
2001 S. Hanley Rd., Suite 250
St. Louis, MO 63144
314/644-2880
www.optitekinc.com
Optitek, a three-time FAST 50 winner, is an integrator of business
information using new methods for information management that speed
up access to and the sharing of information. The company is experiencing
its best year since it was founded in 1992. It just opened its second
office in Chicago. “In both locations, we will be offering our clients
the option of using our ASP services wherein all software and electronic
document management tools will be available over the Internet without
having to install and support a system internally,” states Steve
DeVaney, CEO. The company’s employees have doubled to more than
50 in the last year.
DeVaney feels Optitek’s services are critical for clients’ competitive
edge. “Our clientele is any business enterprise that requires information
found on paper. Paper is the media that has been used for centuries
to store and share information and now that we are in an Information
Era, the dissemination of that information both internally and externally
from the enterprise is an absolute requirement to stay competitive,”
he notes.
Quilogy
Digital consulting/advanced hosting/technical education
Randy Schilling
President and CEO
117 S. Main
St. Charles, MO 63301
636/947-9393
www.quilogy.com
Quilogy’s goal is to be the leading provider of IT services to mid-sized
companies in middle markets, says Randy Schilling, president and
CEO. The company he founded in 1992 has grown from a handful of
employees and one office to more than 400 employees and 16 offices
throughout the United States.
A five-time FAST 50 winner, the company recently went through a
name change to better reflect its services. “We’ve always been known
for our technology, but we wanted to be known for solving business
problems using emerging technologies as well,” Schilling says. In
addition, a company in California was also using the old name, Solutech.
So, instead of fighting for the name after the St. Charles-based
Solutech opened two offices there, Schilling decided it was time
to re-brand itself. “We wanted a name that reflected our new slogan—the
Art and Science of Business—and we think we found it with Quilogy,”
he notes. His son helped develop the name by picking quill to be
the artistic part of the new slogan. Schilling brought that idea
back to the office and the staff finished off the new moniker by
adding “logy” to signify logic or the science aspect of business.
Rapid Development
Services, Inc.
Robotic solutions provider
Leon Gurevich
President
18421 Edison Ave.
Chesterfield, MO 63005
636/519-1444
www.rapidds.com
A FAST 50 newcomer, Rapid Development Services’ more than 20 employees
build products using new technologies that help clients manufacture
products faster, safer and cheaper. “We’ve developed a process—Robo-mation—that
makes the manufacturing process happen in a shorter turnaround time,”
states Leon Gurevich, president. The company uses robotics to do
simple tasks multiple times. Robo-mation is able to handle high-rate,
high-volume assembly applications normally done by hard-tooled,
dedicated equipment. “Our process keeps costs down because robots
last longer and achieve higher rates of assembly without fast motion,”
Gurevich says.
The company has implemented more than 100 complex, robotic assembly
and manufacturing systems worldwide. Clients using the company’s
Robo-mation process include Anheuser-Busch, Monsanto, Alcoa, Johnson
& Johnson and CTS. RDS works in four consumer product industries—medical/pharmaceutical,
electronics, food and consumer/cosmetics.
Above:
Rose International made the FAST 50 list for the 4th time and also
ranked 90 on the national FAST 500. (Below): Himanshu “Sue” Bhatia,
CEO.
Rose International
Software development and consulting
Himanshu “Sue” Bhatia
CEO
16401 Swingley Rd., Ste. 300
Chesterfield, MO 63017
636/532-3126
www.roseint.com
The fastest growing company on the 2000 FAST 50 list and number
two in 1999, Rose International is a leader in providing information
technology consulting and software development services to both
commercial and governmental organizations nationwide. With 285 employees
at 17 locations around the United States, the company services such
clients as Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
State of Missouri, Chevron, Toyota and Maritz.
Even though the company has grown quickly, it has been able to weather
the economic slowdown with relative ease. “Fortunately we’ve always
managed Rose conservatively, ensuring our growth through many incremental
investments, rather than fewer ‘bet-the-farm’ large investments,”
states Himanshu Bhatia, CEO. ”This approach affords us the opportunity
to change course quickly. When the slowdown became very apparent
late last summer, we began to make adjustments regarding our future
investments and became reticent to supporting the existing efforts
only.” The company recently implemented a stock bonus program that
Bhatia says, “draws the team even closer as Rose employees from
California to Georgia work toward a common goal.”
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