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WIRE, CABLE AND FIBER OPTIC MANUFACTURER
C. Baker Cunningham, Chairman, President & CEO
7701 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 800
St. Louis, MO 63105
314/854-8000
www.belden.com
The oldest company on the Top 50 list, Belden Inc. (NYSE:BWC) is
celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. Founded in 1902
as a silk-coated copper wire producer used in telephone switches,
today it is a leading manufacturer of advanced wire, cable and fiber
optic products. The world’s foremost technology companies use Belden’s
products to build Internet, intranet, and communications networks,
automate manufacturing processes, and build state-of-the-art audio/video
and recording studios. For example, all of Cisco Technologies’ internal
cable networks are Belden wire.
The secret to its success, says Baker Cunningham, chairman, president
and CEO, is three-fold. “We stuck to what we know how to do, we
work to build today what our customers will need tomorrow, and we
stick to the basics,” he states. Belden was the first to market
with ethernet cables, fiber optic cables for industrial applications,
enhanced category networking cables, and multimedia twisted pair
products, just to name a few. The company has slightly less than
5,000 employees worldwide working in manufacturing facilities in
the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, Hungary, and the Netherlands,
and in distribution centers in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia,
and the Netherlands.
Belden was last seen in the Top 50 in 1997.
MATERIALS INDENTIFICATION SPECIALISTS
Shri Thanedar, Ph.D., CEO
2672 Metro Blvd.
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
314/291-6620
www.chemir.com
Experiencing 25 percent growth and adding more than $1 million in
revenues in 2001 with the purchase of Industrial Testing Labs, Chemir/Polytech
is poised to be the nation’s leader in chemical analysis and testing.
The company works for clients worldwide offering such services as
materials identification, deformulation, polymer testing, failure
analysis, litigation support, pharmaceutical analysis, and competitive
product analysis.
Chemir/Polytech’s 20,000-square-foot modern laboratory facility
is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation in the areas of
microscopy, chromatography, spectroscopy, and polymer testing. The
company uses a combination of instruments, analytical techniques
and methods to solve clients’ problems. It has performed analysis
and testing for more than 4,000 customers worldwide. Its customers
come from various industries, including plastics, automotive, aerospace,
composites, consumer products, medical device, pharmaceutical, and
paints and coatings.
A familiar face in the Top 50, they’ve been ranked among the top
technology firms in the region six years.
DEFENSE ELECTRONICS AND MILITARY SUPPORT EQUIPMENT
Michael F. Shanahan, Sr., Chairman & CEO
201 Evans Lane
St. Louis, MO 63121
314/553-4000
www.engineeredsupport.com
 MICHAEL
F. SHANAHAN SR., Engineered Support System, Inc.
Engineered Support Systems, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: EASI) strategy is to
provide military support equipment that is more lightweight, efficient
and quieter. The company’s 2,500 employees work in seven operating
companies encompassing four business segments—lightweight equipment
support, heavy equipment support, electronic systems, and custom
molded plastics. Its 2001 sales surpassed $395 million.
John Wooten, vice president of technology, was the 1999 Missouri
Inventor of the Year. In addition to inventing new products for
military support, he looks for new technologies worldwide. “We’re
constantly looking to the future and are working on products that
will be operational in two years,” he notes. The company recently
launched ESSIbuy.com to offer support for its products.
An area in which the company sees room for growth is in the chemical
and bio defense arena. The company’s chemical biological protection
shelter, which provides a contamination-free, environmentally controlled
emergency work area for mobile medical aid workers, can also be
used for homeland defense.
The company ranked in the Top 50 in 1997 and 2001.
PLANT MODERNIZATION SYSTEMS
Kent F. Schien, President & CEO
10 Kimler, Suite A
Maryland, MO 63043
314/692-9998
www.innoventor.net
Innoventor Engineering, Inc., founded in 1996, produces custom designs
and hardware for plant modernization and process improvement, critical
process control, testing and verification, and specialty equipment
for a broad spectrum of customers. The Top 50 newcomer expanded
its operations by opening an office in Kansas City in 1999. IEI
is also the originator of proprietary designs including products
for the food production and printing industries.
The company’s areas of expertise are in electrical and mechanical
applications; plant modernization and automation; food, beverage
and pharmaceutical industries; process control; refrigeration; cryogenics;
and aerospace. An example of one of its designs is the cooling system
for a free-electron laser created by IEI for the W. M. Keck Free-Electron
Laser Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The company
also worked with the injection molding industry to make it compliant
with ANSI/SP 151.B-1997 in 2000. As a system’s integrator, IEI provides
a variety of innovative solutions to specific challenges of the
injection molding industry in energy conservation, system efficiency,
humidity control, hydraulic priority systems, and mold and die handling.
PRODUCER OF TUBULAR STEEL PRODUCTS
Gregg M. Eisenberg, Chairman, President & CEO
16401 Swingley Ridge Rd., Suite 700
Chesterfield, MO 63017
636/733-1600
www.maverick-tube.com
Maverick Tube (NYSE: MVK) is a steel pipe manufacturer for the oil
and gas industries. It is the largest producer of oil country tubular
goods and line pipe products for use in newly drilled oil and gas
wells, and for transporting oil and natural gas. The company has
more than 1,500 employees worldwide, with facilities in the United
States (three in Arkansas, two in Houston) and Canada (one in Calgary).
The company was founded in 1977 and went public in 1991. This is
its first time on the Top 50.
The key to its 25-year success, according to Gregg Eisenberg, chairman,
president & CEO, is the company’s culture. “Our prosperity is due
to our open culture, relaxed atmosphere and encouragement of our
employees to take risks. Our employees have a lot of responsibility
and usually know the right thing to do,” he notes. The company’s
challenge of late is the tariff on steel. “We’re dealing with cataclysmic
cost changes—not because of supply and demand, but because of government
regulations,” he states. The tariff is causing the company’s raw
materials pricing to go up 30 to 50 percent, but Eisenberg feels
confident that Maverick can overcome this challenge.
ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
Leon Gurevich, President
18421 Edison Ave.
Chesterfield, MO 63005
636/519-1444
www.rapidds.com
Founded in 1987, Rapid Development Services, Inc. is a supplier
of turnkey manufacturing automation systems exclusively using robotic
automation. The company provides specially developed solutions to
assist manufacturing companies worldwide, improving their ability
to manufacture new or existing products. Employing state-of-the-art
technology, combined with standard robotic and transfer technology,
its systems provide three primary benefits to clients through reduced
overall product manufacturing cost, increased manufacturing throughput
and improved product quality. “All of these areas directly contribute
to our clients’ profitability and enhance their ability to be competitive
in their respective industries,” states Leon Gurevich, president.
The company works in several industries, including medical/pharmaceutical,
electronics, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, food/beverage/cosmetics,
and chemical and agriculture. It has more than 45 patents and 2001
revenues slightly less than $5 billion. RDS is scheduled to move
into its new 117,000-square-foot headquarters, engineering and fabrication
facility this month.
This is its second year on the Top 50.
PULMONARY DRUG DELIVERY
Thomas M. Fitzgerald, President & CEO
425 S. Woodsmill Rd., Suite 270
Chesterfield, MO 63017
314/579-9899
www.sheffieldpharm.com
Sheffield Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: SHM) provides innovative, cost-effective
pharmaceutical therapies by combining state-of-the-art pulmonary
drug delivery technologies with existing and emerging therapeutic
agents. Sheffield is developing a range of products to treat respiratory
and systemic diseases in its proprietary Premaire™ Delivery System
and Tempo™ Inhaler. Sheffield focuses on improving clinical outcomes
with patient-friendly alternatives to inconvenient or sub-optimal
methods of drug administration. Its breath-activated Tempo Inhaler
combines two unique features, an aerosol flow-control chamber (for
which two U.S. patents have previously been issued) and a synchronized
triggering mechanism (one previously issued U.S. patent). The synchronous
trigger automatically delivers a dose of medication to the patient
at a pre-programmed point in the inspiratory breath cycle, a feature
that enhances delivery consistency, user compliance and ease of
use for patients who rely on meter dose inhalers to deliver their
medications.
The Top 50 newcomer recently announced the successful completion
of a Phase I clinical trial of its Unit Dose NanoCrystal Budesonide
drug product, an inhaled corticosteroid for the treatment of asthma.
Budesonide is an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid used for the maintenance
treatment of asthma in children and adult patients. In 2001, worldwide
budesonide sales in all delivery forms were approximately $775 million.
THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS, POLYMERIC COMPOUNDS AND MOLDED AND PROFILE
PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS
Bradley Buechler, Chairman, President & CEO
120 South Central Avenue, Ste. 1700
Clayton, MO 63105
314/721-4242
www.spartech.com
Spartech Corp. (NYSE: SEH) is a leading producer of engineered thermoplastic
material, polymeric compounds, and molded and profile products for
a wide spectrum of manufacturing customers. The company’s three
business segments operate out of 44 North American and European
facilities and employ more than 3,300 people. The company annually
processes more than 1.2 billion pounds of custom sheet and rollstock,
specialty plastic alloys, color and specialty compounds, and molded
and profile products. Spartech spends approximately $14 million
a year on R&D to develop new products.
The company’s plastics transformed 58 products last year that used
to incorporate metal, wood or glass. It is set to transform 60 to
70 additional products this year, bringing its total to almost 300.
Product transformation examples include: Musselman’s applesauce
jars (which are now in Spartech’s plastic instead of glass), as
well as wood decks and car bumpers that can now be made with plastic.
“We’ve achieved organic growth through our product transformations,”
says Brad Buechler, chairman, president and CEO. “We’ve probably
done more product transformations than anyone.”
This is their fifth time in the Top 50.
DENTAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER
Alfred E. Brennan, President, CEO, COO & Director
13705 Shoreline Court East
Earth City, MO 63045
314/344-0010
www.yiinc.com
Young Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ: YDNT), a Top 50 newcomer, develops,
manufactures and markets supplies and equipment used by dental practices
and consumers. From humble roots as a one-man shop making simple
dental instruments to a publicly-traded company with diversified
products and customers, Young Innovations and its predecessors have
come a long way. The company’s product offering includes disposable
and metal prophy angles, prophy cups and brushes, panoramic x-ray
machines, dental hand pieces (drills), orthodontic toothbrushes,
flavored examination gloves, children’s toothbrushes and toothpastes,
moisture control and infection control products.
In 2001, Young Innovations reached almost $64 million in sales,
an increase of approximately 24 percent from 2000. The company expects
to achieve $72 million in sales in 2002. It is the leading manufacturer
and distributor of prophy angles and cups (used in teeth cleaning
and polishing procedures) in the United States, as well as the leading
distributor of panoramic X-ray equipment and dental surface disinfectants.
>>Information Technology
Companies
>>Plant & Life
Sciences Companies
>>Advanced
Manufacturing Companies
>>The Spirit
of St. Louis Technology Award
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