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ADVANCED
MANUFACTURING COMPANIES
BELDEN INC.
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
“We’ve always been at the high-tech end of what’s considered
a low-tech industry.”
Historic overview: Joseph Belden started Belden Manufacturing
in Chicago in 1902. “He observed a need for improved quality and
performance in telephone wire,” says Chairman, President and CEO
C. Baker Cunningham. “I think one of the things he set in motion
that continues today is innovation and being on the leading edge
of performance in the wire cable industry,” Cunningham says. From
telephones, Belden moved into the commercial broadcasting industry,
radar and other military applications, television and computers.
Today Belden is a leading manufacturer of advanced wire, cable and
fiber optic products—more than 4,000 in all. It has 4,500 employees
(20 in St. Louis) at manufacturing and distribution facilities and
sales offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany,
Hungary, the Netherlands and Singapore.
Products and services: Belden has two divisions. Its Electronics
Division develops products for computer networks, industrial applications
and the broadcast/entertainment industry. Among Belden’s numerous
high-profile clients is the Olympics, for which the company supplied
millions of feet of specialty broadcast and data cable. Most recently
the company has been developing products for the security and surveillance
industries. Belden’s Communications Division is one of the world’s
leading suppliers of outside copper telecom cable. It manufactures
products primarily for the delivery of voice and data signals to
telephony customers, most of whom are major communications companies.
Distinguishing characteristics: Cunningham says Belden anticipates
future needs by working closely with companies that develop revolutionary
technology. As a result, the company has introduced state-of-the-art
products for a variety of applications, for example, factory process
control and data networking. However, Cunningham says, a significant
part of the business is devoted to filling a large number of small
orders. “A lot of the day-in, day-out things that go on are not
very glamorous but make this a good company,” he says.
Regional benefits: “This is a good central location with good
support services,” Cunningham says. “We thought St. Louis was a
good place to be when we moved our headquarters from Houston and
that has proven to be a good thing.”
What’s new since last year: Belden acquired a communications
cable plant in Canada and added Bell Canada as a major customer.
Looking ahead: Cunningham says Belden’s growth will be driven
by demand for additional phone access lines and the need for higher-speed
services like DSL, as well as ongoing upgrades and repairs. A new
line of Central Office products and an emphasis on marketing to
the distributors who serve smaller communication companies also
provide growth opportunities. Belden has a complete line of digital
cables for the entertainment industry and anticipates opportunities
from the increased digitalization of broadcast television.
Interesting fact: On Sept. 25, 2002, Belden’s 100th anniversary,
Cunningham, other Belden officials and several long-term employees
rang the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange.
ENGINEERED SUPPORT SYSTEMS INC.
Military electronics, support equipment and logistics services
 GERALD
E. DANIELS, Engineered Support Systems Inc.
Michael F. Shanahan Sr., Chairman
Gerald E. Daniels, Vice Chairman & CEO
201 Evans Ln.
St. Louis, MO 63121
(314) 553-4000
www.engineeredsupport.com
“Any time our troops are deployed, Engineered Support goes with
them.”
Historic overview: Michael F. Shanahan Sr., founded Engineered
Support Systems (ESSI) in 1982 as a manufacturer of military support
equipment. The company went public with an IPO three years later.
“In 1998, the company began an aggressive defense consolidated strategy.
This resulted in our purchasing several competitors and really laid
the groundwork for continued growth,” says Dan Kreher, vice president
of acquisitions and investor relations. “We successfully integrated
these firms by creating a common culture that has allowed us to
proceed to the next level,” Kreher says. By the end of 2000, ESSI
had grown nearly 500 percent to $335 million in revenues. “These
and subsequent acquisitions, plus the leadership of Gerald Daniels,
formerly head of Boeing’s St. Louis-based defense business who joined
the company this year, places ESSI in a position to continue to
expand its business.” Today ESSI consists of light military support
manufacturing divisions Engineered Air Systems Inc., Keco Industries
Inc., Engineered Coil/Marlo Coil, Engineered Electric/Fermont and
Universal Power Systems Inc.; engineering and logistics services
divisions Radian Inc. and TAMSCO; heavy transport and sophisticated
electronics systems manufacturer Systems & Electronics Inc.; and
Essibuy.com, ESSI’s products and logistics support division. The
company has 2,800 employees in St. Louis, High Ridge and West Plains,
Mo., as well as in Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey
and Connecticut.
Products and services: ESSI is a diversified supplier of highly
engineered, integrated military electronics, support equipment and
logistics services for all branches of America’s armed forces, certain
foreign militaries and commercial customers. “We provide military
support and defense electronics, basically non-weapons related systems,
to deploy, move and sustain troops,” Kreher says. For example, the
company’s environmental control units can be used to cool the avionics
on aircraft so maintenance can be performed quickly, or to heat
or cool shelters where troops sleep or work. ESSI also makes portable
power generators that can be used in the field. “It’s not like our
troops can plug into an electrical outlet or hook into a public
water system when they deploy. They have to bring their own power
supplies and other equipment to basically create their own living
environment,” Kreher says. ESSI transport systems can load and unload
cargo aircraft or move an 80-ton tank to a battlefield. “You saw
the pictures during the war in Iraq. M-1 tanks were driven up the
highway on our trailers toward Baghdad. It’s much less expensive
and saves wear and tear on the vehicle,” Kreher says. Other ESSI
equipment includes fuel and water distribution systems, aircraft
radar systems, surveillance and target acquisition systems, nuclear/biological/chemical
defense systems and more. “Everything we do supports this whole
effort of rapid deployment, whether it’s in a combat situation or
a peacekeeping operation,” Kreher says.
Regional benefits: “All of our senior corporate management
are St. Louisans,” Kreher says. “Also, we receive great support
from our Congressional representatives when it comes to creating
jobs or military spending.”
Looking ahead: “With a diverse portfolio of product and service
offerings, a clear focus on customer satisfaction and the increasing
frequency and duration of military deployments around the globe,
our company is well positioned for continued growth,” Kreher says.
INNOVENTOR INC.
Full-service engineering
Kent Schien, President & CEO
10 Kimler, Suite A
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
(314) 692-9998
www.innoventor.net
“Happy employees are more dedicated, try harder, learn better
and do better.”
Historic overview: In 1981 Kent Schien went to work for McDonnell-Douglas,
“where I learned how to be a good project manager,” he says. “But
after a while I realized I had other goals in my life and one was
to have my own company.” Before that happened, Schien worked for
four years at LaBarge Inc., where he helped double the size of the
company and learned cash management, he says. In 1996, Schien was
ready to start Innoventor, based on the professionalism he admired
in the Silicon Valley environment and a belief that a high esprit
de corps makes all the difference, he says. The company spent its
first 18 months in Schien’s basement. Today it has 50 employees
here and in Dallas/Fort Worth who provide “engineering on demand,”
Schien says, improving processes and developing products in the
United States, Canada, Mexico and Singapore. The company has earned
seven patents.
Products and services: Innoventor’s primary expertise is
in process automation, product development and quality aspects of
design, Schien says. The company focuses on engineering services
for the aerospace-military-defense, medical-pharmaceutical and renewable
power sectors. “There’s a lot of investment in those areas now,”
Schien says. “They’re not as tied to capital requests and budgets
as a lot of other industrial sectors are now. We don’t have a lot
of competitors, but you have to be good in those industries to be
a player.” Innoventor also provides engineering services to the
food and automotive industries.
Distinguishing characteristic: “Every project is structured
so differently,” Schien says. “We really go in there and customize
a program for each client.”
Regional benefits: Schien notes, “Thanks to our geographic
location, we have the luxury of going to a meeting almost anywhere
in the U.S. and getting back the same day.” Another advantage is
that most of the engineers who left McDonnell Douglas over the years
have remained in the area. “We all know each other and that makes
it easier to get the talent we need when we need it.”
The name: “We want to innovate for others and invent for
ourselves,” Schien explains.
INSITUFORM TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Designers and installers of trenchless pipes
Thomas Rooney, CEO
702 Spirit 40 Park Dr.
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 530-8000
www.insituform.com
“No city will ever get in trouble for having hired us, because
we are the blue chip of the business.”
Historic overview: Insituform got its start 35 years ago
in the United Kingdom. The company established a North American
division, which eventually bought out the parent company. Rather
than expand in its Memphis headquarters, in the 1990s management
decided to locate where the company had a strong customer and operations
base. “We looked at a lot of candidates and settled on St. Louis
where we had a successful operation and owned some land,” says CEO
Thomas Rooney. “We moved up here with virtually no loss of people.”
Today, Insituform, which develops trenchless technology to install
and rehabilitate underground pipes, has 2,000 employees (120 in
St. Louis) in offices throughout North America and the European
Union. Insituform has successfully rehabilitated more than 12,000
miles of pipe using its proven trenchless technologies.
Products and services: Using advanced, proprietary trenchless
technologies, Insituform repairs underground pipes without digging
or disruption. “We rehabilitate and extend the useful life of pipes,
saving the expense and time required to dig up and replace them,”
Rooney says.
Insituform applies its methods and processes to municipal sewers
(sanitary and storm sewers, force mains and service laterals), commercial
pipes (pressure and gravity pipes) and water mains. Through its
subsidiary, Affholder Inc., the company offers solutions for tunneling,
microtunneling and pipebursting. Insituform also develops raw materials
technology for rehabbing pipes with composite plastic materials.
“We are completely vertically integrated,” Rooney says.
Distinguishing characteristics: “We have core competencies:
developing and producing raw materials, designing and adapting equipment
and excavation methods. All of these give us a cost advantage over
the competition,” Rooney says. “What differentiates us is we keep
working on ways to improve system methods to work more cost effectively,
with less time and less disruption under increasingly challenging
conditions.” For example, Insituform recently installed a $100 million
storm water collection system in Chicago. “It was very complex and
demanding, yet almost every week we set new records for performance
and speed,” Rooney says. The project used an Insituform-adapted
tunnel boring machine and collection system. “People living over
the many miles of this tunnel had no idea this work was going on
below them. There was no noise, no vibration.”
The big news: Insituform’s online/ ongrade technology allows
crews to install smaller pipes in shallower spaces with accurate
direction.
Regional benefits: Rooney says an important benefit is the
regional education systems, which provide “well qualified people
at all levels who have good work ethics.”
Looking ahead: “We’re in a secure business with strong long-term
opportunities,” Rooney says. “Our market is affected by local ups
and downs, but cities never saw a boom.” He adds, Insituform is
the only public company of its scale. “We’re larger than all of
our competition in the world put together. As a result we will continue
to be competitive in price, and offer local presence through subcontractors.”
The name: Rooney explains, “in situ” means “in place” and
combined with “form” the name means pipe formed in place. “If we
didn’t have as much brand equity and recognition in Insituform,
we’d probably have a different name,” he says. “It’s hard to pronounce.
I always have to spell it for people.”
KV PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
Pharmaceutical products manufacturer
Victor M. Hermelin, Chairman of the Board
Marc S. Hermelin, CEO
Dr. Elio P. Mariani, Vice President of
Scientific Affairs
2503 S. Hanley Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63144
(314) 645-6600
www.kvpharmaceutical.com
“We have been very successful, and that certainly has been
recognized by the financial community.”
Historic overview: In the early 1950s, KV founder and Chairman
Victor M. Hermelin obtained patents for early extended-release and
enteric-coated drug delivery technologies. “This was a revolutionary
concept and could be applied to a variety of drug substances,” says
Vice President of Scientific Affairs Dr. Elio Mariani. Over time
KV has grown to become a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical
company that develops, manufactures, acquires, licenses and markets
more than 100 branded and generic products. KV has developed more
than 15 technologies that optimize drug delivery. These include
SITE RELEASE® for topical applications; Tastemasking, which reduces
the bitter taste of certain therapeutic products; Quick-Dissolving
Tablets; and Oral Extended/ Delayed Release, which eliminates the
need to take medicine several times a day. The company employs approximately
900 people in St. Louis. Fiscal 2003 revenues were $245 million.
Products and services: KV has three divisions. In 1972 it
acquired Particle Dynamics Inc., which develops and markets specialty
value-added raw-materials product lines for the pharmaceutical,
nutritional, food and personal-care industries. Familiar products
that have used PDI materials include Children’s Sudafed®; Tylenol™
PM®; and Centrum®, Flintstone® and Bugs Bunny® vitamins. KV established
ETHEX Corporation in 1990 and today, with more than 100 products,
it’s one of the leading generic drug companies in the United States.
Product lines include cardiovascular, women’s health care, pain
management and respiratory products among others. Ther-Rx Corporation,
established in 1999, develops and markets women’s healthcare, cardiovascular
and hematinic branded prescription products based on KV’s proprietary
technologies.
Regional benefits: “We are directly in the middle of
the country, so we have very good access to different cities and
countries,” Mariani says. “Also, the Midwest is conservative,
but I like that approach regarding tenets and ideals. It’s
conservatism with a very delicate touch.”
Looking ahead: KV expects Ther-Rx to be the driving force
in its continued growth, because its products can be promoted to
targeted physician specialists without the need to build a large
sales force. ETHEX also is well positioned for growth since many
prescription drugs will lose patent protection in the coming years
and ETHEX’s products use KV’s drug delivery technologies. “Senior
management has a very practical and straightforward mission,” Mariani
says. “They have focused very well on areas in which we wish to
continue to play a prominent role.”
The name: Mariani says the “K” stands for Bob Keith and the
“V” stands for Victor Hermelin, who were the original partners when
KV was founded in 1942.
LABARGE INC.
Contract electronics manufacturing services
CRAIG
E. LABARGE, LaBarge Inc.
Craig E. LaBarge, President & CEO
9900-A Clayton Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63124
(314) 997-0800
www.labarge.com
“An important part of our strategy and our success is our
effort to diversify our business among a variety of markets.”
Historic overview: President and CEO Craig LaBarge’s father
founded LaBarge Inc. 50 years ago as LaBarge Pipe & Steel Co. In
1968, the company merged with an electronics business in Tulsa.
“Throughout the 1960s, ’70s and the mid-’80s, we were in a number
of different, unrelated businesses,” LaBarge says. “We began focusing
entirely on electronics in the late 1980s.” Today the contract electronics
manufacturer acts as an outsourcing partner to large original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) providing them with sophisticated electronic
equipment through design and manufacturing services. LaBarge customers
do business in a variety of markets; the largest market currently
is military defense. “We will typically build custom sub-systems
or full turnkey electronic assemblies that our customers then integrate
into their own end products,” LaBarge says. “We work with all the
major defense contractors.” The company also produces electronic
equipment for non-defense governmental users such as the Postal
Service and NASA, and many technology-oriented industrial customers.
LaBarge has 850 employees (40 in St. Louis) in Arkansas, Kansas,
Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Products and services: LaBarge designs and manufactures high-performance
electronics, electro-mechanical assemblies and interconnect systems
for specialized applications. LaBarge provides engineering, product
development and packaging, as well as prototype to full-volume production.
For example, the company manufactures radar systems for the United
States Air Force, cable assemblies for the United States Navy’s
next-generation attack submarine, measurement equipment for the
oil and gas industry, automated postal sorting equipment, components
for airport checked-baggage inspection systems and medical electronics
equipment.
The big news: Northrop Grumman Corporation and The Boeing Company
both awarded LaBarge “preferred supplier” status during fiscal 2002.
Regional benefits: “The ease of getting to our plants from
here is a big plus,” LaBarge says. “Also St. Louis is a great spot
from which to recruit people as we grow. The universities and Boeing
and Emerson have produced a lot of people experienced in electronics
and aerospace over the years. Also it’s easy to recruit from out
of town. You’d be surprised at the number of people on the coasts
who would enjoy the prospect of coming home to the Midwest.”
Looking ahead: “There continues to be a trend among OEMs
toward outsourcing the manufacture of high reliability electronic
equipment, and we’re the type of company to benefit from that. It
provides opportunities for internal growth,” LaBarge says. “At the
same time we see some real opportunities on the acquisition front
that can either bring us new customers or strengthen relationships
with existing customers by adding new capabilities.” He adds, the
increasing use of highly sophisticated electronics in various markets
also will continue to create growth opportunities for LaBarge. “Our
backlog, one measure of our future strength, is at a record level
now,” he says, “and that gives us reason to be optimistic.”
LMI AEROSPACE INC.
Aerospace components manufacturer
Ronald S. Saks, President & CEO
3600 Mueller Rd.
St. Charles, MO 63301
(636) 946-6525
www.lmiaerospace.com
“We continue to believe by sharing information with customers
and suppliers and advancing our manufacturing capabilities, we provide
better services and products.”
Historic overview: In 1948 Joseph Leonard Sr. started Leonard’s
Metal Forming Company to supply small lot quantities of precision
metal components. In 1984, Ron Saks and an investor group purchased
(then-named) Leonard’s Metals Inc.—a manufacturing facility in St.
Charles with 125 employees and $5 million in annual sales. Over
time the company opened additional plants near Boeing locations
and expanded its headquarters facility. In 1998, the company’s 50th
anniversary, the name became LMI Aerospace Inc., with two wholly
owned subsidiaries, Leonard’s Metal Inc. metal fabrication and LMI
Finishing Inc. metal processing. The first of several acquisitions
was made. Today, LMI has more than 850 employees, including 350
in St. Charles.
Products and services: LMI Aerospace is a leader in fabricating,
machining, finishing and integrating formed, close tolerance aluminum
and specialty alloy components and sheet metal products for use
by the aerospace, technology and commercial sheet metal industries.
The company manufactures more than 20,000 aerospace components including
leading edge wing slats, flaps and lens assemblies; cockpit window
frame assemblies; fuselage skins and supports; and passenger and
cargo door frames and supports for use in civilian and military
aircraft. LMI also manufactures components and assemblies for laser
equipment used by semiconductor and medical equipment manufacturers
in the technology industry. Value-added services include tooling
production, heat treating and aging, computer inspection and engineering,
chemical milling, metal finishing, polishing and painting, assembly,
prototyping and warehousing, distribution and kitting.
Distinguishing characteristics: “LMI has invested heavily
in information technology and advanced machining capability as we
try to differentiate ourselves from others serving our industries,”
says Chief Financial Officer Ed Dickinson.
Looking ahead: LMI plans to emphasize its developing expertise
in supply chain management, distribution and kitting. The company
will add distribution centers in areas where it does not currently
fabricate and assemble end products, in order to provide key customers
with services that simplify their operations and improve their assembly
efficiency.
Regional benefits: A skilled aerospace workforce.
MAVERICK TUBE CORP.
Tubular steel products for industry and energy
Gregg Eisenberg, Chairman, President & CEO
16401 Swingly Ridge Rd., Suite 700
Chesterfield, MO 63017
(636) 733-1600
www.maverick-tube.com
“Ours is a dynamic industry with wild ups and downs.”
Historic overview: The late Don Beattie started Maverick
Tube Corp. in 1978 in Union, Mo. with one mechanical-tube mill.
“In 1980, the energy business caught on fire and Maverick Tube reoriented
its products offerings into the energy area,” says Gregg Eisenberg,
chairman, president and CEO. Subsequent bankruptcy, recovery, acquisitions
and restructuring set the stage for growth throughout the 1990s.
Most significantly, in 2000 the company doubled its size and became
the largest ERW energy pipe producer in North America when it acquired
Prudential Steel of Calgary, Alberta. “We’ve been very busy since
then with three more acquisitions,” Eisenberg says. As a result,
today Maverick Tube employs 2,300 people (110 in its Chesterfield
headquarters) and earns $800 million in revenues. It has nearly
2.1 million tons of pipe and tube production capacity in its 24
mills in nine locations.
Products and services: Maverick is the largest producer in
North America of oil country tubular goods and line pipe products
for use in newly drilled oil and natural gas wells and transporting
oil and natural gas. Maverick also produces coiled tubing, line
pipe and umbilicals, hollow structural sections, standard pipe and
pipe piling, and electrical steel conduit. Maverick Tube products
are used in everything from exercise equipment to offshore oil and
gas wells. “More than 70 percent of our revenues come from the energy
industry,” Eisenberg says.
Distinguishing characteristics: “Part of the reason Maverick
has done well is we remember the rough times, and as we have grown,
we have tried to maintain the same disciplines and approaches that
have helped us survive,” Eisenberg says.
Regional benefits: “Everyone asks, why aren’t we in Houston?”
Eisenberg says. “The answer is we like it here. Not the least of
reasons is the baseball and football teams, which are great when
customers come to town.” He adds, “Another benefit is the central
location. It’s just a short trip to get to any of our scattered
operations. And it’s not hard to attract people to relocate here.”
Looking ahead: Eisenberg says, “The Iraq situation has brought
a lot of uncertainty about the price of oil afterward, but more
wells are being drilled and our business is getting better.” He
says Maverick Tube will enhance operations in the new companies
it has purchased, expand product lines and increase manufacturing
efficiencies. “Beyond that, we are always looking for external growth,
but we will only spend money to acquire companies that will benefit
the company and our investors.”
The name: “Don Beattie picked the name Maverick to differentiate
the business from the Eastern steel mills, which were not very customer
friendly,” Eisenberg says. “Maverick evokes an image of someone
who operates differently, and we did and we still do. The people
in the capital markets love the name. It has served us well.”
SPARTECH CORP.
Custom sheet, color compounds and molded products manufacturers
BRADLEY
BUECHLER, Spartech Corp.
Bradley Buechler, Chairman, President &
CEO
Randy Martin, Executive Vice President & CFO
120 W. Central Ave., Suite 1700
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 721-4242
www.spartech.com
“We will continue to grow naturally as people want more products
made of plastics.”
Historic overview: Through an acquisition in 1981, the original
Spartan Manufacturing Company turned to plastics as its principal
product line. “During the 1980s we acquired several plastics processors
and built up a base, so by the end of the decade we had about $125
million in sales and six plants,” says Chairman, President and CEO
Bradley Buechler. Additional acquisitions “combined with good internal
growth” through the 1990s have resulted in the company’s present
46 facilities and $950 million in sales. “Most of our internal growth
comes from ‘Product Transformations,’” Buechler says, whereby products
previously made from wood, metal, glass, paper, rubber or fiberglass
can be made from higher performance and less expensive recyclable
thermoplastics. Spartech has 3,500 employees in the United States,
Mexico, Canada and France. The company invested $12.5 million in
research and development in 2002.
Products and services: Spartech is a leading producer of
engineered thermoplastic materials, polymeric compounds and molded
and profile products for customers selling to a variety of end-use
markets. Each year it processes more than 1.2 billion pounds of
custom sheet and rollstock, specialty plastic alloys, color and
specialty compounds, and molded and profile products.
The big news: “We are now the largest custom sheet and rollstock
manufacturer in the United States, if not the world,” Buechler says,
and that’s the driving force behind Spartech’s Product Transformation
program. The company has transformed about 300 products since 1995,
due to plastics’ cost efficiencies, increased durability, lighter
weight, enhanced formability and environmental benefits. Spartech
has transformed more than 50 products a year since 2000, including
boat decks and hulls, food containers, pencils, holiday decorations,
siding, fenders, window sills, kayaks, TV screens, roofs, garage
doors, lounge chairs, pallets, fencing, shutters, bed liners, RV
components, folding tables, portable storage containers and more.
What’s new since last year: In addition to further product
transformations, Spartech acquired a polymer extrusion company and
a compounder and opened a joint sheet and compound facility in Mexico
in early 2003. In April the company introduced nine new Alloy Plastics,
which combine advanced engineered compounds and additives with innovative
manufacturing techniques.
Regional benefits: “With our central location we can get
to most of our facilities and back in the same day,” says Randy
Martin, executive vice president and CFO. “Also there are some very
good schools to draw from throughout the region, which help supply
our Management Development Training initiative.”
Looking ahead: “We will continue to make selective acquisitions
and at the same time continue to grow from product transformations
and new products,” Martin says.
The name: Spartan Manufacturing changed its name to Spartech
Corporation in 1984. “We were relating to the tech boom of the 1980s,
and the name has served us well through the dot.com era of the 1990s
and beyond,” Buechler explains.
YOUNG INNOVATIONS INC.
Dental equipment manufacturer
Alfred E. Brennan, President, CEO, COO &
Director
13705 Shoreline Ct. East
Earth City, MO 63045
(314) 344-0010
www.yiinc.com
“Throughout our history, Young has both adapted to change and
driven change in the practice of dentistry.”
Historic overview: Young Innovations’ partnership with dentistry
spans nearly a century. The company began as a small supplier of
dental equipment and today is a leading supplier and manufacturer
of innovative products that improve clinical efficacy, increase
practice productivity and enhance patient comfort. Its Triple Seal™
prophy angle, used in teeth cleaning and polishing procedures, prophy
cups and disposable prophy angles are the market leaders in their
categories. In addition, Young Innovations is the leading distributor
of panoramic X-ray equipment and dental surface disinfectants in
the United States. Young Innovations facilities are located in St.
Louis, Fort Wayne, Los Angeles, Chicago and Louisville, Colo.
Products and services: Young Innovations develops, manufactures
and markets supplies and equipment used by dentists, dental hygienists,
dental assistants and consumers. The company offers 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, children’s toothpastes,
moisture control and infection control products.
The big news: Forbes Magazine has named Young Innovations
to its list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America for the past
four years based on its sales growth, profitability, net income
and EPS growth. Young is one of 36 companies to be named to the
list for four consecutive years.
In addition, Young Innovations ranked 54th on Business Week magazine’s
2003 list of the 100 Hot Growth Companies, based on sales growth,
profit growth and return on capital. This is the second consecutive
year that the company has been recognized for this honor.
What’s new since last year: Young Innovations had record
sales and net income for 2002. Sales were $72.2 million, up 13.4
percent from 2001, and net income reached $11.4 million, up 19.5
percent from 2001. “We believe the market remains healthy and our
marketing efforts that focus on the clinical benefits of our products
will continue to produce sales growth. We also believe that we have
significant opportunities to improve our operating efficiencies
in 2003,” says Alfred E. Brennan, president, CEO, COO and director.
Pam Droog is a frequent contributor to St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
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