Ten Utah businesses were recognized Thursday for their resourcefulness, ability to overcome obstacles and good strategic planning at the 10th annual Mass Mutual Blue Chip Enterprise Awards.
The recognition event is sponsored by MassMutual, which in Utah is represented by Intermountain Financial Group, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The awards program began in 1990 and has seen thousands of businesses participate since.
The 10 Utah firms were honored at a luncheon on Thursday at Little America Hotel. These companies are the state designees and finalists in the national program, which ultimately recognizes about 200 of the country's outstanding small businesses.
The reason for the program is to give small businesses a well-deserved pat on the back, according to J.R. Jones, assistant general agent for Intermountain Financial Group/Mass Mutual.
"What we have found is that small businesses don't receive enough recognition for what they go through to stay in business. Large corporations receive recognition all the time in the form of shareholder reports or maybe they are large employers in given areas," Jones said.
"There is very little recognition of what the small-business owner puts up with and is able to accomplish, often on limited resources," Jones said. He said it is admirable that so many do stay afloat, considering what they face as far as competition, government regulation, natural disasters and other challenges. "They have all kinds of stories and everybody is a little bit unique, but all have compelling reasons for recognition."
The companies are:
Christopherson Business Travel. Mike Cameron acquired the business in 1990 after serving for nine years as its chief financial officer. Buying the firm meant taking on debt and many challenges, so Cameron focused on one niche he considered underserved in this market: the business traveler. The firm has grown into a $50 million a year operation that now helps 600 corporations manage travel plans and budgets.
Chung & Associates. The Sandy-based firm provides environmental remediation services, engineering and constructs projects for the federal government. Company founder Bo Chung enhanced the firm by educating employees about the government's strict procedures, improved customer service, created better lines of communication and increased responsiveness — which all helped the company's 1999 revenues exceed $6 million and boosted projections of $15 million in revenues for this year.
One Stop Satellite Solutions (OSSS). This grew out of a technology transfer company from Weber State University's Center for Aerospace Technology. At first, financing came through state and federal sources, but the company soon needed to drum up more capital. A promising contract with the Air Force Academy was threatened by the gulf war, but OSSS mustered support from WSU and the state, resulting in a revived contract.
Phone Directories Co. After launching the company in 1971, Marc Bingham found his partner had skipped town with company cash. Bingham put his house on the line, borrowed from family and friends and eventually was able to print yellow page directories in five markets in Utah and Colorado. The company has grown consistently and now publishes 123 directories, which means nearly 10 million phone books sent to 13 Western states and nearly every Canadian province.
Advanced Technical Center. When Dell Loy Hansen and Gary Webb bought the technology training company, they found the profits weren't what they thought during the purchase. Debts and high employee turnover presented great challenges, but the two partners infused thousands of dollars to provide operating capital, reorganized the firm and made it more responsive to students. It now runs nine classrooms with the capacity to educate 300 students weekly.
CDR Enterprises. This construction company faced its worst problems when the corporate headquarters burned to the ground. Not only was there a huge mess to clean up, but pending contracts had to be filled. The owners quickly found another building to lease, employees helped salvage one computer that made it through the fire, and the firm began reconstructing its files. Contact was made with vendors and suppliers to reassure them that CDR was still in business, and it is to this day.
Cuisine Unlimited. After launching her successful catering business in 1980, owner Maxine Turner found that the economy was in recession and few people were entertaining. Turner asked friends to serve on a company advisory board and their suggestions and her hard work helped the firm slowly regain ground. Today, it is housed in a 4,000-square-foot facility and operates three new deli locations.
Discovery Academy. Gene and Carol Thorne began the therapeutic school for troubled and underachieving adolescents in 1989, but the need outgrew their building. Carol Thorne struggled to get financing for a bigger building. She then met a parent who is a banker and whose daughter was in the academy who agreed to match the smaller bank loan Thorne was able to get. That brought the total amount of financing to $600,000 and put the academy into a new facility. Today, the school has the capacity for 82 students and has helped more than 500 who have gone through the academy.
JD Services. Like many small-business owners, Jerry and Debbie Ricks discovered that financing was the biggest headache in moving their company from its small start to becoming one of the top prepaid telecommunications companies in the industry. The firm grew from $250,000 in earnings in 1992 to one with revenues of more than $140 million in 1999 — but managing the growth and the money required collaboration, cooperation, thoughtful choices and many sacrifices.
Loose in the Lab. Author and speaker Bryce Hixson founded his first company to bring science awareness to young people by creating science education kits for the toy and hobby markets, as well as for schools. Internal conflicts forced Hixson out, but he founded Loose in the Lab in 1996 and plunged ahead, earning $65,000 in sales. Last year, Michael Kraylick, a collaborator, joined. The company last year employed 24 people and enjoyed $1.5 million in sales.
E-MAIL: lindat@desnews.com