50 Colorado companies to watch 2010
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COALFIRE
SNAPSHOT: Coalfire Systems provides IT audit, security and compliance management solutions to customers in the financial services, government, health-care, education, legal, electric utility and retail industries.
LEADERSHIP: President Rick Dakin co-founded the Louisvillecompany in 2001.
WORK FORCE: Coalfire employs 50 full-time equivalent employees and expects to hit 66 this year.
MARKET EVOLUTION: Coalfire was originally founded to help companies protect critical systems and sensitive data at a time when most businesses did not understand the potential of cyber risk and were not willing to pay for protection, the company says.
GIVING BACK: The company sponsors community education events where local businesses hear from both commercial and law enforcement cyber cops on the latest threats and methods to achieve better data protection. Coalfire's relationship with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, puts the company in a unique position to bring valuable resources to the community.
INNOVATION: During the recent economic downturn customers requested cheaper ways to comply with data protection laws. Coalfire developed a Web-based IT audit and compliance management platform that empowers clients to prepare for an audit through an online service, reducing testing by up to 50 percent.
CODA COFFEE
SNAPSHOT: Based in Denver, Coda Coffee is an Organic Fair Trade wholesale coffee roaster. It distributes internationally to cafes, offices, restaurants and private-label distributors.
LEADERSHIP: Brothers Tim and Tommy Thwaites are co-founders and presidents. They partnered with their father, Tom Sr., to develop and launch Coda Coffee Co. in 2005.
WORK FORCE: The company added four workers in 2009 to end the year with 13 full-time equivalent employees; expanded to 17 early this year.
PIVOTAL BUSINESS DECISION: The company made a move to provide roasting and fulfillment under private labels, and today 50 percent of overall sales come from this market. Coda's three largest customers, including King Soopers and Whole Foods, have their own private label.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Coda travels to farms it buys from to ensure product quality and suitable living standards for workers.
MARKETING STRATEGY: In 2007, Coda began serving free coffee at Colorado running events. The goal was threefold: to support the community, build brand recognition and drive customers to Coda's customers' cafes. This has grown to include 15 races and has been modified with coupons handed out to spur sales.
GROWTH CURVE: Coda's annual revenue growth since its inception has topped 100 percent at times, and the company managed a 40 percent increase last year despite the economic downturn.
COOLERADO
SNAPSHOT:Denver-based Coolerado Corp. develops, manufactures and sells innovative air conditioners that use one-fifth or less of the energy required by the most efficient conventional systems.
LEADERSHIP: Mike Luby became CEO in 2008. The company was founded in 2004 and installed its first air-conditioning system that year.
WORK FORCE: Coolerado had 48 full-time equivalent employees and expects to increase to 84 workers in 2010.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS: Coolerado received four patents for its Heat and Mass Exchanger (HMX). The second pivotal moment was the installation of air conditioners in an office building and school in 2004, leading to the prestigious R&D 100 Award and kicking off the first HMX production line. The company's development of a hybrid system that cools and dehumidifies enables it to sell in humid climates.
COMPANY STRENGTHS: Coolerado air conditioners provide energy savings of up to 90 percent compared with traditional systems. The discovery of a new thermodynamic cycle by Coolerado's chief scientist, Valeriy Maisotsenko, is the principle behind the patented Heat and Mass Exchanger that gives the company its market edge.
MARKET: Coolerado has installed systems all over the world. Its best-known clients include the city of Denver, Mile High Music Festival, U.S. military and Colorado School of Mines.
COUNTRY CREATIONS OF THE ROCKIES LLC
SNAPSHOT: Greeley-based Country Creations designs and manufactures Swiss treats that support schools and other organizations in their fundraising. The company's bakers also make gourmet breads, cakes and desserts available at select retail outlets.
LEADERSHIP: Mark and Mindy Kiefer founded the company in 2003.
WORK FORCE: The company had 41 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and plans to add four more workers this year.
GROWTH CURVE: Starting out in 2003 in a 1,800-square-foot space, Country Creations moved into a facility more than 10 times larger in 2005. The expansion served as the platform for creating more products and entering more markets that fuel growth today.
MARKET: Country Creations promotes "The Joy of Convenience" as the only company in the fundraising industry to offer fully baked braided bread. The company's products are sold to raise money for schools, churches, sports teams and other causes.
FUTURE FOCUS: Country Creations has increased its visibility through trade shows and new distributors. It released five new products in January it hopes will elevate the company from niche player to more of a strategic partner. Clients include Walmart, Aldi, Affiliated Foods, Kroger and Albertson's, as well as fundraising distributors.
E.I. MEDICAL IMAGING
SNAPSHOT:Loveland-based E.I. Medical Imaging designs and makes ruggedized, portable, diagnostic ultrasound systems for the veterinary industry.
LEADERSHIP: Charles Maloy became president in 2005. The company was founded in 1984.
WORK FORCE: The company had 10 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and plans to add one more in 2010.
MARKET EDGE: E.I. Medical Imaging is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of ultrasound products specifically for veterinary applications. The company also has pioneered the use of video headsets in conjunction with its ultrasound systems to display images in headsets for use in outdoor, bright conditions.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS: New ownership in 2005 undertook a complete rebranding and grass-roots PR campaign. The launch of its next-generation ultrasound device in 2009 came after 3½ years of R&D and allows E.I. Medical Imaging to broaden its market presence in terms of both animal species (for years its primary market had been in swine reproduction) and geography.
GROWTH PROJECTION: The company expects a 50 percent revenue increase over 2009 in the coming years. Current clients include major universities and veterinary schools, government agencies, private vet clinics and large livestock companies.
EATING RECOVERY CENTER
SNAPSHOT:Denver-based Eating Recovery Center is a behavioral hospital providing comprehensive treatment for and sustainable recovery from the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia.
LEADERSHIP: Drs. Kenneth Weiner and Emmett Bishop, both experts in the treatment of eating disorders, founded the firm in 2007. Weiner serves as CEO and medical director.
WORK FORCE: Eating Recovery Center had 77 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and expects to increase to 137 employees in 2010.
COMPANY STRENGTHS: Adults with anorexia and bulimia previously lacked access to a high-quality facility offering inpatient care in the state. Drs. Weiner and Bishop conceptualized a state-of-the-art facility devoted to the full spectrum of eating disorders.
MARKET: Men and women 17 and older with eating disorders.
INNOVATION: ERC's design is, in itself, an innovation, built on the experiences of treatment professionals and former patients. For example, restrooms are designed to look and feel more like a day spa than a hospital restroom, to inspire serenity in what is typically a shameful, stressful environment for someone with an eating disorder.
INFLUENCE: Drs. Weiner and Bishop were instrumental in the development of the Denver-based Eating Disorder Foundation, a nonprofit committed to education and advocacy. ERC's business office advocates on behalf of potential patients with insurance companies and, in most cases, develops single-case agreements - a time-sensitive and difficult process.
EETREX INC.
SNAPSHOT: Based in Boulder, Eetrex is a development-stage company formed in 2006 to commercialize proprietary power systems, battery management systems and power electronics components for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
LEADERSHIP: Carl Lawrence has been CEO since the company's founding.
WORK FORCE: The company had 22 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and expects to add about eight workers in 2010.
INNOVATION: Eetrex's proprietary and patent-pending inverter-charger, or "Inverger," is the first integrated development of a charger-inverter unit technology for automotive applications. Eetrex was the first company to deploy fully converted prototype Toyota Prius and Ford Escape plug-in hybrid electric vehicle systems to fleet customers for testing and evaluation.
COMPANY STRENGTHS: Eetrex maintains what it believes is a three- to four-year lead in the development of power electronics and battery management technologies. The company was selected to develop an "Inverger" product for one of Detroit's Big Three automakers, slated for roll-out in 2011 and 2012. By demonstrating fuel efficiency better than 100 mpg, Eetrex was one of the first companies to show the economical and environmental efficiencies of plug-in hybrid vehicles.
EVOL BURRITOS
SNAPSHOT: EVOL Burritos is a Boulder-based manufacturer of made-from-scratch natural and organic frozen burritos.
LEADERSHIP: Phil Anson, who founded Phil's Fresh Foods in 2002, partnered with Bear Naked Granola co-founder Brendan Synnott and CFO Thomas Spier to launch EVOL Burritos in early 2009. Anson currently is COO, Synnott is chief marketing officer and Spier is CFO.
WORK FORCE: The company ended 2009 with 26 full-time equivalent employees and expects to expand to about 33 workers in 2010.
GROWTH CURVE: Six months after launch the brand had climbed to No. 2 in the natural-burrito category.
PIVOTAL MOMENT: Phil's Fresh Foods was a made-fresh-daily delivery company and would have been difficult to capitalize and scale nationally. At the same time, Anson realized fresh Mex giants like Chipotle and Q'Doba had sparked consumer demand for premium affordable luxury, and there was an emerging opportunity in the frozen burrito space to provide a premium frozen burrito experience.
MARKET: Clients include Kroger, Whole Foods, Supervalue, King Soopers and Vitamin Cottage.
FORENSIC LABORATORIES
SNAPSHOT: Forensic Laboratories is a Denver-based analytical toxicology laboratory that provides testing for clinical, mental health, forensic and diagnostic industries.
LEADERSHIP: Jeffery Slater is director of operations.
WORK FORCE: Forensic Laboratories had 45 full-time equivalent employees and expects to increase to 55 in 2010.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS: The addition of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) allowed Forensic Laboratories to expand analyses with lower limits of detection. Also, losing a state probation contract to an out-of-state competitor prompted Forensic Laboratories to adjust its business plan and expand services to more profitable segments.
MARKETING STRATEGY: Forensic Laboratories has sought to help prospective end users understand the differences in toxicology labs' quality processes. The company does this through webinars, trade shows, industry publications and press releases.
COMPANY STRENGTHS: Forensic Laboratories Scientific Director Dr. James Ruth is the state of Colorado's only board-certified forensic toxicologist. The company's R&D team continues to expand testing services for drugs of abuse in human urine, oral fluid, hair and blood in order to deliver the most comprehensive drug-testing profiles.
FUNOVATION
SNAPSHOT:Boulder-based Funovation creates attractions that "require brain and brawn," most notably the patented Laser Maze Challenge, for clients such as Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Kennywood Amusement Park and International Entertainment in Kuwait.
LEADERSHIP: Erick Mueller founded the company in 2007. He is currently VP of sales and marketing. Ted Ziemkowski is CEO.
INNOVATION: After three years of perseverance, Funovation received a patent in February this year for its Laser Maze Attraction/Laser Controller. The company and its "Fungineering" team has five additional patents pending. The company has upgraded software to include game statistics. This has boosted the number of repeat plays and thus revenues.
MARKETING: In its first appearance at the industry's biggest trade show, Funovation created buzz despite a meager budget by producing yellow "Beat This!" stickers on which attendees could display their Laser Maze scores on their event badges. This simple measure stoked the competitive juices of trade-show attendees and generated a Laser Maze buzz.
GROWING SPACES LLC
www.geodesic-greenhouse-kits.com
SNAPSHOT: Based in Pagosa Springs, Growing Spaces produces energy-efficient greenhouses using a passive solar geodesic design for year-round growing.
LEADERSHIP: Owner Michael Parsons started Growing Spaces out of a garage in 1989.
WORK FORCE: The company employed 10 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and expects to add one or two employees in 2010.
CUSTOMERS: The company has supplied its Growing Domes to more than 1,200 clients in 48 states and 11 countries. Best-known customers include Toyota Motor Co., Shumei Natural Gardens at Rodale Institute and Naropa University.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS: The company cites the "phenomenon of Y2K" as an impetus for people deciding to become more self-sufficient, and the company went from producing 14 Growing Domes a year, to 75. The company launched its website in 1994, putting it well ahead of competitors in e-commerce.
MARKETING STRATEGY: The company's most successful campaign is its "Tour of Domes" each April in Pagosa Springs when six Growing Dome owners open their domes to the public, displaying fresh herbs, flowers and vegetables when outside it is still snowy. People come from as far as Santa Fe., N.M., and Colorado Springs for the tour.
HIGH COUNTRY KOMBUCHA
SNAPSHOT: High Country Kombucha, based in Eagle/Gypsum, produces a bottled tea beverage from fermented mushroom, adopted from ancient Himalayan culture.
LEADERSHIP: Edward Rothbauer and Shane Dickman started making Kombucha out of Rothbauer's house in Avon and formed the company in 2004. Today, Rothbauer is president and CEO; Dickman is vice president.
WORK FORCE: High Country Kombucha employed 31 full-time equivalent employees in 2009 and expects to employ 37 in 2010.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS: The company started out in 2004 producing about 20 bottles a day for locals. In 2006 it started a grass-roots distribution campaign in Colorado and California and set up more than 100 retail accounts. In 2007, the company landed a national distributor and began development of its current facility, where it now produces more than 14,000 bottles a day for 1,300 retail locations. All processing, culturing, herbal preparations, bottling and packaging are conducted in-house at the Gypsum facility.
GROWTH CURVE: High Country Kombucha believes it is barely covering demand with its 14,000-bottle-per day output and is looking to expand to a larger facility in the next three months.
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