Mike Taylor //November 2, 2012//
To get an idea of the passion that Top Company winners bring to their work, consider the sentiments of Jeff Popiel, the CEO of Geotech Enviromental Equipment. His Denver-based company manufactures more than 60 categories of products ranging from circuit boards to extruded tubing and was the 2012 Top Company winner in the Manufacturing category.
“If we’re going to get out of this economic recession or funk or whatever you want to call it, we can’t just walk around giving each other backrubs and pedicures,” Popiel exhorted in an interview with ColoradoBiz TV. “We’ve got to make stuff!”
Of course, there are many other needs to fill in the market besides “making stuff,” but Popiel’s spirited belief in his company and its role in an economic turnaround is an affirmation that any enterprise can draw inspiration from.
No less inspiring is the turnaround story Crocs Inc., the Top Company winner in the Consumer Business category. A few years ago, Crocs’ survival was in doubt, with a once-bedazzled market oversaturated with the company’s rubbery clogs. So the Niwot-based company reinvented itself and now offers more than 300 styles of Crocs for every lifestyle and occasion. The result: Last year the company broke the $1 billion mark in sales for the first time.
Among the other Top Company profiles on the following pages, you’ll learn about the staying power of DCP Midstream, a major player in the natural-gas industry and still growing after 83 years in business; IMA Financial, which has defied the recession by increasing revenues every year for the past decade; and Donor Alliance, which helps bridge the gulf between potential organ donor and recipient, in the process not only saving lives but bringing meaning to those grieving over the loss of a loved one.
Those are just a few of the winners in 14 industry categories. Previously the Top Company program consisted of 11 categories; three additional categories – Consulting and Professional Services, Energy/Natural Resources, and Software – were added this year to better reflect the business landscape.
The Top Company Awards program, sponsored by UMB Bank and Deloitte, judges companies based on financial performance, community involvement and outstanding achievement in areas such as product innovation, marketing or operational excellence.
The program’s 42 finalists – three in each industry category – were honored and the winners announced at a Top Company reception in September.
2012 TOP COMPANY WINNERS
CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
LT Environmental
CONSUMER BUSINESS
Crocs Inc.
ENERGY/NATURAL RESOURCES
DCP Midstream
FINANCIAL SERVICES
IMA Financial Group
HEALTH CARE
Donor Alliance
MANUFACTURING
Geotech Environmental Equipment Inc.
MEDIA/ADVERTISING/PR
Pure Brand Communications
NONPROFIT (CO-WINNERS)
Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain
OpenWorld Learning
REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION/CONTRACTING
Delta Disaster Services
SERVICES
Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care
SOFTWARE
Ping Identity
TECHNOLOGY
Spectra Logic
TELECOM
Zayo Group
TOURISM/HOSPITALITY
Sage Hospitality Resources
Photography by Sam Adams