Colorado Companies to Watch spotlight: Moutain West Insurance

ColoradoBiz Staff //July 18, 2012//

Colorado Companies to Watch spotlight: Moutain West Insurance

ColoradoBiz Staff //July 18, 2012//

www.mtnwst.com

Snapshot: Mountain West Insurance & Financial Services is an independent insurance agency with five offices in Western Colorado. The firm sells and services insurance and financial-services products.

Leadership: Darrell Camilletti has been managing member/CEO of the Craig-based company since its founding in 1998.

Work force: The firm expects to add five more office locations and expand to 69.5 full-time-equivalent employees in 2012, which would be more than triple its work force from 2008, when it had 20. The company ended last year with 36 full-time-equivalent employees.

Pivotal moments: Hiring and developing a management team allowed the firm to expand its work force and aggressively pursue growth. Second, the firm introduced employee ownership. Third, management decided to structure the agency so it could diligently pursue acquisitions of other agencies on the Western Slope and remain independent. These changes have allowed Mountain West to add 16 additional owners, complete four acquisitions and increase staff from 15 in 2007 to 36 in 2011.

Technological edge: All Mountain West offices are connected via a voice-over IP phone system and a network computer system. This allows all employees access to real-time information and the ability to answer and transfer phone calls from one location to another.

Growth curve: Mountain West has consistently increased revenues annually since its formation in 1998, including a 34 percent gain last year. It is projecting another 71 percent increase in 2012. Internal growth along with mergers and acquisitions have prompted the company to expand ownership to include numerous employees.