FABULOUS 20 AWARDS Leaders of the Mahoning Valley praise high-growth companies

A 4-year-old Boardman company was honored in each of the four award categories.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
LIBERTY -- To those business owners who work long hours and take big risks, leaders of the Mahoning Valley this morning said, "Thanks."
The Greater Mahoning Valley Fabulous 20 Awards were given out at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex to the area's fastest growing companies.
The Valley is depending on the owners of these businesses to create jobs and boost the local economy, said Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
They are people such as George Ogletree, president of Treemen Industries of Boardman.
Prime example
The company, which supplies lighting products for the automotive industry, began as a start-up company in the Youngstown Business Incubator in 1998.
A year ago, the company had grown to 12 employees, and was recognized at the awards ceremony with an Emerging Business Award. A burst of growth has pushed the company to 38 employees now.
The growth earned Treemen a place in all four categories of the Fabulous 20 awards. The awards, which are sponsored by the chamber and Youngstown State University, honor five companies in these categories: increase in employees, percent increase in employees, increase in revenue and percent increase in revenue.
Treemen was the only company to be named in all categories.
Ogletree, who had been a supervisor at Worthington Industries in Salem when he started his company, credits the use of Toyota's lean manufacturing system with his company's success. It has enabled Treemen to hold down costs and operate efficiently, he said.
The seven engineers he has on staff drive the company's innovation.
"They're manufacturing geniuses," Ogletree said.
By focusing on customer service, the company has been able to increase business with its customers and add new ones.
Treemen specializes in applying a reflective coating to vehicle lighting but also provides injection molding, painting and assembly.
Critical to area success
The keynote speaker for the breakfast, Johnathan Holifield, congratulated Treemen and other entrepreneurs.
"You are making it happen," said Holifield, vice president of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.
The success of high-growth entrepreneurs is critical to an area's economic success, he said.
Most owners of small businesses are only seeking employment for themselves and their family, but high-growth entrepreneurs want more, he said.
In the 1990s, only between 5 percent and 10 percent of U.S. companies were owned by high-growth entrepreneurs, but they accounted for two-thirds of job growth, he said.
Holifield encouraged elected officials to support policies that would help local companies develop new markets and access to new capital, instead of working to lure companies from other areas with tax breaks.
He asked economic development officials to support the development of clusters of interdependent businesses. Companies in these areas would buy products and services off each other, although they may also compete.
He suggested the entrepreneurs investigate how new technologies can be used to improve businesses. The most job creation opportunities lie in how technologies are used, not in their production, he said.
shilling@vindy.com