2017 Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50 finalists announced

No. 1 Emerging, Established businesses to be revealed at Nov. 2 dinner

If your goal is to connect with presidents, CEOs, owners and other executives from the leading businesses in the region, you can make a lot of connections on Nov. 2 by attending the 2017 Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50 dinner and awards program.

While the focal point of the annual gala is to recognize business excellence in the two-county area, another enjoyable part of the night is the networking session that starts at 5:30 p.m., and leads up to the 7 p.m. dinner and awards presentation at LaMalfa Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Mentor.

The Fast Track 50 is an event that honors the region’s fastest growing companies in Lake and Geauga counties. Winners of the 2017 award will be based on a weighted average of 80 percent sales growth and 20 percent employment growth from 2012 through 2016.

To be eligible for the award, companies must be located within the two-county region, be organized as a for-profit business, and must have a sales profit for 2012 of at least $250,000.

To more fairly compare larger and smaller companies, the Fast Track 50 is divided into Established and Emerging categories.

For 2017, Established businesses must report revenue of at least $2.75 million in 2012, the baseline year for all evaluations. Emerging businesses are required to have 2012 sales of between $250,000 and $2.75 million. There are 25 businesses on each list.

One of the highlights of every Fast Track 50 awards presentation comes with the naming of the No. 1 businesses on the Established and Emerging rosters.

The top Established business of 2016, Jackson Taylor Contractors of Mentor, is in the running this year to earn its third straight No. 1 Fast Track 50 honor. In the Emerging category, there will be a new business crowned No. 1. That’s because last year’s top finisher, Company 119 of Chardon, didn’t enter the 2017 Fast Track 50.

If you’d like a preview of who’s competing for this year’s top awards, here are the 2017 Lake-Geauga Track 50 finalists (names of businesses and communities in which they are based) listed in alphabetical order and not according to order of finish.

• Al’s Plumbing, Middlefield

• Anodizing Specialists Inc., Mentor

• Apollo Supply, Willoughby

• AQUA DOC Lake & Pond Management, Chardon • BackTrack Inc., Mentor • Blackbird Digital, Willoughby

• Briar Rose Nurseries Inc, Perry Township

• Cardinal Credit Union, Mentor

• Carver Financial Services Inc., Mentor • Cornerstone IT, Mentor • D&S Automotive Collision and Restyling, Mentor

• Enterprise Door, Mentor

• E2B Teknologies, Chardon

• Exscape Designs, Newbury Township • Fredon Corp., Mentor • Geauga Mechanical Co., Hambden Township

• Giuseppe’s Pizza, Willowick

• Great Lakes Outdoor Supply Inc., based in Middlefield, with stores in Middlefield, Chester Township and Bainbridge Township

• Guyer Precision Inc., Painesville

• Hauser Services, Middlefield

• Heckman Excavating Inc., Mentor

• HzW Environmental Consultants, Mentor

• Jackson Taylor Contractors, Mentor

• JEMM Construction, Painesville Township • JLP CPAs, Mentor • Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland Northeast, Mentor

• La-Vera Party Center & Express Catering, Willoughby Hills

• Lowe’s Greenhouses, Florist & Gift Shop, Bainbridge Township

• M.C. Mobility Systems, Mentor

• Moving Ahead Services, Willoughby

• MUM Industries Inc., Mentor

• Naz Manufacturing Inc. dba Bull’s Eye Billiards, Eastlake

• Neothink, Willoughby

• NMS Inc. & Affiliates, Chardon

• Normandy Party Center Inc., Wickliffe

• North American Coating Laboratories, Mentor

• O’Reilly Equipment, Newbury Township

• Orthopedic Associates of Lake County, Concord Township

• ProBuilt Homes Inc., Mentor

• RJ Kirkland Construction Company Inc., Willoughby

• Sheoga Hardwood Flooring, Middlefield

• South Shore Controls, Perry

• Stahls’ Transfer Express, Mentor

• T&D Fabricating Inc., Eastlake

• ThenDesign Architecture Ltd., Willoughby

• The Sheet Metal Products Co., Mentor

• Thomas C. Hurst Landscaping, Inc., Painesville

• TRAX Construction Co., Wickliffe

• Tri-Den Heating and Air Conditioning LLC, Painesville

• Vector Technical Inc., Willoughby

Other accolades to be presented at the 2017 Fast Track 50 dinner are Entrepreneur of the Year, Game Changer, and the new Nonprofit Award.

Tickets for the silver anniversary edition of the Fast Track gala must be purchased by Oct. 23 at fasttrack50.org. For more information, contact Maria Bennett of Lakeland Community College at 440-5257538 or mbennett@lakelandcc.edu.

The Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50 is sponsored by the Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. office in Mentor; Gino’s Awards; The News-Herald; Lakeland Community College; Skoda Minotti CPAs, Business and Financial Advisors; ErieBank; the Mentor Economic Assistance Corp.; and the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority.