The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Fast Track holds 25th anniversary awards gala
Moving Ahead Services, JEMM Construction earn top awards at 2017 Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50.
Moving Ahead Services specializes in moving residential and commercial clients from one location to another.
However, on Nov. 2, the company also showed its ability to move up — to the top of the Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50, that is.
The Willoughby-based moving company ranked as the No. 1 Emerging Company on the 2017 Fast Track 50. Last year, Moving Ahead Services claimed fifth place on the FT50 Emerging Company roster. Moving Ahead made its inaugural appearance on the Fast Track 50 in 2015, finishing No. 2 on the Emerging list.
The No. 1 Emerging Company from 2016, Company 119 of Chardon, did not enter the 2017 Fast Track 50 competition.
Recognition for all of the 2017 Fast Track 50 winners took place Nov. 2 at the event’s annual awards dinner, held at Holiday Inn Express LaMalfa Hotel and Suites in Mentor. This year’s gala also marked the 25th anniversary of the Fast Track 50.
One tradition of recent years that continued at this year’s Fast Track 50 was the crowning of a building contractor as a No. 1 winner. This year, JEMM Construction of Painesville Township earned the top spot among FT50 Estab- lished Companies. JEMM’s triumph denied a third straight No. 1 Established Company award for Jackson Taylor Contractors, a Mentor-based construction firm specializing in various types of commercial, retail, industrial and institutional construction projects. Jackson Taylor placed as the No. 4 Established Company this year.
For JEMM, the Fast Track 50 pinnacle is not foreign territory. The company also finished as the No. 1 Emerging Company in 2015.
The Fast Track 50 is a program that honors the region’s fastest growing companies in Lake and Geauga counties. Winners of the 2017 award were 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 achieved 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 Companies were required to report revenue of at least $2.75 million in 2012, the baseline year for all evaluations. Emerging companies were required to achieve 2012 sales of between $250,000 and $2.75 million. There are 25 companies on each list.
Here are the complete lists of this year’s Fast Track 50 companies, ranked in order of finish:
2017 FT50 Established Companies
1. JEMM Construction, Painesville Township
2. ProBuilt Homes Inc., Mentor
3. Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland Northeast, Mentor
4. Jackson Taylor Contractors, Mentor
5. AQUA DOC Lake & Pond Management, Chardon
6. ThenDesign Architecture Ltd., Willoughby
7. MUM Industries Inc., Mentor
8. Carver Financial Services Inc., Mentor
9. Sheoga Hardwood Flooring, Middlefield
10. Cardinal Credit Union, Mentor
11. Great Lakes Outdoor Supply Inc., based in Middlefield, with stores in Middlefield, Chester Township and Bainbridge Township
12. Normandy Party Center Inc., Wickliffe
13. D&S Automotive Collision and Restyling, Mentor
14. TRAX Construction Co., Wickliffe
15. e2b teknologies, Chardon
16. Vector Technical Inc., Willoughby
17. M.C. Mobility Systems, Mentor
18. BackTrack Inc., Mentor
19. Geauga Mechanical Co., Hambden Township
20. South Shore Controls, Perry
21. Stahls’ Transfer Express, Mentor
22. HzW Environmental Consultants, Mentor
23. Apollo Supply, Willoughby 24. Fredon Corp., Mentor 25. The Sheet Metal Products Co., Mentor
2017 FT50 Emerging Companies
1. Moving Ahead Services, Willoughby
2. E xscape Designs, Newbury Township
3. Hauser Services, Middlefield
4. Briar Rose Nurseries Inc, Perry Township
5. Tri-Den Heating and Air Conditioning LLC, Painesville 6. JLP CPAs, Mentor 7. Heckman Excavating Inc., Mentor
8. Enterprise Door, Mentor
9. North American Coating Laboratories, Mentor
10. O’Reilly Equipment,LLC, Newbury Township
11. Neothink, LLC, Willoughby
12. Orthopedic Associates of Lake County, Concord Township
13. Cornerstone IT, Mentor
14. NMS Inc. & Affiliates, Chardon
15. T&D Fabricating Inc., Eastlake
16. La-Vera Party Center & Express Catering, Willoughby Hills
17. Thomas C. Hurst Landscaping, Inc., Painesville
18. Lowe’s Greenhouses, Florist & Gift Shop, Bainbridge Township
19. Guyer Precision Inc., Painesville
20. Blackbird Digital, Willoughby
21. Anodizing Specialists Inc., Mentor
22. Al’s Plumbing, Middlefield
23. Bullseye/TCNA Z , Eastlake
24. RJK Construction, LLC, Willoughby
25. Giuseppe’s Pizza, Willowick
Other special awards presented at the 2017 Fast Track 50 gala went to these entities and individuals:
• Entrepreneur of the Year Award — Jerry Bednarcik of Apollo Supply in Willoughby.
• Game Changer Award — Attorney Patrick Perotti of the Dworken & Bernstein law firm in Painesville.
• Nonprofit Award: Geauga Growth Partnership of Newbury Township.
• Fast Track 50 Hall of Fame Awards — Five-year winners were JLP CPAs and R JK Construction. Earning 10-year awards were e2b teknologies and T&D Fabricating Inc. (Geographic locations of these businesses are listed in rankings above.)
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.