Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
COVER STORY :: UPSIZE GROWTH CHALLENGE
Finish line
Three winning companies report progress toward goals
by Beth Ewen
PRESS GOLD GROUP was named overall champion of the Upsize Growth Challenge 2008, capturing the largest number of audience votes at the wrap-up event June 25.
President Carl Pressman presented the company?s story, and introduced two of his young sons, who were in the audience.
He detailed Press Gold?s efforts to integrate two parts of the business: the older time-and-attendance systems that make up about $1 million of the firm?s annual sales and have been growing at about 8 percent to 10 percent a year; and the newer payroll service, sales of which are expected to double this year, to $400,000, from last year?s $200,000.
Press Gold joined the two other winners of this year?s contest, Permac Industries and Roden Iron, whose owners also shared their stories.
Darlene Miller, CEO of Permac Industries, implemented as many as 30 suggestions from the contest?s experts, who gave each winning company advice in two workshops. She thanked her staff as integral to Permac?s success, starting with writing the nomination that captured the Upsize Growth Challenge judges? attention.
Kelly Roden, president of Roden Iron, put in place a financial foundation for her young company, at the urging of the contest experts. A balance sheet, loan documentation, and a two-year cash flow projection were among these crucial items. She acknowledged her husband and company co-owner Brian, her mother and her in-laws, all in the audience at the event.
[ABOUT THIS CONTEST]
All three winning companies of the Upsize Growth Challenge 2008 were selected by judges, including Diane Paterson of WomenVenture in St. Paul (www.womenventure.org), for the ambition and complexity of their growth goal, and the quality of work already done to meet it.
Each winning company received two workshops with experts who provide advice to help them reach their goal, and the opportunity to present their story at the Upsize Growth Challenge Seminar & Celebration June 25. Coverage follows of the second workshop, in May.
Presenting sponsor is Clientek, the information technology consulting firm in Minneapolis, and sponsors are EideBailly of Bloomington, the accounting and business consulting firm; Highland Bank of St. Paul, with community banks throughout the metro area; The Sage Group, a marketing and communications firm in Minneapolis; and Winthrop & Weinstine, the Minneapolis law firm. An expert from each of the sponsors helped the winners during the workshops, and provided commentary at the breakfast event.
Nominations will open in December for the Upsize Growth Challenge 2009.
As the name suggests, Owatonna-based Kamp Automation looks for customers with a process they’d like to automate. It could be a small, inconvenient, tiny part that people can’t assemble. It could be a high-volume product so needed that the customer can’t find enough labor to produce it in the necessary quantities. “We’ll work anywhere from medical device companies to the seed industry for corn and soybeans,” says Kent Patterson, co-founder, president and CEO. “We just jump all over wherever there is custom automation.” The company started in his garage. Patterson and his partners built a machine. The company started to grow to the point where now it has 48 employees — and had a bunch of people and stuff in different locations. “We went from a garage to a shop to a shop and just kept moving to new places and signing leases,” he says. “We got to a point where it’s like, OK, this is getting big enough and sustainable — we felt that we wanted to look for our own space.’”
