Out of the Darkness

• MAY / JUNE 2011
• FEB / MAR 2011
• DECEMBER 2010
• OCT / NOV 2010
• AUG / SEP 2010
• MAY / JUNE 2010

This year’s 50 Fastest-Growing Companies Performance Survey is particularly pleasing because of the three-year span in which it takes place; the dark days of a world economy in a slow struggle to survive after a near global disintegration which cannot be understated. Billions of dollars have evaporated affecting the daily lives of people monetarily. Saving, spending and debt have all been reassessed.

Though the world won’t be the same in the future as it has been in the past for a long while and people now realize how the quickly wealth and investment can be taken away, small and all businesses have continued to weather the storm created by the demise of the US economy. Now the incredible destructive weather crisis in Japan and the slowing of China is another blow to the way we live in North America.

I often wonder where all the massive debt has gone, a story for another day I suppose.

All I know is that some of the best stocks on the market are trading at least $10 $15 off their values of two years ago and have not recovered or moved forward. That means a lot of personal savings have shrunk and not a lot more are going into equity markets. Raising money for business these days is a tough go.

Though our annual performance survey favors smaller companies, larger ones have shown some significant growth such as San Gold Corporation, a gold producer located at Bissett, Manitoba, income grew by 1,189 per cent going from $4.4 million in 2007 to $57 million by 2010.

Then there is the remarkable growth by acquisition of Exchange Income Corporation, a Manitoba-based holding company, is an example of strategic buyouts of companies with good cash flow such as regional airline CALM Air and other smaller airlines swelling EIC’s revenue from $99 million three years ago to $250 million today. Quite a breath taking accomplishment.

And then there is one of my favorites small companies, which I ran across at the Manitoba Food Processors annual Christmas smorgasbord. Perfect Pierogies. I went back several times to their sample table, the seventh time wearing a false beard. I love pierogies, there is something about the dish that is irresistible. In fact, any Ukrainian food will do for me. The company started from scratch, built the equipment, renovated an old school house in Garson and off they went. Now they have reached our survey with story of success through risk taking and confidence in creating a new company with a traditional and ethnically historic product.

As well, we present in a special supplement the historic and inside story of a 100 year old family company named Quintex Services Ltd., a niche service business that we found fascinating from a logistics point. See you in May.

Ritchie Gage, Editor-in-chief

Feedback: ritchie.gage@shaw.ca