Volume 31 • Issue 09 • September 2006

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On the fast track
Catching up with some of the
region’s fastest growing companies

by Hilary Parker


If businesses were automobiles, some would be Japanese models, the tried-and-true performers; others would be heavy-duty trucks, ready to take on the big jobs; still others would be the Sunday drivers, pretty to look at, but more of a hobby than serious transportation.
Then there would be the ultimate racecar – ones that could maintain a dragster’s 300-mph-plus speeds – not for a quarter-mile but 200 laps of the Indy marathon.
Fast growing businesses with staying power – those ultimate racecars of the business world are in high gear throughout our region. Following are a few of the fastest around as determined by sales figures from 2003-2005.

Franssen Motors, Inc.
Franssen Motors, Inc. (FMI), established in 1988, is a family owned and operated business located in Oak Harbor. Starting with just three employees, the company currently employs more than 30 full and part-time employees within FMI and its subsidiaries. In the last two years the company’s gross sales have slightly more than doubled.
FMI got its start as Oak Harbor Auto Wrecking. The company expanded into towing, and then moved into heavy equipment sales and rental as Jet City Equipment in 1992. The next addition to the FMI subsidiaries was Jet City Fleet Repair, which provides parts and services for heavy equipment and trucks. Most recently, FMI was appointed by Hyundai Construction Equipment and ASV as the dealer for Washington state.
FMI recently began reaching outside the Oak Harbor area to better serve an expanding client base. Their newest location is in Marysville with future expansions planned for the south Puget Sound area.

Management Services Northwest
“We’ll take care of it” is the mission statement of this facility management company started by Janelle Bruland in 1995. Serving customers from Whatcom to Pierce County, Management Services Northwest counts Horizon and Peoples banks and Diehl Ford among its clients.
The company specializes in full-service facility maintenance, covering janitorial, landscaping, lighting, and routine and emergency maintenance services.
The company broke the $1 million mark in 2004, and reports a 45.6 percent increase in sales since 2003. It’s a trend Bruland expects to continue as MSNW is on pace to increase revenue again in 2006 by 35 percent.
“It is because of our incredible team of employees and the great clients that have given us their confidence and trust, that we have been able to grow at this rate,” Bruland said.
She also credits the company’s model of continuous improvement from top down as a key to MSNW’s success. The company employs 89.

Pro CNC, Inc.
Recently named to Washington CEO magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” list and a three-time pick on the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “Fastest Growing Private Companies” list since 2001, Pro CNC is no stranger to success – or growth. In the past two years the company has seen a 57 percent increase in sales.
Founded in 1997 by a group of Western Washington University graduates, Pro CNC is a full service, tech-savvy manufacturing company that offers consulting, design and quick-turn prototype machining using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining for materials from plastic to titanium.
Paul Van Metre, vice president of sales and marketing for Pro CNC, believes their growth is especially significant for a manufacturing company that creates their products from raw materials.
“We’re adding the value … creating the finished goods,” he said.
The company hasn’t forgotten its roots at Western, having hired a number of graduates from Western and Bellingham Technical College, Van Metre said. Pro CNC has also donated materials and tools to the schools’ engineering programs.

QM Bearings
QM Bearings has been in business since 1951, but the company didn’t open a facility in Ferndale until 1997. Before then, most sales took place in Canada.
“In just the last few years we’ve focused on the U.S. market with excellent results,” said QM’s Steve Kaiser. “We anticipate most of the future growth will come from U.S. sales.”
In fact, in the last two years QM has grown by 35 percent.
The bearings and couplings manufactured by the company are used in applications including saw-, paper- and pulp mills, mining and aggregate operations, and the steel industry. Through its distributor, McQuire Bearing, QM provides its products for companies throughout the state, including Bow Hill Mill Company in Skagit County.
The company, which employs 30, is sharing its good fortune with the community. Last year QM Bearings won the United Way of Whatcom County’s award for “2005 Campaign, Best New Company.” Employee donations, matching funds and a corporate gift contributed $10,000 to the United Way’s fundraising goal.

Do you run with a fast crowd?
Northwest Business Monthly will continue to track the region’s fastest growing companies, and we’re looking for your input. If you think your company has what it takes to dubbed a fast growing company, visit nwbusinessmonthly.com to complete the application form.

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