Local firms make region's 'fastest growing' list.

Publication: Bellingham Business Journal

Publication Date: 01-NOV-04

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Being recognized as having one of the fastest growing businesses in the entire Puget Sound region is a nice achievement, but handling a company-wide growth spurt has also been a learning experience for the owners of three Bellingham businesses.

Pro CNC, Logos Bible Software and The Ryzex Group all were recently ranked in the Puget Sound Business Journal's list of Top 100 Fastest-growing Private Companies. The companies were ranked based on percent change in revenue from 2001 to 2003.

Pro CNC ranked 52nd on the list, with an 84.8 percent change in revenue. Logos weighed in at No. 68 with a 63.8 percent change, while Ryzex landed at No. 89, with a 39-3 percent change.

While each agree it's nice to be put on a list that indicates their company is doing well, the act of rapidly growing a company brings its own complications that can leave the owner stressed out at the end of the day.

"There are a lot of different ways to lose control while the company is growing, whether it's the burnout of the longer hours, finding the right employees to add or handling cash-flow issues," said Paul Van Metre, who owns Pro CNC with Kelsey Heikoop and Darcy Hughes. "This company has gone through a sustained growth spurt, and I still feel like an amateur because I'm finding new challenges every day."

Bob Pritchett, president and CEO of Logos, said it can be a stressful experience because it is difficult to predict how long the growth spurt will last, but he prefers it to the steady, slow growth of a company.

"I like the rapid growth because it says we're doing the right things and that we've found something that is useful for our customers," Pritchett said.

Rud Browne, president of Ryzex, said he's surprised his company continues to regularly make the list, because it is his philosophy not to get loans or seek funding in order to grow his business. The company, which sells new and refurbished...

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