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CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

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CBJ’s<br />

<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong><br />

COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong><br />

®


2 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 3


<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

Celebrating private enterprise<br />

We are proud to publish for the fourth time<br />

a list of the largest privately held companies<br />

headquartered in Iowa’s Creative Corridor.<br />

We feel it is important to recognize and<br />

celebrate these<br />

companies<br />

and their leaders<br />

every other<br />

year because<br />

they are foundational<br />

to our<br />

region’s economy,<br />

and also<br />

because much<br />

can change in<br />

just a few years.<br />

We have<br />

seen Apache,<br />

Integrated<br />

JOHN F. LOHMAN DNA Technologies<br />

and Diamond<br />

V, among the largest of our region’s<br />

privately held companies, get sold to major<br />

publicly-traded corporations based outside<br />

of the region. That’s not always bad, but it<br />

certainly changes the dynamics of those that<br />

are acquired.<br />

The main purpose in producing this special<br />

publication is to show our readers that<br />

Iowa’s Creative Corridor has a vibrant private<br />

sector that is the very engine driving our<br />

economy. Most of these companies and their<br />

owners work extremely hard and don’t receive<br />

the recognition they rightfully deserve.<br />

This publication is a small token of our appreciation<br />

for their hard work and success.<br />

To be listed, company owners had to provide<br />

their gross revenue amounts from 2017.<br />

As many of them mentioned to us when we<br />

sought this confidential information, one of<br />

the benefits of being a privately held company<br />

is that they don’t have to provide this<br />

information to anyone other than the government.<br />

Fortunately, many were willing to<br />

disclose it to us for publication.<br />

This special supplement includes the<br />

CBJ’s List of the <strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

with revenues above $20 million.<br />

This list is obviously not comprehensive,<br />

as there are thousands of businesses in our<br />

region, but it does give a good representation<br />

of many of the largest. We unfortunately<br />

weren’t able to publish submitting companies<br />

with revenues under $20 million, due to<br />

space constraints.<br />

We have also profiled the largest companies<br />

on our list, and included details on their<br />

leadership teams, boards and support structures,<br />

when provided.<br />

CRST International tops the list once<br />

again, and should get a tremendous amount<br />

of appreciation and respect from our readers.<br />

This homegrown company has provided<br />

many good-paying jobs and supported many<br />

philanthropic efforts here in the Corridor.<br />

The company’s new headquarters in downtown<br />

Cedar Rapids has helped anchor a new<br />

phase of growth and commitment in the<br />

area, and shows the depth of CRST’s dedication<br />

to the community.<br />

We were pleased to celebrate all of the<br />

participating companies and their executive<br />

teams in May during a Celebrating Private<br />

Enterprise reception at the Cedar Rapids<br />

Country Club, sponsored by CRST, IWLC<br />

and Jet Air.<br />

We look forward to publishing this list every<br />

other year and helping our readers celebrate<br />

the region’s private enterprises with us.<br />

John F. Lohman<br />

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & PUBLISHER<br />

Corridor Business Journal<br />

MAY <strong>2018</strong><br />

CHIEF EXECUTIVE<br />

OFFICER & PUBLISHER<br />

John F. Lohman<br />

VICE PRESIDENT<br />

Aspen N. Lohman<br />

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER<br />

& ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER<br />

Andrea Rhoades<br />

EDITOR & CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER<br />

Adam Moore<br />

WRITERS<br />

Katharine Carlon<br />

Dave DeWitte<br />

Jennie Morton<br />

Jim Offner<br />

Emery Styron<br />

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER<br />

Becky Lyons<br />

GRAPHIC DESIGNER<br />

Julia Druckmiller<br />

MAGAZINE & SPECIAL<br />

PROJECTS EDITOR<br />

Angela Holmes<br />

MAGAZINE MEDIA CONSULTANT<br />

Judith Cobb<br />

CBJ MEDIA CONSULTANT<br />

Kelly Meyer<br />

EVENT MARKETING COORDINATOR<br />

Ashley Levitt<br />

EVENT MEDIA CONSULTANT<br />

Rhonda Roskos<br />

MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION<br />

MANAGER<br />

Jean Suckow<br />

INSIDE<br />

5........CBJ List of LPH 1-11<br />

6........CRST International<br />

8........TrueNorth <strong>Companies</strong><br />

10......Van Meter Inc.<br />

12......Elite Casino Resorts<br />

14......UICCU<br />

16......GreatAmerica Financial<br />

18......World Class Industries<br />

20......Stanley Consultants<br />

22......Centro Inc.<br />

24......West Side Transport<br />

26......Modern <strong>Companies</strong><br />

27......CBJ List of LPH 12-24<br />

28......LPH by the Numbers<br />

30......CBJ List of LPH 25-35<br />

Contents are registered to Corridor<br />

Media Group. Reproductions or<br />

other use, in whole or in part, of the<br />

contents of the publication without<br />

permission is strictly prohibited.<br />

2345 Landon Road, Ste. 100<br />

North Liberty, IA 52317<br />

319.665.NEWS<br />

www.corridorbusiness.com<br />

4 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

(Ranked by 2017 (Ranked Revenues) by 2017 Revenues)<br />

(Ranked by 2017 Revenues)<br />

RANK Name/Address<br />

RANK Name/Address<br />

Contact Information<br />

Contact Information<br />

Year<br />

Established Year<br />

Established<br />

Top Local<br />

Executives Top Local<br />

Executives<br />

2017 Revenue<br />

2017 Revenue<br />

Number of<br />

Employees Number of<br />

FT/PT Employees<br />

FT/PT<br />

1<br />

CRST International Inc.<br />

201 CRST First International St. SE Ste. Inc. 400<br />

Cedar 201 First Rapids, St. SE IA Ste. 52401 400<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(800) 736-2778<br />

(800) 736-2778; fax (319)<br />

390-2785B (800) 736-2778; fax (319)<br />

www.crst.com<br />

390-2785B<br />

www.crst.com<br />

1953<br />

1953<br />

John Smith<br />

David John Smith Rusch<br />

Hugh David Ekberg Rusch<br />

Hugh Ekberg<br />

$1,555,000,000 7,494<br />

$1,555,000,000 - 7,494 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

2<br />

TrueNorth <strong>Companies</strong> LLC<br />

500 TrueNorth First St. <strong>Companies</strong> SE LLC<br />

Cedar 500 First Rapids, St. SEIA 52401<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(319) 364-5193; fax (319)<br />

862-0612 (319) 364-5193; fax (319)<br />

www.truenorthcompanies.com<br />

862-0612<br />

www.truenorthcompanies.com<br />

2001<br />

2001<br />

Duane Smith<br />

Jason Duane Smith<br />

Bill Jason Teubel Smith<br />

Dru Bill Teubel Bridges<br />

Dru Bridges<br />

$813,200,000C 320<br />

$813,200,000C 305/15 320<br />

305/15<br />

3<br />

Van Meter Inc.<br />

850 Van 32nd Meter Ave. Inc. SW<br />

Cedar 850 32nd Rapids, Ave. IA SW52404<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(800) 247-1410<br />

(319) (800) 366-5301; 247-1410 fax (319)<br />

366-4709 (319) 366-5301; fax (319)<br />

www.vanmeterinc.com<br />

366-4709<br />

www.vanmeterinc.com<br />

1928<br />

1928<br />

Lura McBride<br />

Melanie Lura McBride Fisher<br />

Doyle Melanie Fisher<br />

Mike DoyleGassmann<br />

Brian Mike Gassmann Bytnar<br />

Jeff Brian Miller Bytnar<br />

Alicia Jeff Miller Murphy<br />

Alicia Murphy<br />

$365,300,000<br />

$365,300,000<br />

512<br />

- 512 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

4<br />

Elite Casino Resorts LLC<br />

3184 Elite Casino Highway Resorts 22 LLC<br />

Riverside, 3184 Highway IA 52327 22<br />

Riverside, IA 52327<br />

(877) 677-3456<br />

(319) (877) 648-1234; 677-3456 fax (319)<br />

648-5800 (319) 648-1234; fax (319)<br />

www.kehlmanagement.com<br />

648-5800<br />

www.kehlmanagement.com<br />

2015<br />

2015<br />

Dan Kehl<br />

Ken Dan Bonnet Kehl<br />

Bobby Ken Bonnet Kehl<br />

Karalyn Bobby Kehl Ollendick<br />

Karalyn Ollendick<br />

$251,100,000<br />

$251,100,000<br />

1,667<br />

1,458/209 1,667<br />

1,458/209<br />

5<br />

University of Iowa<br />

Community University of Credit Iowa Union<br />

2355 Community Landon Credit RoadUnion<br />

North 2355 Landon Liberty, Road IA 52317<br />

North Liberty, IA 52317<br />

(800) 397-3790<br />

(319) (800) 339-1000 397-3790<br />

www.uiccu.org<br />

(319) 339-1000<br />

www.uiccu.org<br />

1938<br />

1938<br />

Jeffrey Disterhoft<br />

Todd Jeffrey Fanning Disterhoft<br />

Jim Todd Kelly Fanning<br />

Sue Jim Kelly Freeman<br />

Dick Sue Freeman Noble<br />

Steve Dick Noble Quigley<br />

Amy Steve Henderson Quigley<br />

Scott Amy Henderson Wilson<br />

Scott Wilson<br />

$216,300,000<br />

$216,300,000<br />

435<br />

- 435 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

6<br />

GreatAmerica Financial<br />

Services GreatAmerica Financial<br />

625 Services First St. SE<br />

Cedar 625 First Rapids, St. SEIA 52401<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(800) 234-8787<br />

(319) (800) 261-4188; 234-8787 fax (319)<br />

261-6188 (319) 261-4188; fax (319)<br />

www.greatamerica.com<br />

261-6188<br />

www.greatamerica.com<br />

1992<br />

1992<br />

Tony Golobic<br />

Stan Tony Herkelman Golobic<br />

David Stan Herkelman Pohlman<br />

Joe David Terfler Pohlman<br />

Joe Terfler<br />

$183,000,000<br />

$183,000,000<br />

516<br />

503/13 516<br />

503/13<br />

7<br />

World Class Industries Inc.<br />

925 World N. Class 15th Ave. Industries Inc.<br />

Hiawatha, 925 N. 15th IA Ave. 52233<br />

Hiawatha, IA 52233<br />

(319) 378-1766; fax (319)<br />

378-1493 (319) 378-1766; fax (319)<br />

www.worldclassind.com<br />

378-1493<br />

www.worldclassind.com<br />

1953<br />

1953<br />

Brent Cobb<br />

Sandy Brent Cobb Kaloupek<br />

Patrick Sandy Kaloupek Patterson<br />

Patrick Patterson<br />

$172,200,000<br />

$172,200,000<br />

142<br />

- 142 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

8<br />

Stanley Consultants Inc.<br />

225 Stanley Iowa Consultants Ave. Inc.<br />

Muscatine, 225 Iowa Ave. IA 52761<br />

Muscatine, IA 52761<br />

(563) 264-6600<br />

www.stanleyconsultants.com<br />

(563) 264-6600<br />

www.stanleyconsultants.com<br />

1913<br />

1913<br />

Kate Harris<br />

Gayle Kate Harris Roberts<br />

Bill Gayle Harper Roberts<br />

Bill Harper<br />

$166,100,000<br />

$166,100,000<br />

838<br />

723/115 838<br />

723/115<br />

9<br />

Centro Inc.<br />

950 Centro N. Bend Inc. Drive<br />

North 950 N. Liberty, Bend Drive IA 52317<br />

North Liberty, IA 52317<br />

(319) 626-3200; fax (319)<br />

626-3203 (319) 626-3200; fax (319)<br />

www.centroinc.com<br />

626-3203<br />

www.centroinc.com<br />

1970<br />

1970<br />

Brian Olesen<br />

Tripp Brian Traicoff Olesen<br />

Alvin Tripp Spence Traicoff<br />

Alvin Spence<br />

$119,400,000<br />

$119,400,000<br />

950<br />

- 950 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

10<br />

10<br />

West Side Transport<br />

4201 West 16th Side Ave. Transport SW<br />

Cedar 4201 16th Rapids, Ave. IA SW52404<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(800) 373-2957<br />

(319) (800) 730-1651; 373-2957 fax (319)<br />

390-7311 (319) 730-1651; fax (319)<br />

westsidetransport.com<br />

390-7311<br />

westsidetransport.com<br />

1968<br />

1968<br />

Don Vogt<br />

John Don Vogt Dalrymple<br />

Ron John Joseph Dalrymple<br />

Ron Joseph<br />

$114,000,000<br />

$114,000,000<br />

700<br />

- 700 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

11<br />

11<br />

Modern <strong>Companies</strong><br />

500 Modern Walford <strong>Companies</strong> Road SW<br />

Cedar 500 Walford Rapids, Road IA 52404 SW<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(888) 871-0062<br />

(319) (888) 364-0131; 871-0062 fax (319)<br />

364-8368 (319) 364-0131; fax (319)<br />

www.moderncompaniesinc.com<br />

364-8368<br />

www.moderncompaniesinc.com<br />

1939<br />

1939<br />

Ken Brown<br />

Dave Ken Brown<br />

Matt Dave Huber Brown<br />

Matt Huber<br />

$105,000,000<br />

$105,000,000<br />

360<br />

- 360 -/- -<br />

- -/- -<br />

Note: Entries may be edited for length and clarity.B (319) 390-2649 sales fax. C Revenue includes premiums<br />

Note: Entries may be edited for length and clarity.B (319) 390-2649 sales fax. C Revenue includes premiums CONTINUED ON PAGE 27 & 29<br />

CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 5


CRST International<br />

1<br />

CRST International continues to lead the pack of largest<br />

privately held companies in the Corridor, with some<br />

big acquisitions driving revenue at a time when organic<br />

growth has been hard to achieve.<br />

The Cedar Rapids-based company is one of the most<br />

diversified carriers in the country, with eight operating<br />

companies serving different segments of the market and $1.55<br />

billion in revenue. It is likely the largest privately held trucking<br />

company in the United States after a rival carrier, Schneider National,<br />

went public in 2017.<br />

CRST serves shippers with<br />

8,100 company drivers and<br />

independent contractors and<br />

about 6,100 trucks. In 2017,<br />

it was ranked the nation’s<br />

19th largest for-hire carrier by<br />

Transport Topics magazine,<br />

up from 24th in 2016.<br />

Being privately owned<br />

by the Smith family of Cedar<br />

Rapids has helped CRST<br />

take advantage of many<br />

growth opportunities while<br />

also taking care of its home<br />

DAVID RUSCH<br />

PRESIDENT & CEO<br />

community, according to<br />

CEO David Rusch.<br />

“Being privately held gives<br />

us a lot of flexibility in the<br />

marketplace because we can react much quicker to our shipper’s<br />

needs than some of the large publicly-held companies that have<br />

more bureaucracy,” Mr. Rusch said. Difficult decisions such as<br />

whether to acquire another company or make a major investment<br />

can be made faster, he added.<br />

Chairman John Smith and his wife Dyan have been leaders<br />

in the city’s recovery from the flood of 2008, showing confidence<br />

in the flood-affected downtown area by building a $36<br />

million office tower, donating more than $1 million to neighborhood<br />

rebuilding effort Block by Block and supporting wetlands<br />

restoration efforts in the Cedar River watershed that will<br />

reduce future flooding.<br />

CRST has drawn growth in recent years from its 2016 acquisition<br />

of California-based Gardner Trucking, which added<br />

about $400 million in revenue, and its 2015 acquisition of Pegasus<br />

Transportation, a Kentucky-based carrier specializing in<br />

time-sensitive loads such as blood plasma and pharmaceuticals.<br />

Without those acquisitions, Mr. Rusch said growth would<br />

have been elusive. Shipping demand rose rapidly when the<br />

economy first began recovering from the last recession in 2010.<br />

Many carriers had gone bankrupt, leaving the surviving, larger<br />

carriers with all the business they could handle. Those companies<br />

then went on a truck-buying spree, and by 2016, there was<br />

overcapacity, meaning carriers were unable to raise rates even as<br />

costs continued to escalate.<br />

“Our legacy companies, like most of our peers, were forced<br />

to cut fleet size over the last couple of years,” Mr. Rusch said.<br />

“Freight wasn’t strong, utilization dipped a bit and we just<br />

couldn’t get the drivers.” Without CRST’s recent acquisitions, he<br />

said overall revenue would have declined.<br />

Although shipping demand has picked up since last year,<br />

CRST and most other<br />

carriers have been<br />

hard-pressed to take<br />

advantage of it. Heavy<br />

Duty Trucking magazine<br />

reported that<br />

many shippers began<br />

having trouble as early<br />

as September 2017<br />

finding enough trucks<br />

to satisfy customers’<br />

shipping needs. That<br />

shortage has bloomed<br />

into a “capacity crisis”<br />

in recent months.<br />

“It’s the worst driver<br />

shortage I’ve seen<br />

in my 38 years in the<br />

industry,” Mr. Rusch<br />

said. “The only difference<br />

between 2010<br />

and today is that none<br />

of us can get drivers.”<br />

CRST announced a<br />

pay enhancement program<br />

in January that<br />

will cost it about $14<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

John Smith, Chairman<br />

David Rusch, President & CEO<br />

Hugh Ekberg, COO<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

John Smith, Chair<br />

Dyan Smith<br />

Ian Smith<br />

John Bowron<br />

Tony Golobic<br />

Dave Kulik<br />

Robert Lake<br />

Peter Latta<br />

John Larkin<br />

Henry Royer<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust<br />

RSM US LLP<br />

Simmons Perrine Moyer<br />

Bergman PLC<br />

million this year in an effort to attract and retain more drivers.<br />

One operating company, CRST Specialized Transportation Services,<br />

introduced a $12,000 bonus program that pays the driver<br />

an extra $1,000 per month for the first 12 months on the job.<br />

The inability of trucking companies to raise rates during the<br />

recent period of overcapacity has slowed the company’s pace toward<br />

$2 billion in annual revenue, Mr. Rusch said, but he’s confident<br />

CRST can reach the goal within the next couple of years.<br />

“We’re entrepreneurial,” Mr. Rusch said. “We just don’t take<br />

‘no’ for an answer. When there’s a challenge out there, we have<br />

solutions. We understand them, we know what we have to do<br />

to fix them and I’m confident in my management team that we<br />

can execute and achieve our goals.”<br />

- Dave DeWitte<br />

PHOTO MIRANDA MEYER<br />

6 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 7


TrueNorth <strong>Companies</strong><br />

2<br />

When TrueNorth <strong>Companies</strong> set about preparing its<br />

2017 annual report, there was only one logical thing<br />

to title it: Evolve.<br />

In what CEO Duane Smith called “a year of transformation<br />

and evolution,” TrueNorth announced a transition<br />

in leadership, 60 new team members, four new<br />

acquisitions and a new talent development program designed to<br />

help employees grow both personally and professionally.<br />

That’s without even mentioning its $813 million in revenue,<br />

a figure that ranks the Cedar Rapids-based insurer and financial<br />

services provider as the<br />

second-largest privately held<br />

company in the Corridor,<br />

and puts it well on its way to<br />

reaching a goal of $1 billion<br />

in sales by 2020 and $2 billion<br />

by 2025.<br />

“We’re right on track to hit<br />

that $2 billion in 2025,” said<br />

Mr. Smith, adding that True-<br />

North’s growth has been split<br />

about 70-30 between organic<br />

growth and acquisitions over<br />

the past two years.<br />

“It’s a good thing,” he<br />

DUANE SMITH<br />

CEO<br />

joked of the rapid change.<br />

“But be careful what you ask<br />

for, you just might get it.”<br />

Since 2015, four new firms<br />

have begun operating under the TrueNorth umbrella, including<br />

Community State Bank Insurance of Ankeny, Edwards-Brandt<br />

and Associates of Mason City, Weinman Insurance of Indianola<br />

and Nimble Insurance of Chicago.<br />

Thanks to consolidation in the industry, competition is<br />

fierce, and Mr. Smith said TrueNorth looks at about 20 acquisition<br />

targets for every deal that gets completed.<br />

“Private equity groups have found that the reoccurring revenue<br />

our industry generates is attractive to them,” he said, adding<br />

that TrueNorth’s unique ownership structure has given it an advantage<br />

others can’t match. Since the company was established<br />

in 2001, it has grown from six owners to 60 – and counting.<br />

“It’s because we give entrepreneurs the ability to have a say in<br />

their own business and their own specialty, subject to our owners<br />

manual, and to own part of their future growth, income and<br />

ability to grow equity in their respective profit center,” Mr. Smith<br />

explained. “They’re making their own decisions about their businesses<br />

everyday versus just being employees of a larger firm and I<br />

think that resonates in the partnerships we build with our clients.”<br />

The company’s organic growth has largely been driven by<br />

its insurance products and industry-specific services for construction,<br />

medical, transportation and other fields. Over the<br />

next 10 years, the company hopes to add another 400-500<br />

employees, ideally half through its acquisition strategy and<br />

half from within.<br />

“We’ve been building out our level of expertise so we can<br />

focus on really specific industries,” Mr. Smith said. “We’re<br />

active within their associations, we really get to understand<br />

what problems they are facing. In a perfect partnership with<br />

our clients, we’re only spending 25-30 percent placing insurance<br />

products and<br />

spending the other 70<br />

percent helping solve<br />

other business issues<br />

… many of our competitors<br />

don’t focus<br />

that deep.”<br />

The company earlier<br />

this year made<br />

good on its long-held<br />

succession plan, with<br />

Mr. Smith’s son, Jason,<br />

set to take over<br />

as CEO in 2020. Jason<br />

Smith, who now serves<br />

as president, has taken<br />

over business development<br />

and growth initiatives,<br />

his father said,<br />

“and has done a great<br />

job of really building<br />

out a structured focus<br />

on organic growth.”<br />

Planning for a new<br />

generation of leadership<br />

is perhaps the<br />

biggest challenge the<br />

company faces going<br />

into the future – and<br />

on a personal level,<br />

Mr. Smith said, the<br />

toughest evolution.<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Duane Smith, CEO<br />

Jason Smith, President<br />

Bill Teubel, CFO<br />

Dru Bridges, COO<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Loren Coppock, Chair<br />

Duane Smith<br />

Jason Smith<br />

Bill Teubel<br />

Dru Bridges<br />

Randy Rings<br />

Trent Tillman<br />

Max Smith<br />

Josh Budke<br />

Devin Pipkin<br />

Dave Verhille<br />

Pete Layden<br />

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successful company is really the ability to hand it off and have<br />

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will stand the test of time.”<br />

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8 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 9


Van Meter Inc.<br />

3<br />

LURA MCBRIDE<br />

PRESIDENT & CEO<br />

Van Meter Inc. is unique among the Corridor’s largest<br />

companies, in that it is 100 percent owned by its employees.<br />

It’s an approach that makes every worker an<br />

active guardian of the electrical distributor’s bottom<br />

line and has fueled its growth since its last appearance<br />

on the CBJ’s <strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong> list in<br />

2016, according to President and CEO Lura McBride.<br />

In addition to an acquisition in downtown Chicago, Van Meter<br />

has also opened a branch<br />

in Omaha. The 85-year-old<br />

company based in Cedar<br />

Rapids now has 15 locations<br />

throughout the Midwest.<br />

“Nebraska is a true extension<br />

of our Iowa marketplace,”<br />

Ms. McBride said of<br />

the new location. “We are<br />

listening to our customers<br />

and expanding to where they<br />

need us to have a presence.”<br />

Van Meter has also formed<br />

relationships with national<br />

commercial contracting clients,<br />

offering a new avenue<br />

for growth. It continues to<br />

serve numerous other verticals<br />

as well, from education<br />

and health care to manufacturing and agriculture.<br />

A perennial leader in building staff engagement and positive<br />

workplace culture, the company recently created a 2025<br />

vision to guide how it will continue to provide lasting value.<br />

This roadmap was crafted by the entire organization, and incorporated<br />

input from customers and partner suppliers as well.<br />

“To foster buy-in, we had to ensure that the direction was<br />

aligned with our people. Everyone from our receptionists and<br />

delivery drivers to managers and product specialists had the<br />

opportunity to contribute,” Ms. McBride explained. “When everyone<br />

understands how their role is critical to our vision, the<br />

goals are easier to achieve.”<br />

The company also continues to invest in its workforce. Van<br />

Meter encourages its employee-owners to nurture their purpose<br />

outside of work. With a parental leave program that recognizes<br />

both mothers and fathers, employee sabbaticals, and a<br />

“5-7 Challenge” that discourages after-hours work, the company<br />

ensures work-life balance is an authentic habit and not just<br />

a buzzword.<br />

The results are paying<br />

off as Van Meter<br />

has grown its employee-owner<br />

base to more<br />

than 500 – a 10 percent<br />

increase from 2016.<br />

Part of that progress<br />

stems from deliberately<br />

building relationships.<br />

Van Meter’s mission<br />

rests on five core principles:<br />

people, partners,<br />

progress, place<br />

and profit. According<br />

to Ms. McBride, a business<br />

can reach new<br />

heights only when its<br />

people come first.<br />

“Employee benefits<br />

aren’t the only way to<br />

invest in people – you<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Lura McBride, President & CEO<br />

Melanie Fisher Doyle, CFO<br />

Mike Gassmann, EVP & Chief<br />

Growth Officer<br />

Brian Bytnar, Chief Development<br />

Officer<br />

Jeff Miller, VP Information<br />

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Alicia Murphy, Chief<br />

Organizational Effectiveness<br />

Officer<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Bruce Lehrman<br />

Barry Boyer<br />

Hillary Hughes<br />

Lura McBride<br />

Jeff Siegfried<br />

Duane Smith<br />

should strengthen<br />

your day-to-day culture<br />

as well” she said.<br />

“Van Meter achieves<br />

this by heavily developing our own leaders. We want our leaders<br />

to lift up each individual person in our company. When<br />

leaders empower, enable and support every team member, our<br />

employee-owners are inspired and motivated to innovate for<br />

our customers.”<br />

To keep people at the forefront and reinforce its ownership<br />

culture, Van Meter has made intentional and strategic investments<br />

in how it recruits and hires new members. It has also<br />

focused on inboarding, which is a type of support given to existing<br />

employee-owners to help them succeed not only in their<br />

current role but ones they may hold in the future.<br />

“Van Meter is different because we are both privately held<br />

and employee owned. The employee-ownership model not<br />

only provides accountability, but it also makes profitability accessible<br />

to every single person in the company, regardless of<br />

their position,” Ms. McBride said. “When employees think, act<br />

and serve like an owner, it creates a company culture that delivers<br />

better service, value and outcomes for everyone.”<br />

- Jennie Morton<br />

“When employees think, act<br />

and serve like an owner, it<br />

creates a company culture that<br />

delivers better service, value<br />

and outcomes for everyone.”<br />

- LURA MCBRIDE<br />

10 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 11


Elite Casino Resorts<br />

4<br />

“We try to do things that will change the landscape<br />

here in the state,” said Dan Kehl, whose family obtained<br />

the first riverboat gambling license in Iowa<br />

more than 25 years ago, pioneering the state’s modern<br />

gaming industry.<br />

Mr. Kehl, CEO of Elite Casino Resorts, which owns<br />

three gaming complexes generating more than $225 million<br />

per year in combined revenue, is currently overseeing a $10<br />

million revamp of its first<br />

land-based venture, Riverside<br />

Casino & Golf Resort, located<br />

south of Iowa City. Elite’s<br />

other properties are Grand<br />

Falls Casino, near Larchwood<br />

in far northwest Iowa, and<br />

Rhythm City Casino Resort,<br />

located at the intersection of<br />

I-80 and I-74 in Davenport.<br />

Riverside has seen tens of<br />

millions of visitors in its 12-<br />

year lifetime and was due for<br />

renewal, Mr. Kehl said. The rehab<br />

includes upgrading all the<br />

DAN KEHL<br />

CEO<br />

finishes and furniture, redoing<br />

two food venues, reworking a<br />

bar, installing facilities for “grab<br />

and go” dining and giving the<br />

show lounge a makeover. Work at the Rees Jones-designed casino,<br />

hotel, golf course and spa is expected to be complete in August.<br />

The improvements are also aimed at making the casino<br />

“more relevant to millennial clientele,” he said. Elite is “dabbling<br />

in some skill-based gaming,” such as Topgolf Swing Suites<br />

– golf simulators featuring comfy lounges, massive screens and<br />

a selection of virtual games for golfers and non-golfers – although<br />

90 percent of the gaming floor will remain devoted to<br />

slot machines and table games.<br />

Rees Jones’ firm also designed the Grand Falls Casino &<br />

Golf Resort, serving the Sioux City-Sioux Falls market. The facility<br />

has been open seven years, with the golf course featuring<br />

a 30-foot waterfall since 2014.<br />

“It’s going well up there. We will start a remodel of our facility<br />

there in a couple of years,” Mr. Kehl said.<br />

Elite’s latest venture, Rhythm City, began with purchase<br />

of the old Treble Clef<br />

gambling boat docked<br />

on Davenport’s riverfront<br />

in 2014. Its<br />

gaming moved inland<br />

to the Elmore Avenue<br />

corridor two years ago<br />

with the completion<br />

of the $100-million<br />

casino-hotel-events<br />

center complex. That<br />

change has been “well<br />

received in the marketplace,”<br />

Mr. Kehl said.<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Dan Kehl, CEO<br />

Ken Bonnet, COO<br />

Bobby Kehl, Executive Director<br />

of Golf<br />

Dan White, GM Shared Services<br />

Karlyn Ollendick, CIO<br />

Each of Elite’s casinos are outperforming Iowa’s broader<br />

gaming industry, which saw its gambling revenue tick up just<br />

1.1 percent last year according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming<br />

Commission. Adjusted gross gaming revenue increased 4.75<br />

percent at Riverside to $88.1 million, 2 percent at Grand Falls<br />

to $55.6 million, and a whopping 25 percent at Rhythm City,<br />

reaching $65.3 million.<br />

Three separate casino companies were combined in 2015<br />

to form Elite, which is owned by 1,200 Iowans. That’s a fairly<br />

large number of shareholders for a privately held firm, so Elite<br />

acts somewhat like a public company, Mr. Kehl said, but with<br />

key differences. The company is not burdened with quarterly<br />

reports to the Securities Exchange Commission, worries “about<br />

what the stock price did this quarter” or regulations that govern<br />

publicly traded firms.<br />

Adequate financing has been available thus far from local<br />

banks, so going public would “create a lot of issues we don’t<br />

have to worry about,” Mr. Kehl said.<br />

“We look to increase our revenue every year. Our focus is<br />

on maintaining a strong balance sheet through debt reduction<br />

and deploying capital where it makes sense,” he added. A small<br />

executive team allows the firm to make decisions and investments<br />

quickly and easily. “That makes us pretty nimble.”<br />

Elite keeps a close eye on the state for game-changing opportunities.<br />

If the right situation comes along, the company<br />

might consider expanding outside the state, or even a public<br />

offering, Mr. Kehl said. A new division, Elite Hospitality Group,<br />

is pursuing non-gaming opportunities as well.<br />

— Emery Styron<br />

RIVERSIDE CASINO<br />

& GOLF RESORT<br />

12 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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UICCU<br />

5<br />

JEFF DISTERHOFT<br />

PRESIDENT & CEO<br />

University of Iowa Community Credit Union continued<br />

its climb up the Corridor Business Journal’s <strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong><br />

<strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong> list this year, breaking the top five<br />

and setting a new bar for the state’s banking industry.<br />

The North Liberty-based credit union ranked No. 5<br />

on this year’s list, with $216.3 million in revenue and<br />

435 employees in 2017. That’s a revenue increase of 46 percent<br />

over 2015’s numbers, when it ranked No. 7, and 95 percent<br />

over 2013, when it ranked No. 9.<br />

For President and CEO Jeff<br />

Disterhoft, the organization’s<br />

growth has been both a constant<br />

and a challenge over the<br />

past few decades.<br />

“We’ve been averaging<br />

about 20 percent a year for<br />

20 years, so in that regard our<br />

growth has been comparable<br />

the last couple years to what<br />

we enjoyed 10 years ago, or<br />

maybe even 20 years ago,”<br />

Mr. Disterhoft said. “But I’m<br />

not naïve enough to not realize<br />

that 20 percent growth today<br />

is a little different than 20<br />

percent growth 20 years ago.”<br />

UICCU has faced its share<br />

of growing pains, Mr. Disterhoft<br />

offered, and is working hard to “get folks in the right<br />

seats on the bus,” but it has also grown into a lending and<br />

retail banking giant. It reported $4.67 billion in assets and<br />

$3.53 billion in deposits at the end of last year, making it the<br />

largest financial institution chartered in Iowa. It is also the<br />

largest purchase mortgage lender, and often the largest auto<br />

lender in the state.<br />

The credit union has found an organic formula for success<br />

in competitive rates and a methodical branch expansion plan<br />

that has added one or two new branches each year. That has<br />

taken UICCU’s black-and-gold brand into Black Hawk County,<br />

the Quad Cities and the central Iowa region – a move that “has<br />

gone really well for us,” Mr. Disterhoft said.<br />

Its newest branch opened in Waukee this April and an office<br />

in nearby Ankeny is planned for the fall.<br />

Another piece of the formula is UICCU’s focus on “capturing<br />

its own business” through its five-year old UICCU<br />

Insurance division. Policy sales are up 40 percent year over<br />

year, Mr. Disterhoft said, and offer a promising avenue for<br />

future growth.<br />

“We have really gone back to basics, and trying to capture<br />

the insurance on our home loans, our own car loans,” he said.<br />

“Once we get that part figured out, maybe we can go out marketing<br />

to the rest of the world, but right now we’re just trying<br />

to make sure we’re taking care of our own business, and we’re<br />

doing a better job of that finally.”<br />

UICCU’s success hasn’t come without a price, however. The<br />

credit union is the frequent target of attacks by the state’s banking<br />

industry, which charges that its nonprofit status allows it<br />

to undercut the competition and grow more aggressively. A<br />

$1.2 billion tax cut reform bill passed by the Iowa Senate in<br />

late February included<br />

a measure that would<br />

impose new taxes on<br />

credit unions and lower<br />

them on banks, although<br />

a separate bill<br />

backed by Gov. Kim<br />

Reynolds and the Iowa<br />

House does not include<br />

the provision.<br />

Mr. Disterhoft expressed<br />

confidence<br />

in the legislative process,<br />

noting that the<br />

House and the Governor’s<br />

Office have<br />

been “very supportive<br />

of credit unions,” and<br />

reiterated his industry’s<br />

position that its<br />

tax status saves Iowans<br />

money.<br />

A final agreement<br />

on a tax reform bill<br />

had not yet been<br />

reached as of this<br />

deadline.<br />

Culturally, UIC-<br />

CU continues to lead<br />

in the Corridor, with<br />

the company recently<br />

transitioning to an<br />

unlimited PTO model,<br />

where employees<br />

are allowed to take<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Jeff Disterhoft, President & CEO<br />

Todd Fanning, SVP & CFO<br />

Jim Kelly, SVP Marketing<br />

Sue Freeman, SVP HR<br />

Dick Noble, SVP Operations<br />

Steve Quigley, SVP Retail Services<br />

Amy Henderson, SVP Mortgage<br />

Scott Wilson, SVP Commercial<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Karin Franklin, Chair<br />

Sarah Fisher Gardial, Vice Chair<br />

Dean Borg<br />

Laurel Day<br />

Fred Mims<br />

Mark Rolinger<br />

Lynsey Engels<br />

Tom Lepic<br />

Marc Moen<br />

Dave Wright<br />

Andre Perry<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

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RSM US LLP<br />

TMG Financial Services<br />

Wilary Winn LLC<br />

as much time off as they need. Mr. Disterhoft acknowledged<br />

some anxiety about the policy change before it was instituted<br />

at the start of this year, but said it has ultimately been a positive<br />

step for the institution.<br />

“It’s going great. I think there was some trepidation by folks<br />

at the tail end of last year that nobody was going to show up<br />

for work on Jan. 1, but we’re coming up on the end of the first<br />

quarter, and lo and behold, our world works just fine.”<br />

- Adam Moore<br />

14 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 15


GreatAmerica Financial Services<br />

6<br />

TONY GOLOBIC<br />

CHAIRMAN & CEO<br />

GreatAmerica Financial Services passed the quarter-century<br />

mark last year, but it hasn’t lost the lean,<br />

hungry attitude that propelled it from an upstart in<br />

the commercial equipment finance business to a major<br />

player.<br />

The Cedar Rapids-based company’s assets have<br />

topped $2 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2016 when Great-<br />

America placed fourth on the CBJ’s <strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong><br />

<strong>Companies</strong> list. In the meantime, the company has increased<br />

its employee base from 460 to 516 and broadened its information<br />

technology capabilities,<br />

Chairman and CEO Tony<br />

Golobic said.<br />

GreatAmerica aims to<br />

grow an average of 10 percent<br />

per year, but it doesn’t<br />

meet that goal by focusing<br />

solely on dollars, Mr. Golobic<br />

noted.<br />

“We want to be the best at<br />

helping our customers be more<br />

successful. Revenue growth is<br />

important, and it has always<br />

followed – year over year since<br />

inception – our strategic objective<br />

of being a business without<br />

competition.”<br />

GreatAmerica is “planning<br />

for a more IT-centric future<br />

that provides a frictionless environment for our customers,”<br />

Mr. Golobic added. “Though we are still in the primary business<br />

of financing equipment and software for our resellers’<br />

customers, we want to strengthen our online presence for customers<br />

and prospects who need answers to questions beyond<br />

financing and more about running their businesses.”<br />

Recruiting and retaining talented employees and maintaining<br />

a strong corporate culture have been strengths from<br />

the outset. GreatAmerica shares that expertise via its human<br />

resource consulting arm, which helps clients with the selection<br />

and training of personnel in sales, information systems, managed<br />

services and other areas.<br />

The company’s Collabrance and Portfolio Services business<br />

units have also “grown nicely,” Mr. Golobic said, adding that<br />

jobs in those areas require emerging skillsets in IT, database<br />

management and systems analysis.<br />

Collabrance provides managed IT customers with U.S.-<br />

based, live-answer service desk and network operations functions,<br />

including private label programs that allow clients to<br />

have customer calls answered as if by their own company.<br />

Portfolio Services allows clients such as banks, equipment<br />

leasing companies and solar finance companies to outsource<br />

contract servicing at reduced costs and with fewer operational<br />

barriers. That allows them to concentrate on their core strengths.<br />

Other value-added services include FleetView, a remote<br />

monitoring system for printing devices on a network, and Info-Zone.com,<br />

a secure network that gives proprietary access to<br />

customer files and details of individual leases.<br />

The widening focus has led GreatAmerica to increase its<br />

hiring of beginning to mid-level IT specialists over the last two<br />

years, and change its<br />

recruiting strategy to<br />

include more social<br />

media engagement<br />

and greater use of online<br />

tools such as Indeed,<br />

LinkedIn and<br />

Google. Internal employee<br />

referrals have<br />

gone from about 40<br />

percent of hires to 50<br />

percent, Mr. Golobic<br />

said.<br />

Despite the challenges<br />

of continuous<br />

growth, GreatAmerica<br />

has elected to stay private<br />

rather than access<br />

public markets to raise<br />

additional capital.<br />

“Being public has<br />

some pluses and many<br />

drawbacks,” Mr. Golobic<br />

said. “Publicly-held<br />

companies tend to face<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Tony Golobic, Chairman & CEO<br />

Stan Herkelman, President<br />

David Pohlman, COO<br />

Joe Terfler, CFO<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Tony Golobic, Chair<br />

Stan Herkelman<br />

Doug Olson<br />

Paul Rhines<br />

Emmett Scherrman<br />

Doug Sedlacek<br />

John Smith<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

Bank of America<br />

Deloitte<br />

KPMG<br />

Simmons Perrine Moyer<br />

Bergman PLC<br />

Wells Fargo<br />

quarterly pressures<br />

that put short-term<br />

results ahead of long<br />

term objectives. The<br />

ultimate direction and future of publicly owned companies is<br />

subject to pressures from different ownership groups.”<br />

Fortunately for GreatAmerica, “our profitability has enabled<br />

us to generate our own capital for growth and buy out our investors,”<br />

Mr. Golobic noted. “We now have the luxury of being in<br />

control of our future by being a family-owned private company.”<br />

— Emery Styron<br />

16 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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Passionate Service<br />

Given the BankIowa team’s notable combined<br />

length of service, the breadth of<br />

products and the knowledge that comes<br />

with it, BankIowa has truly grown to be a<br />

single stop for all financial needs. Beyond<br />

the basic checking and savings account offerings,<br />

BankIowa also has a solid menu of<br />

services that include consumer and business<br />

deposit services, commercial and agriculture<br />

business banking, trust services,<br />

investments, mortgages and insurance.<br />

With the local decisions, customized<br />

products, and seasoned staff, BankIowa<br />

has been claimed by some to be the<br />

“hidden jewel” in the market. BankIowa<br />

has the ability to go head-to-head with<br />

larger financial institutions, possessing a<br />

lending limit and array of products that<br />

could be perceived as something only<br />

larger banks have the capacity to offer.<br />

“We feel very fortunate every day to<br />

have the opportunity in our market area<br />

to create long standing banking relationships.<br />

We truly believe and practice our<br />

bank-wide mission of ‘Your financial<br />

future is our professional passion,’” stated<br />

Russ Breazeale, Senior Vice President<br />

and Cedar Rapids Market President.<br />

In recognition of BankIowa’s commitment<br />

to the financial field, it recently<br />

received a 5-Star Superior rating by BauerFinancial,<br />

Inc. BauerFinancial, Inc. is<br />

the nation’s leading independent bank<br />

and credit union rating and research<br />

firm. No institution can pay for or opt<br />

out of a BauerFinancial rating. BankIowa<br />

has earned the highest rating for 28<br />

consecutive quarters. A 5-Star Superior<br />

rating indicates that BankIowa is one of<br />

the strongest banks in the nation, excelling<br />

in such areas as capital, loan quality,<br />

profitability and much more.<br />

Hometown Commitment<br />

A business and its staff are only as strong<br />

as the communities they serve. Knowing<br />

this, BankIowa is dedicated to not only<br />

investing in its communities, but also<br />

supporting its employees’ dedication<br />

to the countless hours they spend helping<br />

their communities be strong and<br />

healthy places to live, work and play. Being<br />

a good neighbor is part of life in the<br />

BankIowa family; supporting educational,<br />

recreational and social service initiatives<br />

come naturally to the organization.<br />

Whether it’s volunteering at the Freedom<br />

Festival Freedom Ride event, contributing<br />

dollars to the building of a new<br />

school or community pool or volunteering<br />

at HACAP and in classrooms, BankIowa<br />

has never hesitated to take a lead<br />

role when needed.<br />

“Nothing makes me feel more satisfied<br />

and proud about the work of every<br />

BankIowan than when I receive unsolicited<br />

feedback about how we made a<br />

positive impact in someone’s life,” Rob<br />

Robinson said. •<br />

FOR OVER 95 YEARS, Banklowa has provided its customers<br />

quality financial products and services, and has proudly remained an<br />

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Your Financial Future is Our Professional Passion.<br />

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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 17


World Class Industries<br />

7<br />

After hitting a soft patch during the downturn in the<br />

farm economy, World Class Industries in Hiawatha is<br />

getting back to the kind of growth that has made it<br />

one of the Corridor’s largest privately held companies.<br />

The Hiawatha-based supply chain specialist provides<br />

contract management and supply chain consolidation<br />

services to leading equipment manufacturers including<br />

Deere & Co., Caterpillar, CNH and Bobcat. It’s been focused on<br />

providing more value and services to existing customers, a strategy<br />

that has allowed it to tap the trend toward manufacturers<br />

building deeper relationships<br />

with fewer suppliers.<br />

“Parts in – assemblies out,”<br />

is a simple shorthand for what<br />

World Class Industries (WCI)<br />

does, President Brent Cobb<br />

said. The company’s business<br />

peaked in 2013, then slowed<br />

as the decline in ag commodity<br />

prices cut deeply into farm<br />

incomes, resulting in fewer<br />

orders from customers like<br />

Deere and CNH. That spurred<br />

the company to pursue other<br />

sectors for growth, including<br />

BRENT COBB<br />

PRESIDENT<br />

the aviation and aerospace<br />

industries.<br />

Mr. Cobb said the decline<br />

hit a bottom in 2016, and<br />

finally showed a rebound effect this year. Employment is up<br />

about 50 full-time equivalent positions from the market bottom<br />

and revenue has risen to $172.2 million.<br />

World Class Industries is building its eighth facility next to<br />

a factory where Deere builds Family Compact Utility Tractors<br />

in Grovetown, Georgia, and is also moving to improved facilities<br />

in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and Des Moines. The new<br />

50,000-square-foot facility in Grovetown, expected to open this<br />

year, will place WCI in an entirely new region, and allow the<br />

company to better service equipment manufacturers located in<br />

the southeast.<br />

“This year, we’re half market-driven and half new projects,”<br />

Mr. Cobb said.<br />

A major undercurrent<br />

in the manufacturing<br />

industry that<br />

drives WCI’s business<br />

is product complexity.<br />

Customer preferences<br />

are driving more complex<br />

assemblies and<br />

systems. As a result,<br />

manufacturers prefer<br />

to have certain components<br />

preassembled<br />

to avoid bogging down<br />

lines at their main assembly<br />

plants.<br />

The rebounding ag<br />

market has also helped<br />

drive demand. Mr.<br />

Cobb said agricultural<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Brent Cobb, President<br />

Sandy Kaloupek, Vice President<br />

Patrick Patterson, Director of<br />

Operations<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Brent Cobb<br />

Michael Rosberg<br />

James Schrempf<br />

Kevin Code<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

Bradley & Riley PC<br />

Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust<br />

CliftonLarsonAllen<br />

producers continued<br />

to expand the size of<br />

their operations even during the downturn, and appear to be<br />

buying new equipment because reliability is even more critical<br />

during key harvest and planting seasons due to the acreage at<br />

stake. Deere and Caterpillar have both issued upbeat sales forecasts<br />

for <strong>2018</strong>, which bodes well for WCI.<br />

Adding customer value is always key for the roughly 140<br />

WCI employees and about 25 temporary employees. The company’s<br />

investments in its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)<br />

purchasing system in particular have helped drive down procurement<br />

prices for clients, as the company can look for advantageous<br />

price breaks and buy certain commodities in bulk.<br />

“So instead of having someone go part by part and deciding<br />

what we want to do, we’re having that be more algorithm-driven,<br />

and having those orders go out automatically and using some of<br />

those same resources,” Mr. Cobb previously told the CBJ.<br />

Although the company’s work is anything but simple, the<br />

work it does makes things easier for equipment manufacturers.<br />

“We like to say, ‘We simplify supply chain,’” Mr. Cobb said.<br />

- Dave DeWitte<br />

“This year, we’re half<br />

market-driven and half<br />

new projects.”<br />

- BRENT COBB<br />

18 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


How to future-proof your business:<br />

planning for IT adoption<br />

It’s an exciting and challenging time<br />

to be a business leader. Technology<br />

is leveling the playing field between<br />

businesses of all sizes, but it’s also<br />

creating a steep curve for leaders who<br />

don’t understand that tech adoption<br />

is now a key competency in an<br />

organization.<br />

Luckily, “adopting technology” doesn’t<br />

have to mean doing everything<br />

in-house or expensively. In fact,<br />

outsourcing some areas of your IT can<br />

allow you to reduce costs, increase<br />

quality, and re-invest in tech areas that<br />

closely impact your customer or core<br />

product.<br />

3 ways to take control of IT adoption<br />

for your business<br />

Take your business’<br />

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hands by enlisting the<br />

help of ours.<br />

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1. Start by really looking at your budget. Many business leaders struggle<br />

to accurately account for their IT spend, which leads them to believe that<br />

additional investments are out of the realm of possibility. Review your budget<br />

again in <strong>2018</strong> and make sure you are accounting for staff, hardware, software<br />

and project expenses.<br />

2. Make sure your IT priorities are aligned with your business’ key strategies.<br />

Create a roadmap to replace outdated or inefficient systems with ones that will<br />

be easy to replace in the future when newer technologies become available.<br />

(Always pretend that this is sooner than you’d think.)<br />

3. Focus on the core, and enlist help for the rest. IT service desk and support,<br />

IT maintenance, security, and backup/recovery are all incredibly important to<br />

your business. But in today’s business climate, they should not be taking up<br />

the time and resources of people on your team who could be preparing for<br />

the future.<br />

For all these reasons, it’s no surprise that many businesses are beginning<br />

to seek outside help where technology implementation is concerned. The<br />

investment in this type of relationship can be key to scaling technology for<br />

the future of your business – by bringing focus and expertise to an area that<br />

supports your business behind the scenes.<br />

CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 19


Stanley Consultants<br />

8<br />

Balancing its long legacy with today’s challenges is<br />

what has kept 105-year-old Stanley Consultants at the<br />

top of the engineering industry, decade after decade.<br />

“We won’t compromise who we are,” said President<br />

and CEO Kate Harris, who was elected to her<br />

current post at the global engineering and consulting<br />

firm in 2017, taking over for Gayle Roberts, who became chair<br />

of the board. “We are incredibly respectful of our legacy. It’s<br />

so important as a foundation for our values – our long history<br />

provides us with equilibrium.”<br />

Founded as Central States<br />

Engineering in 1913, the<br />

Muscatine-based firm originally<br />

focused on regional<br />

jobs like drainage work. It<br />

went international in 1957<br />

and never looked back, now<br />

counting offices not just<br />

across the United States, but<br />

in the Caribbean, the Middle<br />

East, South Asia and the Pacific<br />

region.<br />

Today, Stanley Consultants<br />

is the largest engineering<br />

firm in Iowa with more<br />

KATE HARRIS<br />

PRESIDENT & CEO<br />

than 900 member-owners<br />

in 30 offices worldwide. The<br />

company ranks No. 78 out of<br />

the top 500 engineering design<br />

firms in the U.S. and has been named among the nation’s<br />

top 50 designers in power, fossil fuel, water, wastewater and<br />

transportation by Engineering News-Record.<br />

“Those that know us love us,” Ms. Harris said. “People will<br />

be surprised to learn that Stanley Consultants has designed<br />

some of the largest projects in the world.”<br />

Some of the firm’s highest-profile projects include the<br />

world’s largest desalination water plant in Algeria and providing<br />

master planning and program management services to the<br />

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconstruct Iraq’s infrastructure<br />

following the second Gulf War.<br />

Stanley Consultants isn’t content to rest on its laurels, however.<br />

The firm is currently providing master planning services<br />

at Abu Dhabi International Airport, and its design of the new<br />

$95 million Fox River<br />

Bridge along the Illinois<br />

Tollway has garnered<br />

multiple awards,<br />

as well as a finalist nod<br />

for the American Society<br />

of Civil Engineers’<br />

prestigious Outstanding<br />

Civil Engineering<br />

Achievement award.<br />

“With buoyant<br />

markets, Stanley<br />

Consultants is well<br />

positioned in the<br />

power and infrastructure<br />

markets with<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Kate Harris, President & CEO<br />

Gayle Roberts, Board Chair<br />

Bill Harper, VP & CFO<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Gayle Roberts, Chair<br />

Steve Hammes<br />

Kate Harris<br />

Mike Helms<br />

Mike Hunzinger<br />

Douglas Smith<br />

Bob Uhler<br />

long-standing relationships<br />

and great<br />

expertise,” Ms. Harris<br />

said. “The firm is capitalizing<br />

on the strength within the company and supplementing<br />

it with new skills and acquisitions to ensure clients<br />

are provided with the best service, expertise and advice.”<br />

The firm is not averse to growth through acquisition, having<br />

purchased Hartwig & Associates, a Denver, Colorado-based<br />

engineering and construction firm in February 2016. But Ms.<br />

Harris said Stanley Consultants, which has bucked the trend<br />

toward “mega firms with many thousands of employees,” will<br />

continue to prioritize its values and clients over growth for<br />

growth’s sake.<br />

“Consolidation in the engineering industry has created a<br />

bifurcated market,” she said. “There are some mega firms with<br />

incredible depth and reach but they sometimes struggle to successfully<br />

provide some of the basic client services that come as<br />

second nature to Stanley Consultants.”<br />

Ms. Harris stressed that Stanley Consultants’ brand stands for<br />

longevity and ethics, as well as “smart and creative solutions.”<br />

“As a privately held company, we can take a longer partnership-based<br />

approach rather than relying on short-term returns,”<br />

she said. “This allows us to think more creatively, dream bigger<br />

dreams and do things in a bold, yet balanced way, calling on<br />

decades of experience and the appropriate risk management.”<br />

- Katharine Carlon<br />

20 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


Celebrating 11 Years<br />

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Centro Inc.<br />

9<br />

BRIAN OLESEN<br />

PRESIDENT & CEO<br />

It’s been a long three years, but there appears to be<br />

light at the end of the tunnel for Centro Inc.<br />

The rotational molding company headquartered<br />

in North Liberty with offices in the U.S., Ireland and<br />

Brazil has weathered three consecutive years of a significant<br />

down cycle in its core markets of agriculture<br />

and construction equipment, and is now seeing a “very robust<br />

bounce back,” according to President and CEO Brian Olesen.<br />

Centro has seen its construction sales surge in particular<br />

as its clients – manufacturers<br />

such as Deere & Co., Caterpillar<br />

and Toro – have responded<br />

to stronger global demand<br />

for infrastructure and homes.<br />

The ag sector appears to be<br />

trending upward as well.<br />

Centro is also reaping the<br />

benefits of its investments<br />

in its R&D and engineering<br />

operations, which have kept<br />

demand up and attracted new<br />

customers. Innovations like<br />

its diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)<br />

tanks and its patented RotoLoPerm<br />

process, which limits<br />

fuel vapors from leaking<br />

from molded gas tanks, have<br />

helped manufacturers meet<br />

increasingly stringent environmental regulations, while also<br />

creating new licensing streams for the company. New markets<br />

have similarly opened up, ranging from molded lawn and garden<br />

items to Gunner Kennels.<br />

“Engineering is one of those resources that can set us<br />

apart from other rotational molders in the industry today,”<br />

Vice President of Engineering Alvin Spence previously told<br />

CBS2/FOX28. “Centro has always had a vision of setting<br />

ourselves apart providing solutions to the OEMs that they<br />

can’t get anywhere else.”<br />

The company hit $119.4 million in revenue in 2017, and is<br />

up 25 percent year over year eight months into its current fiscal<br />

year, Mr. Olesen said.<br />

“Interest rates remain low, consumer and business leader<br />

confidence is high, and we support good strong companies<br />

in industries that will<br />

prosper,” Mr. Olesen<br />

wrote in an email.<br />

“The overall fundamental<br />

of population<br />

growth needs infrastructure<br />

and food to<br />

sustain it, and those<br />

are our key markets.”<br />

Indeed, if anything<br />

could derail the good<br />

times, it’s the company’s<br />

ability to hire people<br />

to make its products.<br />

Centro has grown<br />

over the past two<br />

years from about 850<br />

employees to nearly<br />

1,000; if all of its open<br />

positions were filled,<br />

the company would<br />

cross the 1,000 mark, Mr. Olesen said.<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Brian Olesen, President & CEO<br />

Tripp Traicoff, VP Operations<br />

Alvin Spence, VP Engineering<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Diane Flynn<br />

Brian Olesen<br />

Gary Rozek<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

Bradley & Riley PC<br />

CliftonLarsonAllen<br />

Wells Fargo<br />

Centro currently finds itself capacity constrained at its largest<br />

plants, and has instituted “significant wage increases” at all<br />

of its locations in a race to keep up with the global economic<br />

recovery. In North Liberty, the company is now hiring workers<br />

at $16.20 per hour to start without experience, with full benefits,<br />

Mr. Olesen said.<br />

“It’s all about the labor. Our biggest constraint managing<br />

our growth is people, or the lack of them,” he said. “If our local<br />

businesses are to continue growing, we need growth in the<br />

labor pool.”<br />

Part of the solution to the company’s workforce challenges<br />

will have to come from a regional willingness to reevaluate<br />

and promote manufacturing jobs as a viable profession, Mr.<br />

Olesen added.<br />

“I just read that in January there were 425,000 open manufacturing<br />

jobs [in the country], so it is felt everywhere,” he<br />

added. “We need to do a better job in promoting manufacturing<br />

as a career opportunity. All nine of our Centro manufacturing<br />

locations are being run by long-term associates that started<br />

without any experience and at an entry-level position.”<br />

- Adam Moore<br />

22 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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As it experiences this growth, F & M<br />

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banking continues to be the core of what<br />

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relationship for the client and the bank,”<br />

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F & M Bank’s team of financial experts<br />

and strong family connections differentiates<br />

them from other banks. Investing<br />

in, and development of their team are<br />

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To date, F & M’s team of 120 financial<br />

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you can trust. The cumulative<br />

years of experience has allowed F & M to<br />

create a culture that supports growth for<br />

its employees and its clients. This culture<br />

is based on integrity, trust, performance<br />

and reward. F & M knows that creating a<br />

strong, healthy organization results in a<br />

stronger, more viable organization.<br />

Understanding our client base and<br />

tailoring our services to them is why F &<br />

M Bank has continued to thrive throughout<br />

the bank’s history. A genuine commitment<br />

and active involvement in the<br />

communities where our clients live and<br />

do business is a big part of what we do.<br />

The F & M Bank Cares program, which<br />

we originated in the year 2000, connects<br />

our team members with their local communities<br />

and allows us to make a difference.<br />

The F & M team members have<br />

personally donated over $120,000 to local<br />

families and charities.<br />

A locally owned institution for 93<br />

years, F & M currently has three generations<br />

of the Dunn family involved in the<br />

management and operations of the bank.<br />

Mutual respect and setting the highest<br />

expectations for one another are key elements<br />

to the success of the bank, as well<br />

as building lasting relationships with its<br />

clients. We hold ourselves accountable<br />

for not only our performance but for the<br />

success of our clients. The focus continues<br />

to be on offering prompt, personalized financial<br />

services and proactively assisting<br />

clients in achieving their financial goals.<br />

“F & M’s personal touch has proven<br />

to be successful,” said Dunn. “We care<br />

about our client’s success. Our mission<br />

is to exceed clients’ expectations, and it’s<br />

our people that make the difference.”<br />

Whether visiting one of F & M’s branches<br />

or speaking with a team member over<br />

the phone, it’s the bank’s personal and<br />

professional way of doing business that<br />

continues to make it “the right choice”<br />

for customers throughout the Corridor. •<br />

CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 23


West Side Transport<br />

10<br />

Today Cedar Rapids, tomorrow the world.<br />

That might be an oversimplification of West<br />

Side Transport’s long-term business plan, but<br />

it certainly captures its essence, according to<br />

COO Ron Joseph. The 45-year-old trucking<br />

company has been growing rapidly as of late,<br />

spurred by the recent success of its West Side Logistics arm.<br />

“I think the biggest change is we’ve done a lot of expansion<br />

– we’ve kind of spread our<br />

wings out,” Mr. Joseph said.<br />

Founded by Dale Vogt to<br />

salvage and resell spilled grain<br />

found in railroad yards, West<br />

Side Transport’s traditional<br />

customer base has long been<br />

located around Cedar Rapids.<br />

In the last three years, however,<br />

the company has added<br />

full-service facilities in Chicago<br />

and Columbus, Ohio<br />

to terminals in Glenwood,<br />

Illinois, St. Paul, Minnesota<br />

and Indianapolis, boosting<br />

RON JOSEPH<br />

COO<br />

employment by more than<br />

220 employees in the process.<br />

Another new facility in Harrisburg,<br />

Pennsylvania is set to<br />

come online later this year, adding 100 employees.<br />

There has been some local expansion as well. The company,<br />

now led by owner and CEO Don Vogt, has built a new<br />

drop yard south of Cedar Rapids and will move its corporate<br />

office to the site in 2019. It has also opened a new office by<br />

The Eastern Iowa Airport for its logistics company, which has<br />

grown in the last three years from zero to $12 million in revenue,<br />

Mr. Joseph said. That company forecasts revenues of $16<br />

million next year.<br />

“That [logistics<br />

business] started with<br />

a couple of employees<br />

and now has over 15,”<br />

he noted, describing<br />

it as a truck brokerage<br />

that functions “basically<br />

as an intermediary<br />

between trucking<br />

and shippers.”<br />

The trucking business<br />

is changing, Mr.<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Don Vogt, Chairman & CEO<br />

John Dalrymple, SVP & CFO<br />

Ron Joseph, COO<br />

Joseph said, adding that “finding a driver to live in a truck<br />

for a week is a challenge.” The creation of new trucking<br />

hubs around the country has helped West Side create more<br />

home-daily jobs, and thus recruit and retain more drivers.<br />

“That means they drive a truck and start at 8 a.m. and come<br />

home at 5 at night, like anyone else, compared to over-the-road<br />

jobs, where they leave on Sunday and come back Friday or Saturday,”<br />

he said. “It’s a tough life. I think expansion and logistics<br />

have been our big initiatives the last couple of years.”<br />

The goal is to keep the logistics arm growing by 20 percent<br />

annually, Mr. Joseph said, and its core trucking business by<br />

5-10 percent a year.<br />

“We expect our non-assets – managing freight and customers<br />

– to be as big as our assets – our drivers and trucks,” he said.<br />

With all of the headwinds facing the trucking industry, West<br />

Side’s strong and varied clientele has helped sustain its growth.<br />

“We have account managers, salespeople inside and outside<br />

that are focused on winning new business every year,” Mr. Joseph<br />

said. “Last year, we started doing business with Procter &<br />

Gamble, General Mills and Target. We have International Paper,<br />

Chrysler, Lowes, Walmart and Toyota, so we have a really<br />

blue-chip base of customers and there’s so much opportunity<br />

to grow with those customers.”<br />

- Jim Offner<br />

“Last year, we started<br />

doing business with<br />

Procter & Gamble, General<br />

Mills and Target. We<br />

have International Paper,<br />

Chrysler, Lowes, Walmart<br />

and Toyota, so we have a<br />

really blue-chip base of<br />

customers and there’s so<br />

much opportunity to grow<br />

with those customers.”<br />

- RON JOSEPH<br />

24 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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mccomaslacina.com<br />

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helping your<br />

business make the right<br />

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Don’t just take our word for it, see why other<br />

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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 25


Modern <strong>Companies</strong><br />

KEN BROWN<br />

CEO<br />

11<br />

Modern <strong>Companies</strong> has evolved and expanded<br />

across the region over the past seven<br />

decades as mergers and acquisitions have<br />

reshaped the firm, from its start as Modern<br />

Refrigeration in 1939 to Modern & Puth to<br />

Modern Piping in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until<br />

the turn of the 21st century that things really started to heat<br />

up for the company, according to CEO Ken Brown.<br />

“The early 2000s was really the beginning of our growth and<br />

expansion with the development<br />

of the Dubuque market<br />

and our entrance into the<br />

Minneapolis market when we<br />

were selected for a large biopharmaceutical<br />

project, the<br />

largest of its kind at the time,”<br />

Mr. Brown said. “This is really<br />

the beginning of the culture<br />

of the company where we<br />

look for opportunities that<br />

fit our skillsets. We have been<br />

expanding into different services<br />

and markets based on<br />

client requests, market conditions<br />

and new technologies<br />

for more than a decade.”<br />

Today, the Cedar Rapids-based<br />

fabricator counts<br />

336 employees, including dozens stationed at offices in Des<br />

Moines, the Quad Cities, Dubuque, Minneapolis and Oklahoma<br />

City. Those outlying markets have helped fuel the company’s<br />

recent expansion, with revenues growing by more than<br />

300 percent in Modern’s Des Moines office in 2017 alone,<br />

and Oklahoma City’s Mid-Continent Group – in which Modern<br />

<strong>Companies</strong> is a minority investor – seeing “tremendous<br />

growth” and contracts on specialty projects as far away as<br />

South Korea, Mr. Brown said.<br />

Modern <strong>Companies</strong> most recently acquired the service division<br />

assets of Johnson Contracting Co. in Moline, Illinois,<br />

giving it a better foothold in the western Illinois market.<br />

“The strategic acquisition allows us to better serve our current<br />

customers in the Quad Cities and increases our number of<br />

service technicians from 18 to 31, including Des Moines operations,”<br />

Mr. Brown said. “The Quad Cities is a larger market than<br />

Cedar Rapids, and we feel that it is underserved in our space.”<br />

Two of Modern’s newest divisions – Modern Compressed<br />

Air (MCA) and Modern Control Services (MCS) – are growing,<br />

too, Mr. Brown said.<br />

Modern Compressed Air supplies aluminum tubing and fittings<br />

for compressed air and inert gas distribution in addition<br />

to air compressors, dryers, hose reels and accessories. MCA<br />

also represents Powerex medical gas components for use in any<br />

medical gas delivery system.<br />

Modern Control Services represents building automation<br />

and analytics solutions from Siemens, Delta and CopperTree<br />

Analytics, in addition to building entry control and lighting<br />

control solutions, Mr. Brown said.<br />

The company is also pushing to develop its own technologies<br />

in the competitive construction industry. It last year launched<br />

FabPro LLC, a software<br />

company that has<br />

developed “the only<br />

solution for fabrication<br />

shop productivity<br />

tracking in the construction<br />

industry” and<br />

has other products under<br />

development, Mr.<br />

Brown noted.<br />

The company’s<br />

wide range of construction<br />

expertise<br />

and technologies has<br />

earned it a role in a<br />

number of high-profile<br />

Corridor projects,<br />

including the University<br />

of Iowa’s Stead<br />

THE TEAM<br />

EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />

Ken Brown, CEO<br />

Dave Brown, Director<br />

Matt Huber, CFO<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Ken Brown<br />

Dave Brown<br />

Kristin White<br />

SUPPORT TEAM<br />

F&M Bank<br />

RSM US LLP<br />

Simmons Perrine Moyer<br />

Bergman PLC<br />

Family Children’s<br />

Hospital, the new Hancher Auditorium and the UI’s new<br />

Visual Arts Building.<br />

“Without the investments in virtual design construction<br />

and our fabrication facility in Cedar Rapids, we could have not<br />

completed these projects efficiently,” he said.<br />

Strategic partnerships are set to be a focus for Modern <strong>Companies</strong><br />

in <strong>2018</strong>, Mr. Brown said. The firm is working with other<br />

“like-minded” partners in Des Moines and Minneapolis, and<br />

plans to have agreements in place this year. It’s a logical evolution<br />

for a company that has grown through relationships and<br />

alignments with other firms, and is fighting hard to stay relevant<br />

in a rapidly changing industry.<br />

“I wouldn’t have thought five years ago we would be rounding<br />

out our services, looking into other opportunities and developing<br />

software,” he said. “The construction industry is moving<br />

faster than ever before.”<br />

- Jim Offner<br />

26 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

(Ranked by 2017 Revenues)<br />

<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

(Ranked by 2017 Revenues)<br />

RANK Name/Address Contact Information Year Established Top Local Executives 2017 Revenue<br />

Number of<br />

Employees<br />

FT/PT<br />

12<br />

McComas-Lacina Construction<br />

1310 Highland Court<br />

Iowa City, IA 52240<br />

(319) 338-1125; fax (319) 338-5964<br />

www.mccomaslacina.com<br />

1977<br />

Mike Hahn<br />

Al Morelock<br />

$92,000,000<br />

155<br />

- -/- -<br />

13<br />

HR Green Inc.<br />

8710 Earhart Lane SW<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(800) 728-7805<br />

(319) 841-4000; fax (319) 841-4012<br />

www.hrgreen.com<br />

1913<br />

Steven Heyer<br />

Richard White<br />

Michelle Byard<br />

$86,700,000<br />

436<br />

385/51<br />

14<br />

The Accel Group LLC<br />

3100 Oakland Road NE<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402<br />

(800) 765-8611<br />

(319) 365-8611; fax (319) 365-6919<br />

www.acceladvantage.com<br />

1928<br />

Tim Gassmann<br />

Mike Byl<br />

Kevin Mease<br />

$86,500,000<br />

75<br />

73/2<br />

15<br />

Acumen<br />

425 Second St., Ste. 1275<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(319) 731-0500; fax (319) 366-3636<br />

www.acumenadv.com<br />

2012<br />

Andrew Morf<br />

Kirby Moss<br />

$85,000,000B<br />

39<br />

- -/- -<br />

16<br />

Folience<br />

230 Second St. SE, Ste. 100<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(800) 397-8333<br />

(319) 200-2800<br />

www.folience.com<br />

1884<br />

Daniel Goldstein<br />

Cathy Terukina<br />

$78,400,000<br />

509<br />

- -/- -<br />

17<br />

Ready Wireless<br />

955 Kacena Road, Ste. A<br />

Hiawatha, IA 52233<br />

(800) 516-0414<br />

(319) 294-6080; fax (319) 294-6081<br />

www.readymobile.com<br />

2005<br />

Dennis Henderson<br />

Fred Haumesser<br />

Scott Kokotan<br />

$71,400,000<br />

135<br />

132/3<br />

18<br />

Pancheros<br />

2475 Coral Ct. Ste. B<br />

Coralville, IA 52241<br />

(319) 545-6565; fax (319) 545-6570<br />

www.pancheros.com<br />

1992 Rodney Anderson $69,000,000<br />

222<br />

- -/- -<br />

19<br />

Shive-Hattery Architecture &<br />

Engineering<br />

316 Second St. SE., Ste. 500<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(800) 798-0313<br />

(319) 362-0313; fax (319) 364-2883<br />

www.shive-hattery.com/<br />

1895<br />

James Lee<br />

Shawn Lueth<br />

Phil Larson<br />

$58,700,000<br />

380<br />

346/34<br />

20<br />

Collins Community Credit Union<br />

1150 42nd St. NE<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402<br />

(800) 475-1150<br />

(319) 393-9000; fax (319) 378-3399<br />

www.collinscu.org<br />

1940<br />

Stefanie Rupert<br />

Benjamin Wickum<br />

$57,600,000<br />

301<br />

293/8<br />

21<br />

BerganKDV<br />

2720 First Ave. NE, Ste. 300C<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402<br />

(800) 741-7087<br />

(319) 294-8000; fax (319) 294-9003<br />

www.bergankdv.com<br />

1945D<br />

Loren Viere<br />

Vince Ellison<br />

Cori Power<br />

Brittani Von Roden<br />

$52,100,000<br />

355<br />

347/8<br />

22<br />

Involta<br />

460 12th Ave. SE, Ste. 100<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(855) 364-3061<br />

(319) 261-3008; fax (319) 362-1046<br />

www.involta.com<br />

2007<br />

Bruce Lehrman<br />

Jim Buie<br />

Ken Kremer<br />

$47,500,000<br />

198<br />

- -/- -<br />

23<br />

Ohnward Bancshares Inc.<br />

665 Marion Blvd.<br />

Marion, IA 52302<br />

(319) 373-1371<br />

www.ohnwardbank.com<br />

2009E<br />

Abram Tubbs<br />

Kevin King<br />

$47,200,000<br />

261<br />

- -/- -<br />

24<br />

CEC (Communications Engineering<br />

Company)<br />

405 Boyson Road<br />

Hiawatha, IA 52233<br />

(800) 377-0271<br />

(319) 294-9000; fax (319) 395-6096<br />

www.cecinfo.com<br />

1946<br />

Jim Smith<br />

Matt Dlouhy<br />

$42,000,000<br />

250<br />

- -/- -<br />

Note: Entries may be edited for length and clarity.B Revenue includes premiums C Other location: 2530 Corridor Way Ste. 301; Coralville, IA 52241 D Merger in 2015 created BerganKDV E Ohnward Bancshares, Inc. was<br />

formed in 1967<br />

CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 27


LPH by the Numbers<br />

EMPLOYEE BASE<br />

(TOP 10 COMPANIES)<br />

TOP SUPPORT<br />

ORGANIZATIONS<br />

(AS DETERMINED BY COMPANY<br />

RESPONSES IN 2016 & <strong>2018</strong>)<br />

BANKS<br />

Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust<br />

Wells Fargo<br />

LAW FIRMS<br />

Bradley & Riley PC<br />

Simmons Perrine Moyer<br />

Bergman PLC<br />

ACCOUNTANTS/<br />

CONSULTANTS<br />

RSM US LLP<br />

CliftonLarsonAllen<br />

18,000<br />

16,000<br />

14,000<br />

12,000<br />

10,000<br />

8,000<br />

6,000<br />

2012 2014 2016 <strong>2018</strong><br />

TOTAL REVENUES<br />

(TOP 10 COMPANIES)<br />

$4,500<br />

MILLIONS<br />

$4,000<br />

$3,500<br />

$3,000<br />

$2,500<br />

$2,000<br />

$1,500<br />

2012 2014 2016 <strong>2018</strong><br />

2: WOMEN-LED<br />

COMPANIES<br />

on the <strong>2018</strong> list (Van Meter &<br />

Stanley Consultants), up from 1 in<br />

2014 and 2016, and none in 2012.<br />

6: THE MOST<br />

SPOTS JUMPED<br />

by a company making the Top 10,<br />

by Ruffalo Noel Levitz<br />

(No. 14 in 2012 to No. 8 in 2016).<br />

28 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


LPH by the Numbers<br />

<strong>2018</strong> INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN<br />

(TOP 35 COMPANIES)<br />

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.................. 8<br />

BANKING/FINANCE............................. 6<br />

CUSTOMER SERVICE............................ 5<br />

CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT..... 4<br />

INSURANCE........................................... 4<br />

TECH........................................................ 3<br />

MANUFACTURING................................ 2<br />

TRANSPORTATION............................... 2<br />

GAMING.................................................. 1<br />

MILLHISER<br />

SMITH IS<br />

NOW<br />

BUILDING TRUST.<br />

DELIVERING SOLUTIONS.<br />

Get local expertise and the service you deserve<br />

from The Accel Group’s dedicated team!<br />

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS<br />

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS<br />

You have our word on it!<br />

RISK MANAGEMENT<br />

PERSONAL SOLUTIONS<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT<br />

AGRIBUSINESS<br />

www.acceladvantage.com<br />

Mike Byl, President<br />

Tim Gassmann, CEO<br />

Serving clients across Iowa with offices in<br />

Cedar Rapids | Waverly | Cedar Falls<br />

CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 29


<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

<strong>Largest</strong> <strong>Privately</strong> <strong>Held</strong> <strong>Companies</strong><br />

(Ranked by 2017 Revenues)<br />

(Ranked by 2017 Revenues)<br />

RANK Name/Address Contact Information Year Established Top Local Executives 2017 Revenue<br />

Number of<br />

Employees<br />

FT/PT<br />

25<br />

Garling Construction Inc.<br />

1120 11th St.B<br />

Belle Plaine, IA 52208<br />

(319) 444-3409; fax (319) 444-2437<br />

www.garlingconstruction.com<br />

1973<br />

Doug DeMeulenaere<br />

Troy Pins<br />

Rick Maas<br />

$42,000,000<br />

50<br />

- -/- -<br />

26<br />

CarePro Health Services<br />

1014 Fifth Ave. SE<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52403<br />

(800) 575-8810<br />

(319) 363-4554; fax (319) 896-4347<br />

www.careprohealthservices.com<br />

1971<br />

Michelle Jensen<br />

Brent Bormann<br />

$41,100,000<br />

175<br />

- -/- -<br />

27<br />

MCI, LC<br />

2937 Sierra Ct. SW<br />

Iowa City, IA 52540<br />

www.mci.world 2015 Anthony Marlowe $38,200,000<br />

1,400<br />

1,100/300<br />

28<br />

MediRevv Inc.<br />

2600 University Parkway<br />

Coralville, IA 52241<br />

(888) 665-6310<br />

(319) 665-2901; fax (319) 665-6070<br />

www.medirevv.com<br />

2007<br />

Chris Klitgaard<br />

Brad Baldwin<br />

Mike Goedken<br />

$35,800,000<br />

630<br />

- -/- -<br />

29<br />

Watts Group<br />

425 E. Oakdale Blvd., Ste. 101<br />

Coralville, IA 52241<br />

(319) 338-4100<br />

www.wattsgroup.com<br />

1978<br />

Gary Watts<br />

Mike VanDyke<br />

Brian Watts<br />

$35,000,000<br />

27<br />

26/1<br />

30<br />

Clickstop Inc.<br />

202 Blue Creek Drive<br />

Urbana, IA 52345<br />

(800) 383-0592<br />

(866) 322-7883<br />

www.clickstop.com<br />

2005<br />

Tim Guenther<br />

Todd Kuennen<br />

Chad Brandmeyer<br />

$34,500,000<br />

166<br />

145/21<br />

31<br />

Farmers State Bank<br />

1240 Eighth Ave.<br />

Marion, IA 52302<br />

(319) 377-4891<br />

www.myfsbonline.com<br />

1927<br />

Gene Neighbor<br />

Steve Neighbor<br />

$33,600,000<br />

151<br />

136/15<br />

32<br />

ImOn Communications LLC<br />

625 First St. SE, Ste. 250<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401<br />

(319) 298-6484; fax (319) 261-4636<br />

www.imon.net<br />

2007<br />

Patrice Carroll<br />

Jeremy Wild<br />

$32,900,000<br />

108<br />

106/2<br />

33<br />

Thomas L. Cardella & Associates<br />

3735 Queen Court SW<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(319) 730-4000; fax (319) 393-3901<br />

www.tlcassociates.com<br />

2007<br />

Thomas Cardella<br />

Tom Moroney<br />

Ashley Hahesy<br />

$31,000,000<br />

1,353<br />

1,135/218<br />

34<br />

Western Fraternal Life Association<br />

1900 First Ave. NE<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402<br />

(877) 935-2467<br />

(319) 363-2653; fax (319) 363-8806<br />

www.wflains.org<br />

1897 Craig Van Dyke $29,800,000<br />

34<br />

- -/- -<br />

35<br />

BankIowa<br />

2701 Edgewood Pkwy. SW<br />

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />

(877)-275-7034<br />

(319) 654-0525; fax (319) 395-9422<br />

www.bankiowa.com<br />

1921<br />

Rob Robinson<br />

Dolph Leytze<br />

Alison Urbina<br />

$28,300,000<br />

139<br />

113/26<br />

Note: Entries may be edited for length and clarity.B Also office at 5210 20th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404: (319) 398-3340<br />

30 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>


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CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong> 31


CRST TIME LINE<br />

Proud to call<br />

Cedar Rapids<br />

home for over<br />

60 years!<br />

CEDAR RAPIDS HAS ALWAYS COME FIRST FOR US.<br />

It’s been over 60 years since we began operations<br />

as Cedar Rapids Steel Transportation. Thousands of<br />

employees and millions of miles later, we’ve never<br />

lost sight of our home. We know the extraordinary<br />

dedication and work ethic of the people in this<br />

community have been the power behind our success.<br />

That success has allowed CRST to support not only<br />

a large local workforce but to invest millions of<br />

dollars in this community. We believe supporting<br />

many deserving non-profit organizations helps<br />

to make Cedar Rapids a better place to live...and<br />

keeps CRST a great place to work.<br />

Visit us at www.crst.com/careers<br />

1955 Cedar Rapids Steel Transportation is founded by<br />

Herald Smith.<br />

1963 CRST reaches $1 million in annual revenue.<br />

1968 Herald Smith purchases BOS Lines to quadruple<br />

the size of CRST and set the stage for growth in the<br />

1970s.<br />

1974 CRST expands into dry freight and refrigerated<br />

commodities. Cedar Rapids Steel Transport changes<br />

name to CRST, Inc.<br />

1977 Paul Shawver becomes President; Herald Smith<br />

remains Chairman of the Board.<br />

1983 John Smith becomes President; Paul Shawver<br />

becomes Vice Chairman of the Board.<br />

1984 Malone Freight Lines is acquired.<br />

1985 CRST International, Inc. is formed.<br />

1991 CRST Logistics is formed.<br />

1997 John M. Smith purchases company from his family.<br />

2007 CRST Dedicated Services is formed.<br />

2008 Driver Training Center is opened on Cedar Rapids<br />

campus.<br />

2010 John Smith becomes Chairman of the Board;<br />

Dave Rusch is appointed President and CEO.<br />

2011 Specialized Transportation, Inc. is acquired. CRST<br />

reaches $1 billion in revenue. Transport Topics names<br />

CRST the Fastest Growing Carrier.<br />

2013 Special Products Division of Allied Van Lines and BESL<br />

are acquired.<br />

2014 CRST breaks ground on new head-quarters in<br />

downtown Cedar Rapids. CRST launches culturechanging<br />

Gold Rules driver retention initiative.<br />

2015 CRST acquires Pegasus Transportation and celebrates<br />

60th Anniversary. Joe Scherbring achieves 5 million<br />

accident-free miles.<br />

Herald Smith, beloved company founder passes away.<br />

2016 CRST acquires Gardner Trucking, California’s largest<br />

private carrier.

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