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Local Firms Shine Making Inc. 5000 List

“We seek out projects that are not run of the mill, more difficult, more challenging.”

By Matt Glynn 
 August 25, 2010

Suzanne Witnauer knows a thing or two about speed.

Earlier this year in Florida, the business owner took a turn at the wheel of a stock car, driving around a race track at more than 140 mph.

Her Buffalo general contracting firm, Construction and Service Solutions Corp., is also going fast. It was the top-ranked Buffalo Niagara company on the Inc. 5000, an annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held companies.

CSSC was No. 157, based on its 1,771 percent increase in revenues over a three-year period. Its revenues jumped to $3.4 million in 2009 from $181,594 in 2006.

“This is a very big recognition for a small firm like mine,” Witnauer said.

Two other Buffalo Niagara companies made Inc.’s top 500: U. S. Energy Development Corp. in Getzville and ESC Select in Amherst.

To qualify for Inc.’s list, companies had to have generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2006, and at least $2 million in 2009. They also had to be based in the United States and independent.

CSSC works on construction projects in New York State and five other states. The eight-year-old business has 47 employees and is based on Howard Street. CSSC started out in Witnauer’s Akron home, which she feels helped in the long run, by keeping overhead low at the outset.

“We seek out projects that are not run of the mill, more difficult, more challenging,” Witnauer said. Many of those projects involve commercial, governmental and industrial work.

Witnauer shares credit with her staff for fueling the growth that led to the Inc. 5000 ranking. She recalled Inc. had to persuade her to apply for consideration; Witnauer didn’t think her business would qualify.

She plans to attend Inc.’s conference and awards, which she also sees as an opportunity to network with other other business owners and trade ideas.

U. S. Energy Development was No. 354 on the list, with revenue growth of 830 percent over a three-year span, to $55.7 million in 2009 from $6 million in 2006. A year ago, it was the top-ranked Buffalo Niagara company on Inc.’s list.

“It’s fantastic in today’s environment that we’re able to grow at a rapid pace,” said Matthew Iak, national sales director.

U. S. Energy Development was

founded in 1980 and has 95 employees. The oil and natural gas driller and producer has drilled more than 1,800 wells in eight states and Canada in the past 30 years, and has a lease inventory of more than 300,000 acres. It bills itself as one of the largest drillers in New York State and Pennsylvania.

Different factors account for its fast rate of growth, said Douglas Walch, the president. The company derives some revenues from drilling wells on behalf of partners, he said. “We’ve been able to exponentially increase that effort,” he said. And U. S. Energy Development has stepped up its production activity, as well.

Michael Stophlet, chief operations officer, said the company also benefits from the push toward reducing dependence on foreign oil. The company has invested heavily in New York State and Northwestern Pennsylvania.

While Stophlet came to the company after working in Alaska, the company has also found a lot of its talent close to home. “We’ve been able to find good recruits from the universities here locally,” Walch said.

ESC Select was No. 407, with 725 percent revenue growth to $25.1 million in 2009, from $3 million in 2006.

The business, founded in 2002, is a human resource “outsourcer,” providing payroll services, benefits administration and compliance and consulting services.

John Hawkins and Greg Bauer co-founded ESC Select, which in 2008 was the top-ranked local company on the Inc. list. Another company they started, called Employer Services Corp., has also appeared on Inc.’s list.

Other area companies on the 2010 edition of the Inc. 5000: Young and Wright Architectural, Logistic Dynamics, Eminent Technology Solutions, Synacor, Vaspian, Advanced Educational Products, and Practice Management Center.

Also: Worldwide Travel Staffing, the Hamister Group, Complete Payroll Processing, Buffalo Filter, HVR Advanced Power Components, Safespan Platform Systems, Upstate Pharmacy, SLR Contracting and Service, Life Safety Engineered Systems, and Liberty Pumps.