Imajine That – These 8 Massachusetts Companies are Among the 100 Fastest-Growing Inner City Business in the U.S.
Of the 100 fastest growing businesses located in U.S. inner cities, eight hail from Massachusetts, according to the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.
The ICIC’s 2014 “Inner City 100” winners list includes three Boston-based companies from a variety of industries. Bay State winners include: Solectria Renewables (Lawrence); Mill City Environmental (Lowell); Paragus Strategic IT (Springfield); Imajine That (Lawrence); TANTARA Corporation (Worcester); Fennick McCredie Architecture (Boston); Luggage Forward (Boston); and Pinck & Co. (Boston).
This year’s 16th annual “Inner City 100” rankings features, for the first time in its history, 10 winning inner city business ranked separately across 10 different industries, including Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation; Construction; Food & Beverage; Healthcare & Biotechnology; Manufacturing; Media & Communications; Professional Services; Retail; Software & Information Technology; and Transportation & Logistics.
Winners are chosen and ranked by the ICIC, and the list is then broadcasted to the masses via FORTUNE. This year, “Inner City 100” companies received an overall (1-100) and categorical (1-10) ranking.
The eight Bay State winners – the state’s fastest growing businesses located in inner cities – were honored last Thursday night, October 16, in the Seaport World Trade Center, during the Icons of Industry Growth symposium. “These businesses,” the ICIC’s states on its website, “led by some of today’s most creative entrepreneurs, prove that not only can companies thrive in inner cities, but that inner city companies can enjoy unique competitive advantages.”
Here’s who’s growing in Mass. inner cities.
Mill City Environmental
Industry: Transportation & Logistics
Inner City 100 rank: 1
Industry Rank: 21
2013 Revenue: $10,507,215
CEOs: Brian Chapman
Growth Rate: 471.20 percent
Solectria Renewables
Industry: Manufacturing
Inner City 100 rank: 23
Industry Rank: 7
2013 Revenue: $61,121,303
CEOs: Anita Worden & James Worden
Growth Rate: 439.16%
Paragus Strategic IT
Industry: Software & Information Technology
Inner City 100 rank: 36
Industry Rank: 6
2013 Revenue: $3,543,240
CEOs: Delcie Bean
Growth Rate: 328.33%
Imajine That
Industry: Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation
Inner City 100 rank: 38
Industry Rank: 1
2013 Revenue: $1,396,518
CEOs: Susan Leger Ferraro
Growth Rate: 316.24%
TANTARA Corporation
Industry: Construction
Inner City 100 rank: 42
Industry Rank: 7
2013 Revenue: $7,597,508
CEOs: Dawn Dearborn
Growth Rate: 308.46%
Fennick McCreddie Architecture
Industry: Professional Services
Inner City 100 rank: 50
Industry Rank: 6
2013 Revenue: $5,175,754
CEOs: Deborah Fennick & Jonathon McCredie
Growth Rate: 251.04%
Luggage Forward
Industry: Transportation & Logistics
Inner City 100 rank: 77
Industry Rank: 8
2013 Revenue: 4,211,800
CEOs: Zeke Adkins & Aaron KirleyGrowth Rate:
Growth Rate: 130.73%
Pinck & Co.
Industry: Construction
Inner City 100 rank: 83
Industry Rank: 9
2013 Revenue:2,766,000
CEOs: Jennifer Pinck
Growth Rate: 98.99%