FGC_10 Years

gigi@corridorbiznews.com
Thomas Cardella, founder and president of Thomas L. Cardella & Associates, speaks after accepting
the Fastest Growing Company award at breakfast last week at the Cedar Rapids Marriott.
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CARDELLA continues on page 12
johnk@corridorbiznews.com
AIRPORT continues on page 4
ST
Corridor’s
$1.50
By Gigi Wood
It’s all about the basics.
That’s what the fastest-growing company
in the Corridor practices on a daily basis
and is how it beats the competition.
“We really focus on the basics each and
every day,” said Thomas Cardella,
founder and president of Thomas L.
Cardella & Associates, which debuted on
the Fastest Growing Companies list with
919 percent growth.
To apply for a spot on the Fastest
Growing Companies list, businesses had
to earn at least $350,000 annually and
were ranked based on the percentage
increase in revenue experienced from
2005 to 2007. Companies submitted tax
forms or audit statements to Honkamp
Krueger & Co., which tabulated the results.
The Corridor Business Journal began the list
in 2008, when the now-closed Asoyia
ranked first with 856 percent growth. In
2009, Bochner Chocolates was ranked No.
1 with 427 percent growth.
The top 15 companies on the list were
recognized at a breakfast May 25 at the
Cedar Rapids Marriott. Mr. Cardella attributed
his company’s success to his workforce.
“The spirit of my team, which I’m sure
is the spirit of everyone’s in this room, is
that they’re extremely hard working, they
put in hours that you couldn’t ask anyone
to put in, because that’s how they feel
about the company,” he said.
He wants that enthusiasm to carry over
to management.
“When I’m hiring for our management
team, the first thing I look for is do they
have passion, I look for fire in the belly,”
he said. “I want people who feel from
down here (pointing at stomach) not from
CEDAR RAPIDS/IOWA CITY CORRIDOR’S INDEPENDENT LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY
CORRIDOR
‘A fire in the belly’
FOCUS:
FASTEST GROWING
COMPANIES
Featuring the CBJ List
of Fastest Growing
Companies
JOHN RICHARD
up here (pointing at head).”
Additional awards
Cardella & Associates began opening call
centers in Iowa in 2007 and has been racking
up the awards during the past few
Optimism increases
The Corridor Poll finds
positive signs about the
local economy.
Another award
Founders of Iowa City startup
J&J Solutions named
Entrepreneurs of the Year.
years. It was named the “Best in Class Call
Center” last year and founder Mr. Cardella
was recently named first runner-up for
Call Center Leader of the Year award by
the International Quality and Productivity
Center, (IQPC) an industry organization.
“The interesting thing about that is
IQPC had never awarded that to the vendor
side of the business, typically those
have only gone to companies with internal
call centers; so we beat out companies like
FedEx Latin America, Nikon, a couple
major insurance companies, we beat out
some major talent,” Mr. Cardella said. “We
attribute that to how we treat our clients
and how we conduct our business.”
Bradshaw begins at
airport June 28
By John Kenyon
May 31 - June 6, 2010
CORRIDOR
Expanding
air service
top priority
for director
Expanding air service, addressing the perception
of high fares and marketing what it
has to offer are among the first tasks for
Tim Bradshaw, the new airport director for
The Eastern Iowa Airport.
“I intend to meet with our business
partners in the community,” he said. “To
show them what we can accomplish, and
work with them to get the service they want
and meet their business needs.”
Mr. Bradshaw was named last week and
will start on June 28. He replaces Dan
Mann, who left in late January after
announcing his resignation at the end of
2009. Mr. Bradshaw is currently the deputy
executive director and chief operating officer
for the Louisville Regional Airport
Authority in Louisville, Ky.
He will earn $141,086 annually, which
is the same salary that Mr. Mann was earning
when he left.
He said air service is the most-talked
about aspect of every airport, and that The
Eastern Iowa Airport has a good foundation
there. Still, there is room for expansion,
he said, noting that an analysis of the
final destination for travelers departing
from Cedar Rapids supports the idea that
some direct flights could be added.
Corridor Business Journal
845 Quarry Rd. Ste. 125
Coralville, IA 52241
Fastest Growing Companies 2010
(Ranked by percentage revenue increase from 07-09)
RANK NAME HOMETOWN PERCENTAGE GROWTH
1 Thomas L. Cardella & Associates Cedar Rapids 919
2 Ready Mobile Hiawatha 177
3 SecurityCoverage Cedar Rapids 168
4 AES Corp./AE Systems Corp. Cedar Rapids 138
5 Clickstop Inc. Urbana 126
6 MD Orthopaedics Wayland 123
7 Ovation Networks Cedar Rapids 75
8 Service Master Avenue
of the Saints Marion 67
9 Expense Reduction Analysts Inc. Hiawatha 66
10 Involta LLC Cedar Rapids 60
11 Raining Rose Cedar Rapids 35
12 Innomatix LLC Iowa City 31
13 TMone Iowa City 28
14 RuffaloCody Cedar Rapids 26
15 Bankers Trust Co. Cedar Rapids 25
Source: The companies featured on this list submitted information to an independent auditor for verification.
French-speaking agents, and is aiming to open a satellite
office later this summer in Denver.
As Mr. Cardella spoke with the CBJ in March, TLC & Associates
was also preparing to announce a contract with a home warranty
company that will bring 75-100 additional jobs into Iowa.
He said the company is looking at expanding one existing Iowa
location, and has been in conversations with economic development
leaders in Kentucky and West Virginia about opening
customer contact centers in areas of high unemployment.
Having an experienced team has lowered the challenge factor
of executing on TLC’s strategic plan, Mr. Cardella said, noting
that some members of its core management team “have been
together for 20 years now.” But the company has also had to
work harder for growth because the market isn’t growing as fast.
TLC has focused on providing customers with accountability
and value, Mr. Cardella said, and has benefited from
strong word-of-mouth advertising among prospective clients.
Mr. Cardella doesn’t see TLC’s run ending anytime soon.
Because it has no outside investors, it’s under no timetable to
sell out, and Mr. Cardella says he likes the people part of the
business. He has praise both for the company’s older workers,
some of whom are in their 60s and 70s, and for the new
contingent of high school students that the company brought
in for evening work last year. He’s also getting to know more
international employees.
“Every day is different,” he said. “It’s a people-based industry
and I get to meet people all over the U.S. and the world, so I
learn different perspectives from knowing those people.”
– Dave DeWitte
CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary 15