Twenty-third Edition of Corporate Report 100 Reflects Diversity of Kansas City Economy

By Margaret Cashill - INGRAM'S • July 2008 • Volume 34, No. 7S — A balanced blend of old and new characterizes this year’s Corporate Report 100 honorees. Century-old Kansas City mainstays rank next to companies less than five years old. In fact, a quarter of the companies on this year’s list were founded in the current millennium, including all of the top five companies.

Now in its 23rd year, Ingram’s Corporate Report 100 is unique in that it is purely objective. Companies don’t make the honor roll based on potential, nor on pedigree. If a company is on this year’s Corporate Report 100, it is because it showed remarkable growth in gross revenue over a four-year period. We compare 2007 gross revenue to 2004 gross revenue and determine the Top 100 rankings based on percentage growth during that span.

As with years before, internet companies continue to claim significant territory in the Report. After the rise and fall of the dot-com era, the surviving companies serve useful purposes in our economy. Clickspeed offers online lead generation, Freightquote.com makes freight transportation available on the internet, and numerous additional companies found steady business in servicing business technology. Web hosting, co-location, remote backup, data security—how many of these terms did we know ten years ago? Meanwhile, many of the older companies continue to grow by expanding their online capabilities.

Another trend among our fastest-growing companies is the aging population and the challenges of healthcare. Pharmaceutical companies have made a perceptible mark. Acceleration, LLC, Worldwide Clinical Research, and CyDex Pharmaceuticals are just a few prosperous pharmaceutical development companies working to treat our population. The market, their owners will attest, is right for their services. Likewise, amid a population so in need of care, Quantum Health Professionals provides staffing, while Heartland Spine and Specialty Hospital, LLC, avails patient-focused, quality healthcare.

A selection of cheerful companies that fulfill our gastronomic and recreational needs have made their way into the list. Challenger Teamwear suits us up for soccer games, A.H. Tannery bronzes our skins, and Worldwide Wine and Spirits distributes our beverages.

Then there are the contractors, the engineers, the nuts and bolts of our city. The report also includes commodities traders, businesses that light our homes, railroads, companies that stock our vending machines, that build our homes, andbusinesses that insure us. Advertising agencies continue to be prominent on the list, as do construction firms. Financial institutions always have their place. Heartland Bank, First National Bank of Olathe, BankLiberty, First Community Bank, Dickinson Financial Corporation, are all still growing strong.

Once in a while, there comes along a truly unique company that no one could have forseen. Take Garmin, for example, friend to anyone in the United States who has ever rented a car in a new city. The innovation and creativity we see here is a testament to Kansas City entrepreneurship.

Finally, the anchors of our city, companies that preceded us by generations and may well employ our children, continue to appear on the list. Mixed in with the dozens of new companies on the CR100 list are Kansas City companies founded in the 19th Century, including Layne Christensen Company (1882), Kansas City Southern (1887), and First National Bank of Olathe (1887), First Community Bank (1869).

About Lansing Trade Group, LLC

Lansing Trade Group is a privately owned firm formed in 1931. The current ownership group has grown Lansing into a national trading company, growing beyond its grain roots with growth into the energy market. Lansing Trade Group formed Lansing Ethanol Services, LLC in March 2006 to trade ethanol. Lansing Trade Group trades whole grains, feed ingredients, and energy products, including biodiesel, in U.S. domestic and export markets. Current annual revenues are approximately $5 billion. Company headquarters are in Overland Park, Kansas. Additional information is available online at www.lansingtradegroup.com and www.lansingethanolservices.com.