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5 firms to watch
Area businesses among 50 honored for state award
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by YODIT GIDEY/Herald
From left, Tom Barney, Kerry Petranek, Aaron Fernandez and Patrick Meiering gather during a celebration at Crossroads Durango on Wednesday. Businesses they represent were named "Companies to Watch" by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the
Edward Lowe Foundation. Barney is with Osprey Packs of Cortez. Petranek is with StoneAge Inc. of Durango. Fernandez is with Open Sky Wilderness Therapy of Durango. Meiering is with Zuke's Performance Pet Nutrition of Durango.
A representative from a fifth Southwest Colorado company honored, Hydro-X of Bayfield, was not at the reception.
They were among 50 companies noted for their growth in a program presented by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Edward Lowe Foundation and others.
Criteria for the award were nominees had to be focused on growth, privately held and headquartered in Colorado, employ six to 99 full-time workers and have $750,000 to $50 million in sales or a similar range of working capital.
Boulder had the most honorees of any city, with 11.
Durango had three: Zuke's Performance Pet Nutrition; Open Sky Wilderness Therapy; and StoneAge, a water-jet tools manufacturer. Hydro-X of Bayfield and Osprey Packs of Cortez also were honored.
StoneAgeStoneAge Inc. was founded after Jerry Zink and John Wolgamott began developing a water-basting tool in 1979. The company originally developed tools to aid uranium mining but soon discovered its water jet drill was useful in cleaning pipes, tubes and plugged heat exchangers.
StoneAge had $13 million in sales in 2008. The company is employee-owned and employs 48.
StoneAge maintains a network of distributors and repair centers. Among its products are a "deck blaster," a floor cleaner and rotary shotgun nozzles.
"These are used in industrial cleaning applications and the energy industry primarily," said Zink, StoneAge's vice president.
Zink said StoneAge will continue marketing its products to encourage growth.
"We have an international market, so the Internet is very important for us to do business around the world," he said.
Zink expressed appreciation for the award because Durango's tourism and service industries get much of the attention.
"It's something we've worked at for 30 years pretty quietly," he said.
Zuke's Performance Pet NutritionZuke's was founded in Albuquerque in 1995 by Patrick Meiering. The company moved to Durango in 2001.
Meiering started out making energy bars for active dogs.
"What that transformed into is really healthy, natural organic treats and chews for dogs," Meiering said.
Zuke's, named for Meiering's deceased chocolate Labrador, now employs 10 and had $7 million in revenue last year.
The company's products are distributed in every state in the U.S., all across Canada and much of Asia, and are sold in pet specialty shops, natural foods and grocery stores, and outdoor outlets.
"The conditions in Durango have definitely helped," Meiering said. "The company is kind of founded around the Durango lifestyle. Everybody in Durango has a dog they go hiking with."
Meiering plans eventually to formulate and market healthy, organic dog food.
"We're really into consumable types of products that will help your dog stay healthier and happier and perform better," he said.
Open Sky Wilderness TherapyOpen Sky Wilderness Therapy of Durango combines clinical assessments, therapy and wilderness experiences to help troubled teenagers and young adults.
Founded in 2006, the company works with children and young adults ages 13-28 on drug and alcohol abuse, depression, family and school problems, low self-esteem and other issues.
Aaron Fernandes is the executive director.
"Just being recognized has been great for us as an organization," he said.
Programs run year-round. They last five to 12 weeks and cost $485 per day, plus a $2,000 enrollment fee.
Open Sky has 61 full-time employees. The company maintains administrative offices in Durango, an operations and field office in Cortez and a 60-acre property in Dove Creek that serves as a winter base camp. Open Sky leases a ranch between Dolores and Mancos for its summer camp.
The company saw 153 percent revenue growth from 2006 to 2007, and 33 percent growth from 2007 to 2008. Fernandes expects a smaller increase from 2008 to 2009.
Hydro-XHydro-X of Bayfield was founded in November 2000 by brothers Mike and Kelly Clark and two other partners.
The brothers since have purchased the interest of the other partners. Mike Clark is president, and Kelly Clark is chief operating officer and general counsel.
The company's trucks use water jets for excavation projects.
H2X now employs about 30 workers at its operations in Bayfield; Silt; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Snyder, Texas. The company brought in $6.5 million in revenue in 2008.
Mike Clark said of the honor: "The program in general is a good one to recognize Colorado entrepreneurs. A lot of times the guys who start their own businesses are laboring in the dark out there. So it's good to publicize that spirit."
Clark said H2X is seeking investors to finance its growth.
"We do have some expansion plans, but we're going to require some outside capital to do that. So we're in the process of contacting investors," he said.
Osprey PacksOsprey Packs was founded in 1974 in Santa Cruz, Calif. The company moved to Dolores in 1990, hiring many workers from the nearby Navajo reservation. Osprey moved all its operations to Cortez in 1999.
The company manufactures high-end wilderness backpacks that can be found in stores such as Backcountry Experience and Pine Needle Mountaineering in Durango.
Osprey's headquarters and distribution, sales, marketing, customer service, finance and information technology staff is based in Cortez, where the company employs 29, said Sam Mix, associate marketing manager.
Osprey also maintains a design and quality control studio in Vietnam that employs 15. The company's sales representatives are spread across the world.
Most Osprey packs cost $99 to $379.
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