Many Future 50 companies are built for the long haul

The year was 2000. The dawn of a new millennium. The height of the tech boom economy that would come crashing down a year later, only to grow again, but then ultimately crash into the Great Recession by end of the decade.

A look back at the Sept. 15, 2000, Future 50 issue of what was then Small Business Times provides some interesting perspectives about where southeastern Wisconsin’s economy was then and where it stands today.

Of the companies that made 2000 Future 50 list, 18 were technology companies. They included several software development firms that folded shortly thereafter. By contrast, only nine of the companies in the 2010 Future 50 roster are technology companies.

Interestingly, eight of the Future 50 companies in 2000 were manufacturing firms. Similarly, six manufacturers made the 2010 list. That is somewhat remarkable, given how many Wisconsin manufacturers have fallen by the wayside in the recession.

Many of the top executives from the 2000 list are no longer in business. Some have gone on to other ventures. Some went away to God-knows-where.

Yet some of the names from that list are still Milwaukee players today: Jim Lindenberg sold his beloved World Class Wire & Cable Inc. at the peak of its market value and became the owner of the Milwaukee Wave. Entrepreneurs such as Ward Alles of Core Creative and Anne Zizzo of Zizzo Group Marketing + PR are still going strong. Dan Meyer grew Small Business Times to become BizTimes Media LLC, which produces BizTimes Milwaukee.

My guess is that most of the companies earning Future 50 distinction this year are hard-wired for long-term survival. That’s because they have continued to grow in the worst economy of our lifetimes. If they’re still standing after the past couple of years, they are probably lean, mean and green.

The Great Recession has culled the herd. Congratulations to the survivors. Here’s hoping they continue to innovate. It’s that innovation that will allow us to avoid the “creative destruction” that we know as American capitalism.

Click the links below to read the profiles of the 2010 Future 50 winners.

• Affinity, Inc.
• Alpha Source, Inc.
• Applied Spectrometry Associates, Inc.
• Batzner Pest Management, Inc.
• Big Bang LLC
• BizLab Inc. (Consult Sales)
• Catalyst Construction LLC
• Central Office Systems Corporation
• Commerce State Bank
• Complete Warehouse / Transportation
• CORE Consulting LLC
• Diamond Discs International LLC
• Doering Leasing Co.
• E-Freight Courier
• Franklin Energy Services LLC
• Health Payment Systems, Inc.
• IDL Solutions, Inc.
• Inland Companies, Inc.
• InPro Corporation
• Just Service, Inc.
• Knight-Barry Title, Inc.
• KPH Construction Corp.
• Landworks, Inc.
• Learning Exchange
• Midland Health Testing Services, Inc.
• Milwaukee Lead/Asbestos Information Center, Inc.
• My Health Direct, Inc.
• Nova Musik LLC
• The Penebaker Enterprises LLC
• Novum Structures LLC
• Red Anvil LLC
• S3 International LLC
• Security Personnel, Inc.
• Shorehaven Behavioral Health, Inc.
• Smart Choice MRI LLC
• Solaris, Inc.
• Superior Support Resources, Inc.
• TAPCO (Traffic & Parking Control Co., Inc.)
• Tom Donahue Trucking, Inc.
• Triad Construction, Inc.
• TRC Global Solutions, Inc.
• Trissential
• True Process, Inc.
• Velcheck & Finger Roof Consulting & Service
• Waterstone HR LLC
• WFA Staffing Group
• Winter Services, Inc.
• Wireless Logic
• Wixon
• Xten Industries LLC