Gahanna, OH

• Ranked No. 39 in the Top Companies in Columbus, OH

What it does: Provides prototyping and product development services to industrial design firms, original equipment manufacturers, inventors and architects.

Why it's growing: Prototyping shortens the time it takes for new products to get to market, and allows engineers to test for fit and function before spending months (and tens of thousands of dollars) on tooling. A prototype done by sterolithography (in which computer-aided design and lasers are used to shape plastics), for example, costs between $1,000 and $2,000 and takes just two or three days to create. "As a business improves, people have money to spend on R&D and product development, so they do a lot of engineering and need prototypes," says CEO Jerry Bordner.

What's noteworthy: The company has daily "huddles" in which all employees gather to review revenue numbers and discuss concerns; employees get profit-sharing based on sales goals for each month.

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