community
The Inner City 100
100 street-smart companies.
31. Original Juan Specialty Foods
803%
3.4 million
73
Joe Polo's hot sauces, salsas, and mixers can be found on the shelves of upscale specialty food markets and grocery stores. Thanks in part to prize money he won in a contest for entrepreneurs that was sponsored by Visa, Polo recently moved Original Juan into a 60,000-square-foot facility in an area once known for strip joints.
32. Integrated Management Services
761%
8.5 million
46
This civil-engineering and consulting firm focuses on inner city projects in the South: road design, water-systems improvement, and bridge-building. It's also building bridges within the community: The company runs a center that tutors 250 teens in math and science. In the six years the center has been open, 85% of its graduates have gone on to college.
33. Oakleaf Waste Management
745%
165.8 million
235
East Hartford, Conn.
Oakleaf thinks big, hauling trash for multilocation companies like Pier 1 Imports and the Gap. The customers get one bill, and can manage scheduling via the Internet. The company also runs equipment-leasing, facilities-management, and trash-compacting divisions.
34. Long Wave
743%
5.5 million
70
This defense contractor specializes in military communication, from submarines to satellites. CEO Phil Miller just upgraded to a 9,400-square-foot office with a view of the brand-new Triple-A ballpark that is home to the Texas Rangers affiliate.
35. Rego Realty
717%
5.4 million
45
Hartford, Conn.
Jose Reategui, originally from Peru, has refurbished a substantial number of buildings in Hartford, most of them residential. Some 90% of his staff is Latino. Because they come from several different nations, Reategui holds work celebrations all year long: The Colombians mark their national holiday on July 20, the Peruvians on July 28, the Mexicans on September 16, and so on.
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