The annual awards for the Edward Lowe Foundation‘s Michigan 50 Companies to Watch contest will be announced tonight at a gala celebration in Lansing. The awards go to growth-stage companies that are singled out for innovation, corporate culture, philanthropy, and the impact they make on local and state markets.
To be eligible, companies must be privately held commercial enterprises with the intent and capacity for further growth. Companies must have between six and 99 full-time (or equivalent) employees and have had between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue (including working capital from investors or grants) during the 2011 calendar year.
This year’s winners had a combined revenue of $426 million, a 29.6 percent increase from last year’s winners. They employed 1,917 people and are projected to hire an additional 408 employees in 2012.
Nominations for the 2013 awards are currently being accepted; click here to apply. This year’s winners included 18 tech companies. They are:
Criterion, Comstock Park: Manufacturer of the eValet automated underground parking system used at the UCLA Medical Center and other custom products in the medical device, automotive, and food processing sectors.
Critical Signal Technologies, Famington Hills: Started by former Guardian Security Services executives, the company creates and distributes personal emergency response systems, medication management systems, and telehealth systems.
CuroRx, Grand Rapids: This online pharmacy focuses on serving home healthcare customers and those in long-term care facilities. It was named Small Business of the Year 2011 by the West Michigan Small Business Technology and Development Center.
DaySmart Software, Wixom: Point-of-sale software development company serving spas, salons, pet groomers, medical spas, and tattoo and piercing studios.
Detroit Trading Company, Southfield: Named one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies by Inc. magazine, the Detroit Trading Company aspires to be “the world’s foremost automotive lead provider.”
Duo-Guard Industries, Canton: Designers, engineers, and fabricators of high-performance translucent daylighting systems, illuminated walls and ceilings, and custom canopies, shelters, and outdoor structures using advanced polycarbonate technologies.
Dynamic Captioning, Grand Rapids: Upload videos to Dynamic Captioning and they’ll return them with captions embedded for playout. The company also does real-time captioning in English and Spanish, encoding, webcasts, and FTP file managment.
FAVI Entertainment, Sterling Heights: The creator of projectors, screens, televisions, and mobile keyboards, FAVI and its products have been praised in the pages of PC Mag, GO magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and on CBS and the Discovery Channel. Its “pocket projector” was named one of the best products at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.
Grid Logic, Lapeer: Grid Logic develops and manufactures devices for the storage, generation, and distribution of electric power. It also builds custom products incorporating cryogenic refrigeration, superconducting materials, and additive manufacturing.
Kremin, Saginaw: The company offers custom and advanced manufacturing of medical devices and alternative energy equipment such as wind turbines.
Logic Solutions, Ann Arbor: Logic Solutions specializes in website and mobile app development, mobile tech and strategy, and resource management. Though headquartered in Michigan, the company has offices in Irvine, CA; Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing, China; and Hong Kong.
Lynx Network Group, Kalamazoo: A wholesale and retail provider of telecommunications services and intrastate data services to major wireless and fiber-based customers.
Mango Languages, Farmington Hills: Mango Languages provides online language learning software that is currently used by one in five North American libraries and a variety of U.S. government agencies including the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, the Airforce, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Medbio, Grand Rapids: The company is a contract manufacturer for the medical and biotech industries that specializes in precision injection molding, medical device assembly, and, medical device design support.
MedHub, Ann Arbor: MedHub has created a Web-enabled medical education management system specially designed for teaching hospitals with many different training programs.
Optimal Solutions, Wyoming: Optimal Solutions provides network engineering and software development services for the healthcare and education industries.
Twin Bay Medical, Williamsburg: The company manufactures single-use disposable products for biopharmaceutical fluid handling. Its products are used around the world to prevent cross-contamination in the drug and cell culture manufacturing process.
Worksighted, Holland: Worksighted provides IT management and support services for business and healthcare customers.
For a complete list of winning companies, click here.
