Who are Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies?

PROFIT Magazine has just released its 18th annual PROFIT 100 list of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies.

Why should you care? Two things:

1. Seeing what kinds of companies are succeeding and growing incredibly fast in today’s economy is very eye-opening - and could inspire you to defy conventional thinking in your own business.

2. The issue contains lots of great business advice from today’s growth leaders: business insights, tips and tactics that are too new, creative and personal to be found in any books.

You can read the entire list online here. Some of the highlights:

* The No. 1 company (with five-year growth of 31,598%) is Rutter Inc., a St. John’s, Nfld. systems integrator and software developer that makes “black box” recording systems for ocean-going ships. Fascinating stuff. They also do electronics manufacturing and engineering services.
I was lucky enough to write the Rutter profile in this issue, but PROFIT seems not to be putting many of the stories in this issue online until July 3. (They must want you to buy the magazine.)

* The next 4 ranked companies are Workbrain (No. 2), a leading developer of workforce-management software; Fruit d'Or Inc., a $20-million berry processor from Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Que.; Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc., an Internet company in Vancouver; and Imaging Dynamics Co. Ltd., a Digital radiography company from Calgary.

(How great to see a company from Atlantic Canada top the list, for the first time ever! And the fact the top five all hail from different parts of Canada speaks to a welcome diversification of economic potential.)

* Other companies on the list include makers of digital X-ray machines, surveillance systems, solar-powered lighting and soft-soled baby shoes. Plus: Research in Motion makes the list for a sixth year.

* Average sales growth of the P100: 2,597% over five years. It's the highest overall growth rate seen on the PROFIT 100 since 2001, and it hasn't come at the expense of profitability: fully 79 of the 100 firms on the list were in the black last year.

For more information, including the Next 100 companies list, see http://www.profit100.com/

For my two stories in the issue and the best new management ideas, check your newsstand next week. Or drop by again in July and I’ll try to remember to link to them.