“It’s passion that makes you successful, and your efforts on behalf of your community successful,” Stenger said.
The occasion was KeyBank and Vermont Business Magazine’s annual 5x5x5 Growth Awards, which celebrates the five fastest-growing businesses in five categories over the past five years in Vermont. Stenger, president and CEO of Jay Peak Resort, delivered the banquet’s keynote address. He was also honored for his leadership of the second fastest-growing service company in the state.
In less than a decade, Jay Peak has been transformed from a small ski resort to a high-end, four-season destination. The state’s economists have credited the expansion with driving down the Northeast Kingdom area’s chronically high unemployment rate.
The resort’s growth is fueled largely by immigrant investor funds from the federal EB-5 visa program. Stenger said Monday that the business environment in which Jay Peak has flourished is part of a larger Vermont phenomenon.
The state’s brand as a safe, clean, healthy and beautiful place sets the scene, he said, and Vermonters’ can-do attitude facilitates action. The state’s hard-won telecommunications infrastructure creates “a relatively level playing field,” in which small to mid-sized companies can compete globally.
“We’re a state, but we’re really a community,” Stenger said.
Economic development efforts in Vermont, however, are not executed without difficulty. In 2006, Stenger chaired Vermont’s Next Generation Commission, which was charged with developing a plan to encourage young Vermonters to stay in-state after graduation. He said workforce challenges remain an obstacle. A high percentage of high school graduates in Vermont advance neither to college nor technical training.
“We need a consistent, trained workforce coming our way,” Stenger said. About a third of graduates, however, are unskilled and drifting. He encouraged businesses to work more closely with their local career and technical centers to help develop training programs that generate a pipeline of qualified workers for their needs.
Vermont Business Magazine editor Tim McQuiston said when the 5x5x5 Awards started more than a decade ago, construction and manufacturing were leading industries. Today, both have declined and tech companies like Dealer.com and Logic Supply are on the rise.
“Now, the greatest strength of Vermont’s economy is its diversity,” McQuiston said.
He believes that once capital investments pick up, the pace of construction will follow and the rest of the economy will come along.
In the meantime, McQuiston and the magazine recognized companies that have managed to grow even in the face of continued economic sluggishness. The following honorees are listed in order of their relative growth over the past five years.
MANUFACTURING
Against The Grain Gourmet | 888.60%
Keurig Green Mountain | 779.50%
AllEarth Renewables, Inc. | 750%
North Hartland Tool Corp. | 627.50%
Vermont Smoke & Cure | 350%
RETAIL
Green Mountain Power Corp. | 169.20%
Hayes Ford-Lincoln-Mercury | 52.60%
Small Dog Electronics | 48%
Heritage Automotive Group | 31.90%
Washington Electric Cooperative Inc. | 17.60%
SERVICE
TPW Management LLC | 177.80%
Jay Peak Resort | 162.70%
The Essex Resort & Spa | 126.70%
Resource Systems Group Inc. | 103.50%
Vermont Energy Investment Corp. | 101.60%
TECHNOLOGY
Dealer.com | 751.90%
Competitive Computing Inc. | 163.20%
ASIC North, Inc. | 71.70%
iTech US Inc. | 61.50%
Logic Supply, Inc. | 43.80%
WHOLESALE
High Mowing Seed Co. | 233.30%
Barry T Chouinard Inc. | 133.30%
Vermont Electric Power Co. | 117.80%
Instrumart | 100%
Food Science Corp. | 78.60%
