Entrepreneur of the Year Awards honor best, brightest.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Awards honor

best, brightest

The film industry honors its own with the Oscar Awards, and the music industry has the Grammys. The business community recognizes its best with the distinguished Entrepreneur Of The Year awards.

"The Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors individuals who are the catalyst for our nation's growth and prosperity," says Ronald H. Silver, Partner and Director of Entrepreneural Services with Ernst & Young in Los Angeles. "They are the people who create jobs and introduce new products and services and epitomize the American free enterprise system."

Awards recipients typically are owners or top managers who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as business innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Individuals who have shown extensive support for entrepreneurial ventures are also eligible.

Companies must have been operating for at least two years. If the company is publicly-held, the founder must be an active member in top management.

Categories embrace a wide scope of businesses, including manufacturing and high technology, retail, construction and real estate. Additional categories include Emerging and Master Entrepreneur, and Supporter of Entrepreneurship.

A new category, the Socially Responsible Entrepreneur Award has been added in 1991 to honor entrepreneurs who help their communities address environmental concerns or social problems such as homelessness, crime, substance abuse and illiteracy.

"We are not necessarily looking for someone who writes the largest check, but for someone who demonstrates a consistent commitment to help solve our serious social problems," says Silver.

Final determination of the categories in which awards will be given is made by the judges on a regional basis based on the quality of completed nominations received by the deadline.

Regional winners will be eligible to compete in a national competition, the winner of which will be featured in a cover story in the January 1992 issue of Inc. Magazine. All regional winners will be inducted into the Institute of American Entrepreneurs at the Institute's national conference to be held in November at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida.

Last year's winners include: Arnold Lorber

Lorber Industries of California,

Gardena George B. Rathmann

Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks John A. Smart II

Smart Corporation of Torrance Bradley Scott 

L.A. Auto Salvage Inc.,

Woodland Hills William R. Guthy

Guthy-Renker Inc., Irwindale Craig Winn

Dynasty Classics Corp., Carson Jeffrey P. Sudikoff

IDB Communications Group Inc.,

Culver City Stanley Braun

The Pacific Rim Assurance Co.,

Encino George L. Pla

Cordoba Corp., Los Angeles

Sponsors support excellence

Ernst & Young is the leading international professional services firm with 67,000 people in more than 600 cities in over 100 countries, including 23,000 people in more than 100 U.S. cities. Entrepreneurial Services is a division of Ernst & Young with professionals dedicated solely to providing integrated business advisory services to owner-managed businesses.

Inc. is the magazine for growing companies and is circulated to 650,000 business owners and managers. It features news of entrepreneurial businesses, management, finance, personnel, marketing and other issues critical to the business community.

Merrill Lynch Business financial Services provides a full spectrum of financial services in over 450 offices nationwide to more than 200,000 business owners and entrepreneurs.

The Los Angeles Business Journal is a weekly business newspaper serving Los Angeles County. If focuses chiefly on news regarding businesses based in the county.

This

year's

finalists

ENTREPRENEUR

UNDER FIVE YEARS

IN BUSINESS

Jessica K. Laufer Laufer Associates Inc

Steve Lehman Premiere Radio Networks, Inc.

Kathleen Williams Williams Television Time, Inc.

MANUFACTURING ENTREPRENEUR

Rowland D. Hunt Clamshell Buildings, Inc.

Rachel Flug Diaperaps, Inc.

J.A. Storm Storm Products Company

NON-FINANCIAL SERVICES

Robert J. Goodman Box Brothers Corporation

Owen G. Glenn Direct Container Line, Inc.

Thomas E. Roberson Imperial Tenant Development Corp.

J. David Power III J.D. Power and Associates

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Henry Y. Hwang Far East National Bank Li-Pei Wu GBC Bancorp

Richard L. Watt Lendco Acceptance Corporation

HIGH-TECHNOLOGY

Martin Shum Advanced Compression Technology

Paul B. MacCready AeroVironment Inc.

Andrew De Mari Retix

WHOLESALE/DISTRIBUTION

R.C. Schrader International Matrix

Graciliano Rodriguez Mercado Latino Inc.

Andrew Mervyn Mandelbaum Superba, Inc.

MEDICAL SERVICES

Robert L. Ibsen Den-Mat Corporation

Walter Jayasinghe Los Angeles Medical Center

Clyde William Oden Watts Health Foundation Inc.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

Harold Martinez Able Industrial Products, Inc.

Dennis Cagan Century Computer Marketing

Larry J. Freeman Freeman Cosmetic Corporation

ENTREPRENEUR

OVER FIVE YEARS

IN BUSINESS

Jack Nadel Measured Marketing - Nadel Worldwide

Sharon R. Goode Prestige Leather Creations, Inc.

Therese E. Myers Quarterdeck Office Systems 

DISTINGUISHED SERVICES

TO THE

ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY

Andrew Galef The Spectrum Group, Inc. - The Galef Institute

ENTREPRENEUR

UNDER FIVE YEARS

IN BUSINESS

WINNER

Williams Television Time, Inc.

Address: 1630 21st St. Santa Monica, 90404

Principal: Kathleen Williams

Business: Media buying

Next time you turn on the television and see one of those annoying shows selling you a product with a toll-free number, there's a good chance Kathleen Williams put it there.

Whether it's tooth whiteners, mixers, Tony Robbins, No-Money-Down, Real Estate, The Wok, Dick Gregory, Miracle Blades, or Cross Country Ski Machines, Williams TV Time bought the time and put it on the air.

Founder Kathleen Williams got in on the ground floor of an emerging market: television "informercials".

One day in 1985 a man walked into her office and said he wanted to hire her to buy media time for him. Williams told him she knew absolutely nothing about advertising or television (she had sold jewelry, started a catering business and brokered mortgages). The man told her that her lack of experience didn't matter - she had the perfect personality.

The man was Ed Beckley, the first informercial guru. Williams ended up hiring and training Beckley's buyers, buying time for a home shopping network and even training TV stations about the needs of infomercial advertisers.

Most of the existing media agencies at that time were agency oriented, not client oriented, says Williams. "Through my inhouse experience I knew what the clients felt was most important - the amount of profits generated for their media buys,' she says.

Williams Television Time is now the largest independent infomercial media buying agency in the country with $35 million in billings last year, a projected $50 million for 1991 and a goal of $100 million for 1992.

The company is debt-free and has been profitable every year since its inception.

Laufer Associates Inc.

Address: 10920 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1730 Los Angeles, 90024

Principal: Jessica K. Laufer

Business: Public Relations/Marketing Communications

A pioneer communicator in environmental and social issues, Jessica Laufer realized her lifelong dream four years ago when she founded Laufer Associates.

To Laufer's knowledge, hers is the only agency specializing exclusively in social and environmental issues marketing. Laufer's immersion in such issues as recycling, air and water quality, and mental health provide the nucleus for her work.

Under Laufer's direction, the firm has risen above the current recession and has dramatically increased its market share while at the same time creating new markets.

With a background in psychology and communications, Laufer was convinced that sophisticated marketing communications techniques could be used to promote social causes, just as they are for commercial products and services.

Laufer focuses on strategic planning, media relations, issues management, public education, special events and government relations. But, says Laufer, "our role extends beyond that of consultant and advisor. We actually take part in advocacy on behalf of our clients. We demonstrate that we hold their issues and concerns in as high esteem as they do."

The firm serves a broad range of corporate clients, government agencies and nonprofit organizations, including the City of Los Angeles Recycling and Waste Reduction Program (the largest in the world), the American National Red Cross, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project and the Los Angeles County Mental Health Association.

Since its inception three years ago, the agency's staff has grown from one to 22 people and the firm has seen a compounded annual growth rate of 120 percent with 1991 projected billings of more than $2 million.

Premiere Radio Network, Inc.

Address: 6255 Sunset Blvd., Pent. Suite 2203 Los Angeles, 90028

Principal: Steve Lehman

Business: Producer of syndicated radio programs

People in radio like to be in front of the microphone. Steve Lehman is somewhat different - he liked what he was doing but also wanted to get behind the mike.

Lehman was an on-air personality at KIIS-FM, Los Angeles, when he decided to start Premiere Radio Networks. The company writes, produces and distributes radio programs to a syndicate of stations across the country and is the largest syndicator of comedy programming in the nation.

Lehman's motto, "barter is smarter," is the underlying principle behind Premiere's innovative approach of exchanging shows for prime advertising time within virtually every radio market. The company in turn sells this time to national advertisers who incorporate their commercial messages into the programs.

Premiere Radio is entering into its second "five year plan" after achieving its previous growth goals in only four years. In 1990 alone sales increased by more than 90 percent and pre-tax profit increased by 34 percent.

Future plans include introducing new programs to increase market share, improving existing programming and entering into the larger "wired" network market by creating, producing and distributing weekly programs and 24-hour radio formats.

Lehman also plans to take his company international and to own not only programs but stations themselves. The company is currently in escrow on its first radio station acquisition and is looking for other "distressed" outlets that can be turned around into profitable enterprises.

MANUFACTURING

ENTREPRENEUR

WINNER

Clamshell Building, Inc.

Address: 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite J Santa Barbara, 93108

Principal: Rowland J. Goodman

Business: Manufacturer of relocatable buildings

Roly Hunt built his company by turning Henry Ford's goal of "a car in every garage" around. Hunt instead wanted a garage for every car.

In 1982, he decided to explore the market for relocatable buildings. After paying for an independent military and commercial market survey, he and partner Ken Gardner put up $80,000 to develop and design the prototype for a new generation of relocatable buildings.

Clamshell Buildings, Inc. (CBI) would build high-tech relocatable buildings, initially for the U.S. military. "CBI was new, just two guys against well-established competitors, some of whom had been supplying the military since the days of the Quonset hut," recalls Hunt. "Rather than confronting the competition head on, we decided to create a novel building."

He also created a new building. Asking why anyone would put $10,000 automobiles in garages but let $30 million aircraft sit out in the weather, Hunt used his full-width Clamshell door concept to create a relocatable hangar. "Nothing like this existed," he says.

Clamshelters proved their worth in Operation Desert Storm. In August 1990, the U.S. Army ordered dozens of Clamshelters for airlift to Saudi Arabia. CBI was able to deliver the first shelters in three weeks and 65 in five months.

Desert Shield planners noted that the procurement of Clamshelters was their "biggest success."

Since then, orders haven't stopped, and projected sales growth shows a 30 to 50 percent per annum climb, after quadrupling in 1991.

Since Desert Storm, contracts have blossomed to at least $1 million per employee - all with a limited salaried sales force.

CBI's success is largely due to Hunt's philosophy of "don't build what you can buy." Rather than manufacturing in-house, CBI secured abundant outside production capacity. A small inventory of interchangeable parts fills a variety of orders. Twice recently an order received on Monday resulted in a finished building on site by Friday.

CBI has proved that innovative engineering and management can provide a product that creates its own market.

Storm Products Company

Address: 112 S. Glasgow Ave. Inglewood, 90301

Principal: J.A. Storm

Business: Supplies wire and cable to aerospace and computer industries

Al Storm has been in the wire business since the early fifties, growing up - as he puts it - with the industry.

He started Storm Products using proceeds from the sale of his first small wire company, which grew as the industry grew, beginning with sales to the aerospace industry.

Storm Products was originally established as a wire distributor. Customer requests for processed materials and bulk items led to the acquisition of production equipment. Growing customer demand boosted the company from its original plant in Inglewood to its current seven plants throughout the U.S.

Storm Products supplies ready-to-use wire, cable and tubing, as well as custom cable, to the aerospace, computer, telecommunications, transportation and medical industries. The company has also specialized in supplying the defense industry. The firm's Illinois facility produces fiber optic and microwave cable systems.

Al Storm has not emphasized rapid growth. His focus has been on building a reputation for quality and responsive service. His business philosophy emphasizes autonomy. Each of the company's plants is a profit center with the plant manager responsible for operating results. Management and employees are rewarded based on individual plant profitability.

The company now has affiliates in Australia, Canada, India, and Europe.

Diaperaps, Inc.

Address: 19619 Prairie St. Northridge, 91324

Principal: Rachel Flug

Business: Distributor of velcro closure covers for cotton diapers

Diaperaps was founded in 1985 by Rachael Flug, a mother of three, who originally wanted a product which would make using cotton diapers easier for herself.

Her idea was to design a cover which was comfortable for a baby, allowed air to circulate and eliminated the need for pins and rubber pants. She was also concerned about the environmental impact of diapering and took a personal interest in fostering the use of cotton diapers.

Flug has no formal business education. She learned what she needed to know by listening to other manufacturers. Her conviction that cotton diapers would regain popularity and become a mass market product led to the creation of patented velcro-closure cotton diaper covers.

Flug was certain that if she could make it convenient for families to use cotton diapers, she could help protect the environment by providing an alternative to the pollution of disposable diapers. She began selling her new covers through mail order and to diaper services nationwide through a free-sample program.

The financial risk was considerable. There were no traditional sources of capital available, as cotton diapers and ancillary products were not considered viable. Initial seed money came from a sympathetic mother-in-law.

Today more than 400 diaper services in the U.S. and Canada offer Diaperaps. Since 1985, more than one million parents have used Diaperaps for their babies.

The product is now distributed by direct mail and through more than 2,000 baby products retailers. The company is poised to enter the mass merchandiser distribution channels.

Among Flug's customer services is a toll free number for child care counseling to help customers with questions about diapering or basic child care.

NON-FINANCIAL

SERVICES

WINNER

Direct Container Line, Inc.

Address: 22441 S. Bonita St. Carson, 90745

Principal: Owen G. Glenn

Business: Servicing ocean freight

Owen Glenn has more than 30 years experience in the transportation industry.

His career began in 1962 as a management trainee for Air New Zealand. He later moved to London and was instrumental in the formation of a multinational air and sea cargo transportation company.

In 1975, Glenn formed Pacific Forwarding Group, which provided transportation services as a freight forwarder, customs broker and warehouse company. In 1978, PFG formed Direct Container Line in North America.

First established in California, DCL was originally set up by shareholders from Australia to service the needs of Australian importers buying goods from U.S. manufacturers for ocean transport.

Glenn moved to the U.S. and expanded DCL into what is now the largest export container company operating from North America. He recently completed an owner/president management program at Harvard Business School, modeled on the Harvard MBA program.

From a base of seven offices with four exclusive agenst and 37 receiving terminals, DCL can service most of the major areas of business in the U.S. Subsidiary companies in Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. have been established together with exclusive agency agreements staffed by DCL personnel in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, the Phillipines and Europe.

This network has been established primarily to service international importers of U.S. goods and shippers of these goods in the U.S. Customers come in all sizes, from a single Japanese entrepreneur who may ship 20 cartons of polo shirts to Tokyo to his cousin's boutique, through large companies like Monsanto Chemical.

Glenn anticipates doubling his firm's annual turnover of $30,000,000 within three years.

Box Brothers Corp.

Address: 7050 Owensmouth Ave., Suite 200 Canoga Park, 91303

Principal: Robert J. Goodman

Business: retailer of boxes and moving supplies

Robert Goodman started his business when there were not only no competitors, but no niche from which he could carve out his share.

Goodman felt there was a need for moving boxes, stock boxes, shipping boxes and shipping and packing supplies. He left an executive position with a fast-growing moving company and opened his own firm with $3,000.

That of course did not stretch to fund a marketing effort, but by working seven days a week, Goodman did find his market. In the early days, he'd do almost anything to entice people to try his service, including dressing up in a box and waving customers into his store.

It paid off. Now, four years later, the company has seven stores and approval from the state of California to franchise the concept.

Box Bros. maintains more than 200 products in its stores. The company ships out products and personal possessions through freight services such as U.P.S., Federal Express and Emory.

A mail order firm might use Box Bros. to package its products; personal items such as china, furniture or clothing can be shipped to a new residence; or businesses can use the firm to ship products and documents. Box Bros. also specializes in packaging and shipping antiques.

For small businesses without mailing and shipping rooms or individuals who can't prepare products for safe transport along common carier lines, Box Bros. offers a low cost alternative to conventional forms of transportation as well as shipping services.

To get his business off the ground, Goodman sacrificed much of his personal time to work in his original store in Woodland Hills. He still maintains hands-on control of that store to keep in touch with customers and employees.

Imperial Tenant Development

Address: 3338 Malt Ave. Commerce, 90040

Principal: Thomas E. Roberson

Business: Provides and installs suspended ceilings and window coverings

Tom Roberson worked his way from the top - he got into the ceiling business.

After one semester at a local college, he began work as a carpenter on major commercial developments in the Los Angeles area.

After distinguishing himself as a skilled craftsman, he was promoted to managing the crew responsible for ongoing maintenance at a large downtown highrise. The building management was displeased with the company Roberson worked for, and he took that opportunity to form his own company and bid for the same work.

The management company decided to give Roberson a try. His company, Imperial Tenant Development Corporation, landed a major maintenance contract for suspended ceiling work at the building.

Roberson has since steered Imperial into becoming the premier specialty contractor for suspended ceiling work in commercial buildings.

In 1984, he made a decision to dramatically expand the business from the $2.5 to $3 million it was then grossing annually. He succeeded in becoming an Armstrong ceiling tile dealer (the first new dealer in 16 years) and a direct Levelor blinds contractor.

These associations resulted in Imperial becoming the largest Armstrong ceiling tile dealer, the largest suspended acoustical ceiling contractor and second largest blind contractor for Levelor in Southern California. Last year Imperial's revenues were $13.6 million and are approaching $20 million this year.

Roberson's success is built on a core team of experts and a caring attitude toward employees. Imperial has a low toward employees. Imperial has a low employee turnover rate, a rarity in the construction industry.

As Roberson puts it, "I focus on quality service, and the growth and profits have taken care of themselves."

J.D. Power and Associates

Address: 30401 Agoura Road, Suite 200 Agoura Hills, 91301

Principal: J. David Power III

Business: Customer satisfaction/market research

With a long-time desire to own and operate his own marketing information company, and armed with a sound background in industry and finance, J.D. Power III launched J.D. Power & Associates in 1968.

After successful stints as a financial analyst at Ford Motor Co.; a marketing research consultant with Marplan for General Motors; and as a marketing research executive for J.I. Case Co; Power felt that a marketing information company specializing in consumer opinion on a variety of products and services was long overdue.

He believed that success in today's market depends on fully understanding the interaction and the interdependence of consumer trends and the competitive environment, and that he could offer a new dimension in information and consultancy services.

His idea was to provide unbiased research for the automobile industry - research that was not funded or designed by a particular manufacturer, but was independent and reliable enough that it could be sold industry-wide.

The unbaised marketing information provided by his company is a tool that now serves clients in advertising, promotion, strategic planning, product development, marketing and overall product positioning.

Today, J.D. Power & Associates is known internationally in the area of management training and customer satisfaction implementation programs. The company has worked with automotive manufacturers worldwide in addressing issues concerning executive management, corporate alignment, customer satisfaction, employee development and customized training.

Increasing attention to customer satisfaction throughout the international business community has moved J.D. Power & Associates into a leading role in a wide range of areas outside the automotive industry. The 1990s find the company working in high technology product categories and a variety of service-based industries.

FINANCIAL

SERVICES

WINNER

Far East National Bank

Address: 123 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, 90012

Principal: Henry Y. Hwang

Business: Financial services

Henry Hwang was born and grew up in Shanghai, and came to the U.S. in 1950 to attend Linfield College in Oregon. He subsequently did graduate work in International Relations at UCLA and later studied accounting. He became a CPA and started his own practice in Los Angeles in 1960.

In 1973, Hwang formed Far East National Bank, serving as chairman. By 1978, he has sold his CPA business to devote his time to banking.

Far East National is the nation's first federally chartered Asian American minority bank headquartered in Los Angeles. Since opening its doors in 1974, the bank has consistently been rated one of the highest performing banks in the nation.

Hwang has codified Far East's relationship with its customers using the bank's initials: Fast, Efficient, Nicest Bank and Flexible, Entrepreneur, No-nonsense Bank. The majority of customers are immigrants and refugees from Southeast Asian countries, mostly Chinese. Hwang's aim is to help them start a new life in the U.S. and to fulfill their American dreams.

The bank currently has assets of more than $300 million. It offers loans primarily to small business and professionals. It also has an international division issuing its own letters of credit worldwide. The bank offers referral services to prospective immigrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan who seek to establish new businesses in the U.S.

It has a venture capital subsidiary corporation, Far East Capital Corporation, specializing in investing in minority owned and disadvantaged small firms. Branches are located in Los Angeles' Chinatown, Alhambra, City of Industry, Newport Beach, Monterey Park and San Francisco.

GBC Bancorp

Address: 201 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, 90012

Principal: Li-Pei Wu

Business: Financial services

Under the leadership of Li-Pei Wu, General Bank has in the past eight years gone from being a money-losing organization to a sound and well-run bank

A native of Changhwa, Taiwan, Wu was president of Alaska National Bank of the North in 1978 when he was approached by General Bank. Wu oversaw a turnaround at Alaska National which was suffering from post-pipeline recession and the management of General Bank was hopeful that he could pull off the same feat in Los Angeles.

Under his management, General Bank turned from losing $4 million in 1982 to becoming profitable in 1983. Since then, the bank's assets have grown from $100 million to $700 million in 1991.

In 1988, the Economist ranked General Bank as the American bank with the highest return on equity and the bank has ranked first among California banks with a return on equity twice the industry average.

Last month GBC Bancorp announced its record net income of $12.8 million for 1990.

The bank had its beginnings in 1981 when it was organized by a group of immigrants from Taiwan. The founders envisioned the bank fulfilling three missions: to be the "home bank" of Asian immigrants; to be the financial service and contact center for exporters and importers to and from Taiwan and other Pacific Rim countries; and to provide financial services to the community in which the bank is located.

Having expanded into 10 branch offices in its 11 years of existence, the bank is strategically positioned in Southern California, where a majority of immigrants from Asia settle.

Lendco Acceptance Corp.

Address: 26520 Agoura Road Calabasas, 91302

Principal: Richard L. Watt

Business: Auto loans and leases

In 1986, Richard Watt realized that the Southern California auto finance industry had some glaring weaknesses.

It seemed to him that traditional lending and leasing institutions were unable to really understand and properly service the auto dealer's unique needs. They seemed to lack the motivation to act quickly enough to process and fund lease and contract transactions so that the dealers wouldn't lose an impatient customer.

And because their credit policies were not usually updated on a timely basis, dealers did not have a stable and predictable credit source to meet the credit qualification for a variety of customers.

After an early career in sales and marketing, and as president of the newly formed Auto Leasing Connection in Encino, Watt had the knowledge, the experience and some good reasons to form a new breed of auto finance company.

He organized his limited resources and started Lendco Acceptance Corporation. By pioneering the ABC One-Stop-Shopping tiered credit program, Watt established a new industry standard.

Lendco has grown by leaps and bounds, each month processing some 2,000 leases and contracts generating more than $1 million in fees. The company has twice outgrown its lending partners and, anticipating a funding shortfall, Watt began negotiating with additional sources including Xerox Credit Corporation's LMV Leasing and AT&T's auto finance division.

Posting some 40,000 lease contracts to date, Lendco continues to grow and remain profitable, even through what is generally considered to be the toughest automotive market in years. Watt plans to expand the company into Georgia and Florida and later into other states in the South and along the East Coast.

HIGH-TECHNOLOGY

WINNER

Retix

Address: 2644 30th St. Santa Monica, 90405

Principal: Andrew De Mari, Ph.D.

Business: Computer interconnect products

Retix is the leading worldwide producer of Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) technology and products for computer communications.

Those products are based on universally adopted international standards and allow computers to communicate irrespective of the operating systems and communications devices adopted.

Andrew De Mari started the company in 1985 with a team of six engineers. He had a vision to build a company that would implement, as an industry first, computer connectivity products totally compliant with the emerging International Standards Organization specifications defined by international committes. He planned to market his products both in the U.S. and internationally.

The concept was so new and the perceived risk of standards not being backed by industry so high that no institutional investors would fund the company. So De Mari raised $500,000 from insiders and friends.

His timing was perfect. The market recognized that no other solution could solve the computer interconnection problem and Retix's strategy paid off rapidly. The company was profitable within a year and that trend has continued for 21 consecutive quarters to date with revenues increasing from $700,000 in 1985 to more than $52 million in 1990.

De Mari has over 25 years experience in management and engineering involving computer networking and communications systems, office automation and distributed processing systems. He has worked for both Fiat and Olivetti in Italy and his international vision is largely responsible for Retix's success.

De Mari is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of computer networking.

Aero Vironment Inc

Address: 222 E. Huntington Drive Monrovia, 91016

Principal: Paul B. MacCready

Business: Energy efficient vehicles/ environmental and energy consulting

Paul McCready, with an academic background in physics and aeronautics, has become, among other things, a meteorologist, inventor, glider pilot and explorer of new horizons in energy conservation.

In 1971, McCready founded Aero-Vironment to develop alternative energy sources, design and manufacture products for atmospheric monitoring, and create efficient vehicles for land, sea and air.

In 1977, he won an award offered by a British industrialist for the first sustained, controlled human-powered flight. Two years later, his second-generation craft, the Gossamer Albatross, won aviation's largest prize, the Kremer Award for human-powered flight from Englands to France.

The original craft, the Gossamer Condor, how hangs in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

His early programs with Aero Vironment emphasized environmental consulting, associated instrument development and observational programs and the aerodynamics of vehicle drag reduction and wind power. He later added an aeronautical vehicle division which has created several dozen innovative vehicles for land, sea and air.

McCready has since created many pioneering vehicles, including a solar car built in conjunction with General Motors which won the solar car race across Australia (50 percent faster than the second-place vehicle). This formalized a connection between the two companies and Aero Vironment has since developed the GM-Impact, a battery-powered car which GM intends to mass produce.

Fifty percent of the company's income currently comes from environmental consulting and services, 10 percent from products and 35 percent from efficient-vehicle developments. Since the firm's niche relates to how civilization's increasing pressure can fit a non-expandinng earth, McCready is assured of continued, long-term growth.

Advanced Compression Technology

Address: 31348 Via Colinas, Suite 103 Westlake Village, 91362

Principal: Martin Shum

Business: Telecommunications

Martin Shum's old company thought his idea too radical. So he quit, raised $1 million and formed his own company, Advanced Compression Technology.

Shum's idea was to provide products and services that would lead to the true integration of voice, data, and fax transmission over all types of telecommunications circuits, while using substantially less bandwidth than conventional methods.

In order to significantly reduce bandwidth, ACT developed advanced proprietary algorithms for compressing voice signals and combined this technology with fax and data compression systems.

These reductions in bandwidth mean that services can be provided at a much lower cost. This is especially important to less developed countries where basic telephone service is not available because of prohibitive costs.

In those countries, ACT's products, in conjunction with satellite technology, offer an economical and efficient way of providing basic telecommunications services for both the public and business sectors, particularly in rural areas where no service currently exists.

Shum's background included work for the European Space Research Organization and the British Post Office. Born in the People's Republic of China, he moved through Hong Kong to the U.K. There he obtained a Master's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering.

Shum's initial strategy for ACT was to concentrate on markets in developing countries where competition would be less intense. His vision of the market proved correct. ACT has successfully developed and launched three end user products and established itself in the international marketplace with more than 40 distributors in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

WHOLESALE

DISTRIBUTION

WINNER

Superba, Inc.

Address: 1735 Santa Fe Ave. Los Angeles, 90021

Principal: Andrew Mandelbaum

Business: Neckwear manufacturer/distributor

Superba Inc. was founded in New York in the late 1800s, but has undergone its most dramatic growth in recent years under the guidance of president Mervyn Mandelbaum.

Mandelbaum became president in 1977 and owns 70 percent of the company. He has made Superba the largest neckwear manufacturer and distributor in the world, with an estimated market share of 18.7 percent, up from 14.7 percent in 1990. Ten years ago, Superba's share of the market was estimated at 5 percent.

1990 was a big year, with sales growth of 21 percent. That was a particularly difficult achievement during a year in which retail, and the apparel business, suffered through hard times.

The increase in business was driven by the explosive growth of fashion ties with printed floral and conversational patterns. Mandelbaum took the risk of buying in quantities large enough to make these available at popular prices to the nation's top department stores.

This aggressive strategy resulted in Superba taking the lion's share of this business through its ability to deliver promptly and the right price. The company was largely responsible for the fashion explosion in bold, colored printed neckties in 1990, mainly under its Bugatti label and several private labels.

Rapid growth is continuing in 1991, with sales increases running at 32 percent. At that rate a sales increase of between $15 million and $20 million is well within reach.

Superba supplies neckwear to most large department store chains in the U.S., including Nordstorm, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Dayton Hudson, May Corporation and Macy's.

Mercado Latino Inc.

Address: 245 Baldwin Park Blvd. Industry, 91749

Principal: Graciliano Rodriguez

Business: Wholesale food distribution

As a young boy in Cuba, Graciliano Rodriguez distributed milk to local villagers by mule to help sustain his large family.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, Rodriguez left the island and came to California. Unable to speak English, he found a job as a dishwasher at an Elks Lodge. He was promoted to busboy, saved his tip money, bought an old Volkswagen and started buying and distributing food products to his friends and family in his spare time.

In 1965 he started a wholesale produce distribution business from a portal in Los Angeles' Central Market. On his first day in business he sold one pound of garlic.

Not discouraged, Rodriguez kept at it, slowly achieving success. His company has expanded six times since 1965, most recently to a new seven acre facility in Industry. In 1978 he decided to specialize in ethnic foods, mostly imported.

Today Mercado Latino imports from Central and South America, the Orient, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and Canada. The company also distributes specialty wines from Spain.

The company's products are distributed in the Southwestern U.S. and six other states. In addition to owning several of the food product lines it distributes, Mercado Latino has expanded into spice manufacturing and candlemaking. All products lines, however, fit in with Rodriguez' philosophy of servicing the Hispanic community.

Now 75, Rodriguez has managed to maintain his positive outlook on life. He steered his company into a corporation servicing 7,000 clients including several large grocery store chains and independents. He has taught his work ethic to his five children, who are key members of the company's management group.

International Matrix

Address: 125 Wheeler Ave., Suite E-1 Arcadia, 91006

Principal: R.C. Schrader

Business: Import-export

R.C. Schrader believes that "if at first you don't succeed" you should just try again.

He was a banker when he first established his own firm importing clothing from mexico. Unfortunately he got in on the tail end of a fad and his company went broke after four months. He returned to banking determined to start another international trading company.

He spent all his vacations in Mexico, researching Mexican businesses and making contacts. He finally found the product that would be the foundation for his new company. The product was Mexican green coffee.

Schrader agreed to be the exclusive exporter for the coffee processor and in turn he would buy exclusively from the processor. His International Matrix Corporation sold most of its coffee to the U.S. in its first year with a small percentage going to Europe. Last year more than 60 percent of the coffee was sold to Europe.

Since coffee is a cyclical market, the season lasts only about seven months. Establishing a solid network on both sides of the border has allowed Schrader to diversify into other products for import and export ranging from food products to laboratory supplies.

Schrader has achieved success virtually single-handed. He is the management team of International Matrix Corporation. But if you ask him, he will tell you that his team is comprised of his assistant, his customers, an office in Mexico city, his banker, attorney and accountant, and his family.

His philosophy is to only do business with reputable companies and to maintain long-term relationships with those firms. He has passed up many opportunities to work on a deal-by-deal basis, preferring to commit to working with a few companies on a long-term basis.

MEDICAL

SERVICES

WINNER

Watts Health Foundation Inc.

Address: 99300 S. Compton Ave. Los Angeles, 90002

Principal: Clyde William Oden, O.D., M.P.H.

Business: Health care delivery

Clyde Oden created the non-profit Watts Health Foundation in the aftermath of the Watts riots in 1965.

With the help of Watts residents, health professionals, Congressman Augustus Hawkins, USC and $2.7 million from the Office of Economic Opportunity, WHF began as the South Central Multi-Purpose Health Services Center.

Beginning in 1967 as a federally funded demonstration project, WHF serves special populations that include high risk infants and adults, teen mothers, drug babies, AIDS patients, low income residents with no medical insurance and newly documented aliens. Oden hopes through WHF to provide residents of this disadvantaged area with a sense of hope and pride in a successful business venture run by members of the community.

The Foundation went through bankruptcy in 1988 and re-emerged stronger. No federally qualified HMO had ever recovered from Chapter 11 as the same operating entity. The Foundation's recovery is now complete.

Watts Health Foundation (WHF) serves a multi-ethnic region and initiated a number of programs such as a 54,000 member HMO, an inpatient/outpatient substance abuse program, a health education center, two community health centers, an adult day health care center and a school-based clinic.

Oden conceived and implemented WHF's most recent endeavor - an urban M.A.S.H. unit delivering health care to the homeless.

WHF is the largest private non-profit community health center system with more than 200,000 patients annually and is the largest minority controlled health care delivery system with over $100 million annual revenues. It is the largest private employer in Watts employing over 800 people in an area besieged by unemployment. He is now directing the Foundation into targeting the rising Hispanic and Korean communities.

Los Angeles Medical Center

Address: 2010 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 706 Los Angeles, 90057

Principal: Walter Jayasinghe, M.D.

Business: Health care delivery

Walter Jayasinghe first studied and practiced medicine in his home country of Sri Lanka. He established a clinical practice which within a short time expanded to include a private hospital to serve a community which had very few medical facilities.

He emigrated to the U.S. in 1972, serving a residency at California Hospital in Los Angeles. Prior to completing his residency, he established a part-time general practice clinic in the Alvarado district of Los Angeles.

Known as the Los Angeles Medical Center Multi-Specialty Medical Group (LAMC), the clinic grew, adding a pharmacy, a laboratory and X-ray unit, a branch clinic on Sunset Boulevard, expanded hours until it was a 24-hour facility, and specialty clinics including neurology, orthopedics and surgery.

The clinic continued to add locations and now has six facilities. In 1987, UHP, a major HMO, contracted with LAMC for services from its Sunset Boulevard clinic. LAMC further obtained large contracts with major insurance companies including Blue Cross, Prudential, New York Life, All State Life and Pacific Mutual.

The group employs more than 100 full time nursing and support staff and a panel of 50 full time and part time consulting physicians.

Jayasinghe has a simple philosophy, one which serves as a paradigm for the success of his busineses. "Growth and progress are synonymous. If an institution or an individual ceases to expand and grow, then it has virtually ceased to exist."

Jayasinghe's talents are not confined to medicine. In 1957 at age 21 he was awarded life membership in the Ceylon Society of Arts for his achievement in designing and building his own home.

Den-Mat Corporation

Address: P.O. Box 1729/2727, Skyway Drive Santa Maria, 93456

Principal: Robert L. Ibsen, D.D.S.

Business: Synthetic dental materials

Den-Mat Corporation grew out of the challenges Robert Ibsen encountered in his small town dental practice.

He found that many of the dental materials available at the time did not allow him to treat patients as conservatively as he would like. So he went beyond what was common practice and began to develop dental material that not only became solutions to problems in his practice but helped revolutionize the practice of dentistry.

The materials he sells through Den-Mat are used for cosmetic and restorative dental procedures. The products preserve, restore and enhance teeth without the extensive cutting, drilling and tooth removal that have characterized dentistry in the past.

One of the products, a whitening system available only through dentists, included a toothpaste that has become popular on its own. The toothpaste is offered by some high-end department stores and is selling well, even at around $9 a tube.

Ibsen promotes his products through seminars and by a corporate-owned tele-marketing system. Early on he found that the more accepted method of dealer distribution was not successfully communicating the products' revolutionary benefits to dental professionals. Den-Mat is one of the few dental materials companies that markets its products directly to dentists.

Ibsen also offers continuing education courses worldwide to instruct professionals in his "new" dentistry and to help them introduce it in their own practices by performing more conservative procedures made possible by the new materials.

Ibsen was recently named Associate Clinical Professor at New York University College School of Dentistry. He also lectures at Boston University and UCLA. He still maintains his private practice while guiding Den-Mat and its 300 employees. The company grew 40 percent last year and sales for 1991 are projected to increase by the same amount.

SOCIALLY

RESPONSIBLE

WINNER

Able Industrial Products, Inc.

Address: 2329 Lee Ave. South El Monte, 91733

Principal: Harold Martinez

Business: Non-metallic materials supplier

Getting fired was probably the best thing that happened to Harold Martinez.

When after working for the same company for 20 years he was terminated due to alleged incompatibility with the new management's philosophy, Martinez determined to remain in the same field.

He wished to continue selling the products with which he was most familiar and wanted to continue servicing the many customers he had developed during his career. But no one in his industry was willing to employ him due to potential conflict of interest and potential proprietary disclosure allegations. Consequently, Martinez founded Able Industrial Products. He selected the name based on the dictionary definition of the word "able" as "having sufficient power, skill or resources to accomplish an objective."

He chose not to draw a salary from the company for three years in order to meet payroll and pay suppliers. Within a decade he had built the firm up to $600,000 in annual revenues and last year brought it to $2.2 million.

Able services the needs of various manufacturers in the Los Angeles area, supporting the demands of the aerospace, aircraft, electronics, construction, marine and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) industries. The company's primary products are non-metallic materials such as adhesives, foams, sponge rubber, cork compositions and specialty tapes.

Martinez is very involved in the Hispanic business community and is current president of the Latin Business Association. During his first stint as president of the Association in 1984, he accepted the office when the Association had a $23,000 deficit and left it with $7,000 in the bank, all bills paid and an executive loan with a major bank.

Century Computer Marketing

Address: 4755 Alla Road Marina del Rey, 90292

Principal: Dennis Cagan

Business: Computer hardware distributor

With over 20 years experience in the computer and data communications field, Dennis Cagan was well-qualified to take the helm of Century Computer Marketing in 1986. The company was formed when Cagan's firm, which he founded, merged with another.

CCM distributes used, refurbished and new computer equipment and spare parts. Active in the secondary market, Century buys and sells many major brands of personal computers, enhancements, data communications equipment and peripherals.

With more than $3 million in inventory, Century offers an unusually high level of quality assurance, technical support, and a knowledgeable sales team. In 1989 CCM was listed 76 among Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S.

Cagan emphasizes teamwork, starting with the original group of founders who still comprise the majority of senior management.

The computer service industry is undergoing dramatic changes and CCM is well positioned to take advantage of these. Sales for the first quarter of 1991 were in excess of $6 million and Cagan is confident that the company's annual earnings can be $100 million by 1995 while maintaining pre-tax profit margins of between 10 and 15 percent.

An acknowledged innovator, Cagan has individually started four companies and co-founded five others, including Century. While he is primarily active in sales, marketing and management with Century, he is also successful in a very different career field - interior design.

Freeman Cosmetic Corporation

Address: 10474 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300 Los Angeles, 90025

Principal: Larry J. Freeman

Business: Cosmetics manufacturer

In an industry dominated by large corporations, Larry Freeman has made Freeman Cosmetic Corporation one of the most dynamic and innovative beauty companies in the world, as well as one of the most socially responsible.

Since its inception in 1975, the company has been widely regarded as a forerunner in the development of hair and skin care products that are created with natural ingredients, never tested on animals and based on scientifically advanced formulas.

Freeman's roots in cosmetics stretch back to 1920 when a great-uncle started a beauty supply firm in New York. Freeman's father carried on the business and Freeman joined the family firm in 1961.

The impetus for becoming a manufacturer came from one of his distributors in Hawaii, who asked if Freeman could make a shampoo containing natural ingredients. Freeman came up with one of the first order of 12 dozen bottles sold out in two days despite its then-unheard of price of $4. The next order, for 24 dozen bottles was on store shelves in less than a week.

When the distributor placed a third order, Freeman gambled and manufactured 100 dozen bottles, an amount far exceeding the 24 dozen order. The risk paid off when Thrifty Drugs ordered a supply.

By the end of the first year, Freeman had booked $350,000 in sales.

In the "no-growth" health and beauty aids industry, FCC has grown at a steady rate. Freeman attributes this to his ability to forsee market trends and the capability to respond quickly to changes in the market. He can make, test and market a new product in less than 180 days while it takes industry giants two years, he says.

Aside from directing all facets of the company and its product development, Freeman is a noted lecturer on beauty related issues. He has hosted his own nationally syndicated television talk show and is currently writing a book that details his theories on inner beauty.

ENTREPRENEUR

OVER FIVE YEARS

IN BUSINESS

WINNER

Quarterdeck Office Systems

Address: 150 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, 90405

Principal: Therese E. Myers

Business: Computer software

Quarterdeck Office Systems, founded in 1982, is the leading developer and publisher of DOS multitasking, memory management, and system integration software.

Quarterdeck's mission is to help individual PC users and corporate microcomputer managers protect their considerable investment in PC hardware and software. As such, Quarterdeck has played a major role in extending the life of DOS.

The company was founded by Therese Myers, Gary Pope, Jill Eastman and Michael Kuppin, all of whom had been with a technology subsidiary of Citicorp, responsible for the development of workstations for Citicorp managers and secretaries.

Myers and her development team brought multitasking to DOS with Quarterdeck's Desqview environment, and advanced memory managment to DOS with the QEMM memory-management product.

Part of the company success was due to Myer's ability to put herself in a non-technical person's shoes. "I hate machines," she says.

"Quarterdeck raised people's expectation about DOS," says Andy Seybold, associate director of Dataquest's Microcomputer Systems Services.

Quarterdeck has been a mission for Myers, one that has reportedly led her to turn down cash-rich suitors seeking to buy the company.

"I really like succeeding against all odds," she says. "I like the guerrilla aspects of it, that for years people said we would be dead in six months."

Quarterdeck is now a $20 million company.

Prestige Leather Creations, Inc.

Address: 2772 Leonis Blvd. Vernon, 90058

Principal: Sharon R. Goode

Business: Leather fashion belts

Sharon Goode's story started in 1975 when she was offered participation in a small leather company that turned out dog collars and leashes, key chains and tooled "hippie" belts.

The company was grossing $50,000 at the time, and was not profitable. It was her job - and personal challenge - to change that. She did.

At that time accessories were starting to boom. Sharon put two and two together - "belts are basically longer dog collars," she says.

But as she soon found out, belt were more difficult to manufacture than leashes. New lines had to be created each season and produced in huge quantities. "Everyone wants new designs all the time," she says. "We have really good relations with our apparel manufacturers and I think that gives us an inside to the trends."

Her new line of fashion belts was an almost instant success. Prestige has since become a leading manufacturer of fashion belts for the wholesale and retail trade.

The company's Trade Division manufactures belts for the apparel industry. Some of fashion's most successful labels work hand-in-hand with the Trade Division, including Levi's, Guess, and Cherokee.

The other divisions design and manufacturer belts for retail sale, supplying some of the country's largest retail chains including J.C. Penney, Sears and Mervyn's.

The upscale AL BERES U.S.A label hand-makes contemporary and classic Weatern belts that are treasured as collectable jewelry. As a result, they can be found in the world's most prestigious stores including: Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus and Bloomingdale's in the U.S.; Taka Q and Daichi Showa in Japan; The Western Store in Paris; and Simpson in London.

Sharon Goode admits to working about 75 hours a week - and loving it. Prestige Leather Creations is indeed a labor of love for a woman who never finished her college education but found new ways to fulfill her insatiable appetite for success.

Prestige Leather currently projects 1991 sales of $25 million.

Measure Marketing Nadel Worldwide

Address: 12400 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, 90025

Principal: Jack Nadel

Business: Specialty advertising

Jack Nadel's experience in sales began in 1947 when he discovered there was a need for navy blue woolen material in China. He purchased Army surplus olive drab material in the U.S., dyed it navy and sold it to the Chinese in large quantities.

He founded his company seven years later in 1953 with $10,000 and an office that measured 12 square feet. He has since created many products for sales promotion and retail sales.

He is chairman and president of three interrelated companies. Jack Nadel, Inc. specializes in sales promotion, premiums and business gifts. The company produces sales promotions involving direct mail, telemarketing and premiums or safety awards.

Jack Nadel, Inc. now has fourteen offices in the western U.S. with revenues of $43 million.

Artmold Products Corp. manufactures sales promotion products such as pens, keychains and stationery with company imprint. Nadel Worldwide manufactures and distributes to the retail trade. Its primary product is Flikbaks, a videotape developed by Nadel that consists of 30 minutes of clips of the year the recipient was born, married or is celebrating some special occasion.

Nadel created the co-op programs that enable manufacturers to achieve greater results at less cost in conjunction with their distributors. He also pioneered the use of computers in direct mail marketing.

Nadel is dedicated to educating small and medium size American firms in how to enter the global market. His book "Passport to Prosperity, Tales of a Yankee Trader" is used in the curriculums of many colleges and is the subject of several seminars. He wrote the book because he was convinced - before it became generally recognized - that America's future is invested in the ability of its small and medium size firms to enter the international marketplace.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICES

TO THE

ENTERPRENEURIAL

COMMUNITY

WINNER

The Spectrum Group The Galef Institute

Address: 11150 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, 90025

Principal: Andrew G. Galef

Business:

Andrew Galef is chairman and president of The Spectrum Group, Inc. and has been a principal since its formation in 1978.

He serves the Spectrum portfolio companies as chairman and chief executive office of MagneTeck Inc., chairman of The Warnaco Group, Inc.; chairman of Petco Animal Supplies, Inc.; and chairman of GranTree Corp.

His experiences from 1965 to 1989 include the presidencies of numerous manufacturing companies.

Galef is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Amherst College. He also served as an officer in the United States Air Force.