What lies beneath: scratch the surface of these new entrants to the B.E. 100s list and you'll find smart planning, successful growth strategies, and a strong commitment to quality.

What lies beneath the surface of a successful African American firm? Hard work? Definitely. Perseverance? Of course. But for this year's Freshman Class, the new entrants to the BE 100s INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE list, what. also lies beneath their success is vision, planning, and calculated strategies meant to grow their businesses well beyond a one-man shop.

Entrepreneurs such as Benjamin B. Hankins Jr., president and CEO of Axiom Resource Management Inc.; Sid E. Taylor, chairman and CEO of SET Enterprises; and Joseph E. Fergus, president and CEO of COMTek are making smart, strategic moves to grow their businesses and, well, make money.

Want the world to beat a path to your door? Don't build a mousetrap, just stick to your knitting, This strategy has helped Axiom Resource Management (No. 76 on the BE 100s INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE LIST with $42 million in revenues) grow from a one-man operation to a multimillion dollar firm with more than 500 employees nationwide. Based in Falls Church, Virginia, the company provides consulting services, primarily to the federal government, in a variety of areas, including program management, IT solutions, and operational support. Axiom also provides Web marketing and distance-learning services to government agencies.

"One of the things I've always focused on is sticking to our core work," says Hankins, Axiom's CEO. Hankins, 38. who began the firm in 1996 with what he calls "youthful naivete" says, "People have come in and said, 'Let's build a software package and sell it to the world.' But we don't do that; that's not our area of expertise." Axiom has instead focused on strategies designed to strengthen its business relationships and reinforce its position in the marketplace. Hankins uses two basic approaches to his business: a "client-first" philosophy and the acquisition of key companies within Axiom's line of business.

In the last four years, Hankins has brought several companies into the fold as divisions within the firm. In 2000, the company acquired Conwal, a professional consulting firm that had a strong relationship with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2001, Axiom acquired Didactics, a performance technology company that offers distance learning as one of its key services; and Keymind, a large IT firm that provides database management and Internet development services. In 2002, Hankins brought professional consulting company Gober Keener Associates on board, along with the formidable talents of Hershel Gober and Mary Lou Keener. Gober is a former acting secretary and a former deputy secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Keener is a former general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs and former assistant secretary of the Air Force. In 2004, Axiom purchased CESSI, a company that provides accessibility services to federal and state government and the private sector. Axiom and CESSI had begun a business relationship some three years prior.

Axiom now has teams in eight states, including Alaska, Georgia, and New York. It also has a team in the District of Columbia. Its acquisitions helped it win valuable government work in 2003, including a $7 million contract from the Department of Health and Human Services for program management support, as well as a $3.3 million contract to support its TRICARE online portal. Ninety-seven percent of Axiom's clients opt to renew their contracts with the company.

But while acquisitions are key to helping the firm stay profitable, Hankins attributes his company's success to two other factors: his business partners and his employees. "Picking your business partners is almost as important as picking your spouse," he says. "They've been relationships I treasure. We do good work together."

In order to continue that success, Hankins says it's important to invest in his employees. The company recently created the Axiom M.B.A. "One of the things that we recognize, as we continue to grow, is that we have to have succession planning; we have to build the next generation of leadership," he says. Hankins. along with his Executive Vice President and CFO Kevin Riley and his Executive Vice President and COO A. Douglas Peardon, created the company's intensive, year-long M.B.A. program, tailoring it to the firm and the services it provides. They select the literature and teach the program's courses in accounting, finance, and ethics, among other topics. Axiom provides all of the books and materials for the program, but "from my perspective, it's a fairly negligible cost when you consider what we're trying to do," says Hankins.

Axiom actively supports charities such as Christmas in April and other altruistic organizations. Says Hankins, "[We try] to balance the realities of business with the needs of our larger community. On one hand. we make a fair profit by providing great support for our clients. On the other hand, we're very proud of our corporate citizenship, helping neighbors in need. It's a balancing act, but I think we've got it about right."

ON A SLOW ROLL

When you look at your car, what do you see? No doubt you see polished chrome and gleaming glass--the exposed metal. But look underneath at the unexposed metal. At the chassis, brake work, and component parts. Not quite as pretty is it? Maybe not, but all of that metal, the exposed and the unexposed, is the essence of Taylor's Warren, Michigan based SET Enterprises, a metal processing and assembly company (No. 24 on the BE l00s INDUSTRIAL /SERVICE, list with $161 million in revenues).

After 22 years at General Motors, Taylor, 55, launched SET in 1989. (Back then it was called SET Steel Inc.) "The entrepreneurial bug really bit me after I had been at GM about 15 years," says the company chairman and CEO. "But it took me time to really get a grip on which direction I wanted to go," After doing his research and "dialoguing with folks on the outside" to see where the opportunities were, Taylor headed nut. He cashed in Iris GM stock, which was worth about $250,000, and started SET. "I had a good business plan and I had the financing," he says, Plus, when he was at GM, he had the opportunity to learn different aspects of the automobile manufacturing business and develop key contacts.

Still, the first year was a struggle. "[Every startup company needs[ a champion, someone who will stick their neck out for you and make a make-it-happen decision," says Taylor. His champion was Ford Motor Co.; it gave SET its first contract. At the end of 1989, SET had earned roughly $90,000 in revenues. "This year, we'll end up north of $200 million," he says, adding that slow, steady growth has been his strategy. "I watched what some suppliers had done they grew too fast and, in some cases, grew themselves out of business. I wanted to make sure I had healthy growth."

Taylor's healthy growth strategy includes key mergers and acquisitions as well as moving the company when necessary. In 1998, SET purchased a company in Detroit's empowerment zone. "I moved from the suburbs ... to bring jobs to the city of Detroit. This was my first big move," Taylor explains. In 2000, the company purchased six plants from Michigan-based Noble Metal Processing. It was after this purchase that the company changed its name from SET Steel Inc. to SET Enterprises and moved its headquarters to the city of Warren.

In August 2003, Taylor made another key move: SET acquired a facility owned by the Sumitomo Corp. of America, one of Japan's largest integrated trading and investment business enterprises. What did that mean for SET? Well, for one thing, it provided the company with a larger facility and better equipment. Something else it did was increase the company's visibility and give it a certain amount of business cachet. The move also put SET in the exposed steel business, making it the only minority supplier to work with both kinds of metal. Exposed steel, or exposed blanking--the metal on a car's surface--is a higher quality, more sensitive, and more challenging metal to work with. It's also more expensive to produce. "The Sumitomo deal put me in a niche category," Taylor says. "I am no longer doing just unexposed, which is easier to do." About the significance of acquiring the facility owned by Sumitomo, Taylor says, "It's important For customers to see you as having growth potential; it's crucial. It shows [them that you] have the wherewithal to grow."

KING OF THE TECH WORLD?

His telecommunications firm might not yet run the world, but Fergus has plans to change that,. "We're not in business to be a follower," says the president and CEO of Communication Technologies Inc. (No. 54 on the BE 100s INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE list with $70 million in revenues). The Chantilly, "Virginia-based firm provides telecommunications broadband, network operations and main-tenance, systems integration, information security services, and training and development to the public and private sectors. Communication Technologies, or COMTek, is also one of only a handful of firms capable of providing facility-based broadband services worldwide. "We own our own switching systems and fiber, and we team with companies around the world to provide end-to-end solutions for our customers," he says.

With more than 900 employees, Fergus, 48, is far removed from the days he first launched COMTek in 1990. "It started with one person, myself, over the kitchen table," he recalls. "Now we have a lot to be thankful for." Like Hankins, Fergus admits that Iris first year business strategy could have been described as "ignorance is bliss"; he didn't fully realize how daunting running his own company could be. "Not being mindful of certain things wound up being positive for us." he says.

Fergus laughs as he remembers one bold move he made to secure a certain piece of business, one of his first major contracts. The former Navy communications specialist had run into an Army general at a conference. The two talked and Fergus was able to convince the general to meet with him to discuss business at another time: "Three weeks later I called his office, his secretary put me on his calendar, and we met. Before [the meeting was over,] he said, 'This is a company I want on my team.'"

This, Fergus says, was the start of his early success. "In the early years, we were struggling to establish the company as a player, to be recognized by larger firms and customers ... and you have to be persistent and tenacious in your efforts," he says, That tenacity has paid off. COMTek has operations in all 50 states, plus the U.S. Virgin islands and Guam. And Fergus, who spent nine years at Bell Labs spearheading research in areas such as Signaling System No. 7. ISDN, and Intelligent Networks, is an internationally respected telecommunications expert. Fergus says that when it comes to business, despite vision and planning, "there is no script to follow. You have to develop a keen sense of what is right for you and the company, and use your gut instinct, to make the best decision."

This combination of head and heart (or gut, as the case may be) has served him well. COMTek tripled its revenues in 2003 and Fergus plans to bring on another 300 employees this year. He's also focusing on implementing two strategies: providing added value to COMTek's customers and combining acquisition with organic growth. "Managing growth is always a work in progress," he explains. "But. growth will always be based on what we understand to be our core strengths." COMTek has had to broaden the definition of what its core business is. "We've had to be flexible in terms of what we consider our niche without stepping out of the bounds of telecom," says Fergus. "Understanding your skill set and making sure you offer value to your customers are very key to success."

B.E. 100s 2004 FRESHMAN CLASS

B.E. 100S INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE COMPANIES

COMPANY              TYPE OF BUSINESS         LOCATION

Converge             Tech manufacturing       Peabody, MA
SET Enterprises      Metal processing         Warren, MI
The Romar Group      Apparel design           Los Angeles, CA
Communication        Telecommunications       Chantilly, VA
Technologies Inc.    services
LESCO                Government contractor    Huntsville, AL
Raven Transport      Truck load transport     Jacksonville, FL
Co. Inc.
Management &         Engineering & IT         El Paso, TX
Engineering          services
Technologies Int'l
Axiom Resource       Management Consulting    Falls Church, VA
Management Inc.      & IT support
OEM/Erie Inc.        Automotive assembly      Erie, PA
MTS Technologies     Management consulting,   Arlington, VA
Inc.                 IT & systems analysis
ChaseCom L.P.        Customer contact         Houston, TX
                     services provider
Sanderson            Metal stampings &        Atlanta, GA
Industries Inc.      welding

COMPANY              RANKING   REVENUES

Converge                10        317.0
SET Enterprises         24        161.0
The Romar Group         38         90.0
Communication           54         70.0
Technologies Inc.
LESCO                   66         52.0
Raven Transport         70         50.0
Co. Inc.
Management &            72         43.5
Engineering
Technologies Int'l
Axiom Resource          76         42.0
Management Inc.
OEM/Erie Inc.           80         38.0
MTS Technologies        90         33.0
ChaseCom L.P.           97         31.1
Sanderson              100         30.0
Industries Inc.

B.E. 100S AUTO DEALERSHIPS

COMPANY              TYPE OF BUSINESS         LOCATION

Wade Ford Inc.       Ford dealer              Smyrna, GA
Jaguar of Novi       Jaguar, Ford dealer      Novi, MI
Southwest Pontiac-   Pontiac, CIVIC, Hummer   Houston, TX
GMC-Southwest        dealer
Hummer
Smokey Point         Buick, Pontiac, GMC      Arlington, WA
Buick-Pontiac-GMC    dealer
Inc.
Chandler Lee         Buick, Pontiac, GMC      Ellicott City, MD
Buick-Pontiac-GMC    dealer
Inc.
Elk Grove Pontiac-   Buick, Pontiac, GMC      Elk Grove, CA
Buick-GMC Inc.       dealer
McKinney Dodge       Dodge dealer             McKinney, TX
Inc.
Nissan-Mitsubishi-   Nissan, Mitsubishi,      Lake Charles, LA
Kia of Lake          Kia dealer
Charles
Cox Nissan Inc.      Nissan dealer            Bronx, NY
Ultimate Pontiac-    Pontiac, Buick, GMC,     Fredericksburg, VA
Buick-GMC-Isuzu      Isuzu dealer
Lexus of Mishawaka   Toyota, Lexus dealer     Mishawaka, IN
Cross Creek          Lincoln-Mercury,         Fayetteville, NC
Lincoln-Mercury      Subaru dealer
Inc.

COMPANY              RANKING   REVENUES

Wade Ford Inc.          16       113.0
Jaguar of Novi          45        66.0
Southwest Pontiac-      52        58.8
GMC-Southwest
Hummer
Smokey Point            70        43.0
Buick-Pontiac-GMC
Inc.
Chandler Lee            73        41.8
Buick-Pontiac-GMC
Inc.
Elk Grove Pontiac-      75        40.5
Buick-GMC Inc.
McKinney Dodge          79        37.1
Inc.
Nissan-Mitsubishi-      86        34.0
Kia of Lake
Charles
Cox Nissan Inc.         88        32.5
Ultimate Pontiac-       91        30.2
Buick-GMC-Isuzu
Lexus of Mishawaka      92        30.1
Cross Creek            100        25.5
Lincoln-Mercury
Inc.

B.E. BANKS

COMPANY                             LOCATION        RANKING   ASSETS *

Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Co.   Nashville, TN     24        54.8
Commonwealth National Bank          Mobile, AL        25        46.6

B.E. ADVERTISING AGENCIES

COMPANY       LOCATION          RANKING   BILLINGS *

Compas Inc.   Cherry Hill, NJ      5         140

B.E. PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS

                                          CAPITAL
                                           UNDER
COMPANY          LOCATION     RANKING   MANAGEMENT *

Pharos Capital   Dallas, TX      4          205

* MILLIONS OF DOLLARS