August 21, 2012
By Budd McLaughlin, The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Last year, Connected Logistics was ranked 10th in the Inc. 500 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies.
This year, the Huntsville-based small business fell to No. 74, a move that surprised CEO Forrest Burke.
But, it was in a good way.
"I didn't expect to break into the top 100," he said. The list was based on revenue and forecasts, and Burke wasn't expecting his company to have performed that much better than other companies.
"Other private businesses have not been as fortunate as us," he said. "It shows the economy is not doing as well as predicted."
No matter, for the second year in a row, Connected Logistics was the fastest growing private company in Alabama.
Also, Washington Technology magazine placed the business on its Fast 50 list, ranking the fastest growing small businesses in the government contracting market based on their compound annual growth rate. It is No. 3 on the list of all government contractors for 2012.
Among its clientele, Connected Logistics lists the Army ("the biggest corporation in the world"), the Department of Defense, the Defense Logistics Agency, the State Department, the Army PEO-EIS and Army Materiel Command. Connected Logistics is charged with helping make them more efficient, especially in this day and age of slender budgets and possible sequestration.
Connected Logistics, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, also has offices in the D.C. Metro area.
Burke said some contractors have already taken as much as 10 to 20 percent cuts in advance of sequestration, but that's not necessarily bad news for his company.
"The good news is the clients we work for are looking for ways to be more efficient," he said. "We remain focused on creating exceptional value for our clients in a period of uncertainty."
But he fears there may be a knee-jerk reaction by some companies when and if the sequestration does take place.
"When you get the whammy, I feel it will be reactionary rather than controlled," he said.
His company's success, like most successful small businesses - Connected Logistics has 78 employees - has been finding a niche and excelling at it.
And he's grateful for the helping hand from big business.
"We're very, very thankful to the Huntsville community," Burke said. "We would not have grown if not for the primes (contractors) who helped us."
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