Ranking 48 out of 100, Ace Exhibits, a manufacturer and retailer of tradeshow display products, was recognized for the second year in a row on the 2013 Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing urban businesses by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), a non-profit research and strategy organization, and FORTUNE magazine.
The list recognizes the top 100 fastest-growing businesses and their CEO’s in urban communities across America for entrepreneurship, innovative business practices and job creation.
“It is an honor to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing inner city companies for the second year in a row by ICIC and FORTUNE magazine,” said Tom Hand, president and CEO, Ace Exhibits. “Our dedication to cost-effective trade show solutions and online marketing strategies has allowed us to be a leader in our industry. It has allowed us to create jobs for our local community, allowing us to take part in rebuilding the economy.”
Upward trending growth and sales allowed Ace Exhibits to grow at a rate of 26 percent within a five-year period, with over $5.6 million in revenues in 2011. The company currently employs a total of 40 individuals. Ace Exhibits’ downtown Los Angeles location coincides with ICIC’s mission to provide private sector engagement that lead to jobs, income and wealth creation for local residents.
“We are excited to celebrate inner city businesses like Ace Exhibits whose success stories are not told nearly enough,” said Mary Kay Leonard, president and CEO, ICIC. “These entrepreneurs are driving economic forces in America’s urban cores, growing their communities along with their businesses.”
The 2013 Inner City 100 winners represent a wide span of geography, operating in 48 cities and 27 states. To qualify for the Inner City 100 list, companies were required to have at least 51 percent of their operations located in an economically distressed urban area; have at least 10 full-time employees; and a five-year operating sales history that includes at least $200,000 in revenues in the first year of consideration, an increase in year five sales over year four sales and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million. An economically distressed urban area is defined by ICIC as having a 50 percent higher unemployment level, 50 percent higher poverty level and 50 percent lower median income than the metropolitan statistical area.
Highlights of the 2013 Inner City 100 include:
- Employ 10,391 workers.
- Created 5,863 new jobs in the last five years.
- Twenty-eight percent are woman-owned. Nationally, only 10 percent of companies with over $1 million in annual revenues are woman-owned.
- Thirty-five percent are minority-owned. Nationally, only 21 percent of all companies are headed by minorities.
- Median company age is 14 years.
- Companies generated $23.4 million in revenues on average and $2.3 billion in the aggregate.
A full list of recognized award list recipients can be viewed by visiting Fortune.com.
