The Pittsburgh Technology Council recently announced the region's 50 leading technology-oriented companies in five distinct categories within the 13-county area of southwestern Pennsylvania for 2005. Five category leaders and the CEO of the year also were announced.
In determining this year's leading technology firms, the Council canvassed thousands of public and private technology-oriented companies headquartered in the southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Somerset, Westmoreland and Washington.
Each year, the Tech 50 event honors those technology companies that demonstrated the strongest growth and advancement in product or sales success, financial strength, corporate citizenship, job growth and retention and innovative product or technology. All applicants are subjected to a final audit and scoring by the Pittsburgh office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which also shares the billing as an event partner and sponsor.
A complete listing of this year's Pittsburgh Technology 50 and category leaders follows within specific category descriptions.
Advanced Manufacturing
The advanced manufacturing cluster typically encompasses industries that are largely automated and that use a high degree of process controls, such as computer-numerical controllers, robotics, advanced IT systems and other automated processes.
Category leaders: Bakery Barn, Inc. and United States Steel Corporation (tie)
Category finalists include:
Berner International Corp.
Brashear
Clark Metal Products Co.
DRS Laurel Technologies
Industrial Scientific Corporation
Little Earth Productions, Inc.
Nova Chemicals
U.S. Liner Company
Information Technology
Companies in this category design and/or produce computer peripheral equipment, printed circuit boards, semiconductors and related hardware. Companies also are engaged in software development, computer programming, Internet and telecommunications products or services.
Category leader: CombineNet, Inc.
Category finalists include:
Aethon
ANSYS
Databanque
Laurel Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of ECI Telecom Ltd.
LogicLibrary, Inc.
Motionplan, Inc.
Tele-Tracking Technologies
Vivisimo
Vocollect, Inc.
Life Sciences
Companies in this category deliver products or services that include medical instruments, devices and pharmaceuticals. Companies also are engaged in health services, bioresearch, agricultural products and services and the environmental life sciences. Companies that develop software oriented toward the delivery of medical procedures or diagnoses also fall under this category.
Category leader: ALung Technologies, Inc.
Category finalists include:
BodyMedia, Inc.
DynaVox Systems LLC
McKesson Automation Inc.
MEDRAD, Inc.
Net Health Systems
Neuro Kinetics, Inc.
Renal Solutions, Inc.
Reproductive Health Specialists, Inc.
Respironics, Inc.
Rising Star
Entrepreneurial companies in this category include firms whose products or services offer unique or promising technologies and which are poised for future strong growth. Companies in this category must have been incorporated within the last three years.
Category leader: BeatBox Technologies
Category finalists include:
AllTek Staffing and Resource Group, Inc.
BASIX Restaurant Services, LLC
HarvestGold
Ideal Integrations, Inc.
Medmark Inc.
Plextronics
RedPath Integrated Pathology Inc.
Tier1, Inc.
WOW Corporation LLC
Service Provider
Companies in this category provide operational or infrastructure products or services that enable client technology companies to succeed in their market niche.
Category leader: EDMC
Category finalists include:
Carol Harris Staffing, Inc.
Ditto Document Solutions
GSP Consulting
Guru.com
Oxford Solutions, Inc.
Pyramid Consulting Group, Inc.
RJ Lee Group, Inc.
R.L. Nelson & Associates
VigilantMinds Inc.
CEO of the Year
The CEO of any company within any of the Tech 50 entry categories is eligible for this award.
CEO of the Year: John Miclot, Respironics
Finalists for CEO of the Year include:
Greg Coticchia, LogicLibrary
Richard J. Lee, RJ Lee Group, Inc.
Joe Swenson, DynaVox Systems LLC
Raul Valdes-Perez, Vivisimo
"Since 1997, the Pittsburgh Technology 50 has served as a spotlight for the region's technology community," said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. "This year we are gratified that new companies once again shared this spotlight with some familiar names. It is a very strong sign that our technology industries are continuing to succeed and fuel the region's growing national reputation as a technology center of excellence."
The Tech 50 presentation featured Justin Menkes, Ph.D., author of "Executive Intelligence: What All Great Leaders Have" (HarperCollins, November 2005). Menkes is perhaps best known for having invented the proprietary Executive Intelligence Evaluation, which is used by many corporate clients to help them identify, develop and hire effective leaders for their organizations. Menkes was cited in the New Yorker for his work on intelligence, and he has studied with Peter Drucker.
The ninth annual Tech 50 awards program also was sponsored by Catalyst Connection, Comcast, Highmark, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Nicholson Graham and PNC Financial Services.
Representatives of the media can obtain more detailed descriptions of the Pittsburgh Technology 50 winning companies through fax or e-mail by contacting the Pittsburgh Technology Council at (412) 687-0200, extension 247. Additional background on the Council also is available.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council is the largest regional technology trade association in the U.S. with nearly 1,400 member companies within its geographic territory of 13 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. Its mission is to contribute to the success of the region's technology businesses.