Huntsville firm makes 'Hot 100' list
Shearer & Associates among fastest-growing
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Shearer & Associates of Huntsville has been ranked No. 93 on Entrepreneur magazine and PricewaterhouseCoopers' "Hot 100" list of fast-growing U.S. companies for 2005.
The list is in the June 2005 issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
"We're very well pleased," said Frank Shearer, the company's owner, founder and president. "We've been growing rapidly and this is recognition we knew was coming, but was a long time coming."
Shearer & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in facility and security engineering.
Shearer was informed of the ranking in a letter from Rieva Lesonsky, the magazine's senior vice president and editorial director. She wrote: "Your company has demonstrated remarkable strength in a tenuous market, and you should be especially proud of your success."
In the magazine article, the company's success secret was: "Take good care of your people. Be open and honest, with no secrets."
Shearer incorporated the company in September 2000 and worked on its marketing and developed business procedures and policies and short-term and long-term plans. The company got its first contract working as a subcontractor to Computer Sciences Corp. in April 2001.
Shearer & Associates now has 35 full-time employees. Its 2004 sales were $4.3 million.
Before launching the firm, Shearer worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 26 years, mostly at the Huntsville center, then joined the Space and Missile Defense Command as command engineer. He retired in 1997, then worked for SEI Group from 1997 until 2001.
Only one other company in Alabama, ProEthic Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Montgomery, is on the list. That company is No. 26.
Entrepreneur has published its "Hot 100" list for 11 years.
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