Buffalo companies selected were Great Arrow Graphics, Precision Millwork Inc., Integrity Distribution, Lifestyle Street Gear and Creditors Interchange. The purpose of the list is to highlight businesses in economically depressed urban areas by showcasing firms that have thrived there. Eligible companies are ranked according to their five-year sales growth between 1995 and 1999. Neither profitability nor number of employees is judged. Applicants must also be a for-profit, have at least 51 percent of operations located in the inner city and have 10 employees or more at year end 1999.
Company owners credit the city with helping their businesses grow.
David Steffan, one of the owners of Precision Millwork, said the low cost of real estate in the city was definitely one of the factors in the business' success. We need a lot of space, you just can't have enough. If I was spending two, three or four times my real estate costs, maybe we wouldn't have been as successful. Not paying huge amounts of money for real estate costs has let us invest back into the business and has helped us grow. Representatives from each of the companies traveled to a reception in Boston last week along with Mayor Anthony Masiello, who accepted a special award for the city's accomplishment.