 |
Northern
Colorado Business Report
Kristen S. Bastian
|
Loveland - From meager beginnings, David Yowell
built MM Solutions into a company 28 employees strong with nationally
recognized clients. Yowell started the company in his garage with a
pickup and a cell phone while he was working for his father-in-law at
Mail Mart. His first major job was crating for the annual sculpture
show in Loveland. He moved from there to consolidating box orders and
doing packaging at the local mailing companies and then providing order
fulfillment for Teledyne Waterpik. He retained a building and incorporated
the business in 1994. Now Yowell serves companies such as Agilent, Advanced
Energy, Celestica, and Dakocytomation. MM Solutions offers logistics
services, freight management, crating and packaging and packaging materials.
The 2003 sales were up about 505 from the previous year.
|
|
Marcia
Sampson runs Eldon James Corp. full steam ahead. Since she took control
of the reins in 2000, she ushered through the expansion of the product line,
the company's professional certification and registration and an increase
in distributor agreements nationally and internationally. The company manufacturers
tubes and fitting for applications in industries ranging from beverage dispensing
to medical products. Sampson's dedication to seeing Eldon James grow led
her to spend a year traveling the country, living in a 30 foot trailer.
Her dedication to her children led her to bring them along for the journey.
The company's 2003 revenues were $2.6 million and they employ 24 people.
In 1992, Susan Jessup took over management of Sylvan
Dale Guest Ranch. The Jessup family operated the ranch since it was opened
to the public in 1946. Named "Best Family Vacation" by Frommers Colorado
Guidebook and rated among the "top ten Colorado Dude Ranches" by True West
Magazine. During the 1990s, the ranch expanded its customer base from guest
ranch tourists to businesses looking for a unique retreat, weddings and
family reunions There are now five meeting
rooms suited for parties of 10 to 150. The ranch maintains a herd of 80
horses ad employs 65-70 people in the summer and 25 through the winter months.
The ranch struggled to |
|
remain
open in the early 1980s but has steadily moved intothe back after Susan
Jessup began an active marketing program in 1987. Kroll factual Data Inc.
specializes in background information for mortgage lending, background screening
and other types of business information. Jerald Donnan started factual Data
Corp. With his wife Marcia, as a two person mortgage-credit- reporting agency
in Fort Collins in 1985. The business relocated to Loveland in 1998. In
2003 New York based Kroll Inc. purchased Factual Data Corp. with unanimous
approval from its board of directors, for $115 million cash and stocks.
Chairman and CEO Donnan became president of the newly formed Kroll Factual
Data Inc. "Joining Kroll is a win for our shareholders, our customers and
our employees alike," he said in a statement. Donnan retired at the end
of 2003, turning leadership over to his son James Donnan. For the second
Quarter of 2003, the last that Donnan served as chairman and CEO, the company
reported $24 million in revenues, a 70 percent increase over second quarter
2002. Jerald is currently looking at a number of local business opportunities
to start or venture; his entrepreneurial spirit and drive are still going
strong since his retirement from Factual Data. |
|
