With sales growing more than 2,000 percent over the last five years, Strongsville-based ArtWall—a manufacturer of on-demand canvas art products—claims the top spot in the 2017 Weatherhead 100.
The overall list, celebrating the swiftest-growing companies headquartered in Northeast Ohio, includes 31 first-time winners in a variety of sectors, including construction, medical devices, real estate and digital media.
“This year’s winners reflect the evolution and diversification of our region’s economy in the last 30 years,” said Michael Goldberg, an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, which compiles the annual ranking. “Their success is an endorsement of Northeast Ohio’s ability to grow companies and encourage entrepreneurship, which are essential to our economic future.”
Portrait of success
Like many awardees, ArtWall is an internet-centered company that could not have existed when the Weatherhead 100 was founded a generation ago.
Designed to connect artists to retailers—such as Amazon, Wayfair and Overstock.com—Artwall appears for the third time on the list.
Winning companies were recognized Nov. 30 at a banquet at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. A special section in the Dec. 4 edition of Crain’s Cleveland Business features selected award-winners.
Delivering medications and illumination
The Weatherhead 100 also includes two sub-categories—Centurions and Upstarts—which recognize top growth in companies large and small, respectively.
This year’s Centurion awardee is ExactCare Pharmacy, a Valley View-based company with more than 500 percent sales growth since 2012. With 250-plus employees, the pharmacy home-delivery service offers personalized packaged doses of medications, and recently became available in all 50 states.
Atop the Upstarts category is Cleveland-based CleanLife Energy, providers of LED lighting for a range of industries and settings, with 600-plus percent sales growth over the last five years.
Thirty years of 100
Inaugural awardees of the Weatherhead 100—established in 1988—that have cemented places in the regional and national economy include Progressive Insurance, Parker-Hannifin and Ohio Business Machines.
“For a generation now, through economic ups and downs, this list has shined a light on areas of promise and momentum in Northeast Ohio, on businesses both on the rise and those with firm roots in our region,” Goldberg said. “Here’s to another 30 years and beyond.”
How to win
To qualify, Weatherhead 100 winners have grown sales of at least $100,000 to $1 million or more in the past five years; Centurions need at least $100 million in net sales over the last year; Upstarts are growing companies with fewer than 16 employees and less than $5 million in sales.
Participants must submit certain financial records and have headquarters in a Northeast Ohio county, among other criteria.
For more information, contact Daniel Robison at daniel.robison@case.edu.