#9: Crystal Group

108.6% growth

City: Hiawatha

Founded: 1991

www.crystalrugged.com

3rd time on the list

 

It takes focus and dedication.

This is Hiawatha-based Crystal Group’s third time on the Fastest Growing Companies list. The company designs and manufactures rugged computer equipment with 80 percent of sales dedicated to the military market.

“We attribute our growth to 1) our relentless focus on the customer, 2) the intense dedication of all our employees to that precept and 3) our ardent focus on innovation,” Scott Kongable, Crystal Group’s president, stated in a press release. “My belief is that there is no amount of energy that is too much to spend to keep your commitment to a customer and I have tried to drive that belief throughout the organization.”

Crystal Group, founded in 1987, first appeared on the Fastest Growing Companies list in 2011 at No. 9 with 85 percent growth. It returned in 2012 at No. 8 with 142.3 percent growth. The company landed on Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies three times, topping out at number 48 in 1999.

-By Gigi Wood