America Fastest Growing Cos

THE

AMERICA’S FASTEST-GROWING SMALL PUBLIC COMPANIES

FSB100 T

he companies you are about to meet represent the fifth graduating class of the annual FSB 100. They have been screened just as the others were: Zacks, a financial research firm, identified companies with annual revenue of less than $200 million and a stock price of more than

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

1 TASER INTERNATIONAL TASR

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

295.4%

$19.1

3

SCOTTSDALE

2 LASERSCOPE LSCP

121.7%

$67.7

3

419.3

14.7

2

SAN JOSE

$1 and ranked them based on the past three years’ earnings growth, revenue growth, and stock performance. We excluded banks and real estate firms, which would otherwise overrun the list.

36.0

PRICE

as of 6/1/05

202.3%

$11.35

249

To catch a thief—or at least incapacitate one— law enforcement officers can pack one of Taser’s stun guns. Last year the company introduced a new civilian model (for a profile, see page 70).

34.14

229

Description below.

1

93.8

22

143.1 2

2

No. 3 NGAS RESOURCES NGAS LEXINGTON

4 J2 GLOBAL COMMUN. JCOM LOS ANGELES

5 ERESEARCHTECHNOLOGY ERES PHILADELPHIA (2)

6 SONIC SOLUTIONS SNIC NOVATO, CALIF.

7 ASV ASVI GRAND RAPIDS, MINN. (19)

1,501.6

1.6

1

147.5

31.6

29.7

7

48.7

58.8

11.5

65.3

106.3

54.0 11

4.78

62

NGAS harvests natural gas from the southern Appalachian region, exploring on the nearly 255,000 acres it controls. Since 2002 the price of natural gas has doubled.

140.7

35.58

202

J2 Global’s e-fax service transforms facsimiles into e-mail attachments for about 400,000 paying subscribers. A newer service enables users to manage messages through the web.

12.45

353

eResearch provides software and consulting services for Big Pharma and medical-device makers aimed at helping them get new products through FDA testing.

15.33

600

Sonic Solutions makes technology used to create CDs and DVDs. It also licenses its software to others—including, as of May, Yahoo, for use in its music service and media player.

36.51

150

This 22-year-old company makes tractors that glide, going where those of most rivals can’t, such as on frozen lakes, in sand, and through swamps. (For a profile, please see page 68.)

4

109.4

109.0 9

72.3

8

17.2

73.8 22

9

4

221.6

48.0

13

20

261.0

LASERSCOPE: This maker of medical lasers and advanced fiber-optic devices saw its revenues increase 63% in 2004. The company’s urological segment—which accounts for two-thirds of revenues—led the way with the success of a system for treating enlarged prostates. Sales of that product nearly tripled last year. Its beams can also be focused on cosmetic procedures such as spider-vein removal.

4

11

122.4

101.5

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

65.4 28

160.9

60.2 38

Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2005 FSB 55

FSB

100

THE LIST

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

8 EXX EXX-A LAS VEGAS (17)

9 SANDS REGENT SNDS

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

140.8%

52.0%

140.2%

$1.5

13

116.6

10 DIODES DIOD WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF.

11 RELIV INTERNATIONAL RELV CHESTERFIELD, MO.

12 TOR MINERALS INTL. TORM CORPUS CHRISTI

13 CANDELA CLZR WAYLAND, MASS.

14 LOWRANCE ELECTRONICS LEIX

220.9

3.6

25.6

5.4

1.1

11.7

28

258.5

23.3

22.3

28.0

24.2

185.7

72.2

12.0

97.0

120.2

FORT LAUDERDALE

16 TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH TRCI CLEARWATER, FLA. (21)

17 STRATASYS SSYS EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. (18)

95.5

30.5

87.9

1.3

125.4

112.5

1.8

52

20.5

115.3

24.5 38

Its Reno hotel features a 24-hour casino with more than 600 slot machines and a sports club with 35 TVs, bingo, and a poker room—oh, and you can sleep there too. It also has 800 rooms.

30.65

1,370

Diodes supplies semiconductors to a variety of manufacturers in markets ranging from consumer electronics to automotive to telecom. It also has four Far East subsidiaries.

10.60

238

Tell a friend about this company, which sells nutritional supplements and weightmanagement and skin-care products using an Amway-style system of 73,000 distributors.

5.80

203

This specialty-chemical company makes pigments and pigment extenders used to boost thickness and durability in paints, industrial coatings, and plastics.

79.5

10.53

290

Rays of hope: Doctors use Candela’s cosmetic and aesthetic lasers to smooth wrinkles, zap varicose veins, and rub out acne scars. (Yes, it can remove that tattoo you don’t recall getting.)

132.5

20.25

991

Description below.

5

13.8

14

No.

104.6

30.6

64.4

98

5.02

110

Revenues at this protection-equipment maker caught fire in 2004 because of new airconditioner safety requirements. The U.S.military accounted for 30% of sales.

32.18

250

Model company: Stratasys sells rapid prototyping systems that enable engineers—whether they are making cars or toys or electronics— to get products to market more quickly.

31

70.3

96.8 13

Until last year SunAir was solely in the business of selling high-frequency telecom equipment. In early 2005 an investment group took over, with plans to enter the pest-control industry.

9.33

11

51

9.1

1,000

18

46

17

61.9

22.2

9.20

15

80

35

EXX has subsidiaries in the mechanicalequipment industry and in plastic and rubber. Its motors are used in toys, watches, airconditioning systems, and floor polishers.

7

LOWRANCE ELECTRONICS: Location, location, location. That is what counts most to Lowrance, and it isn’t even in real estate. Its 85 products help fishermen, hunters, and hikers get their bearings. Offerings range from fish-finders for anglers to GPS products for wayward travelers. It even sells a portable in-car GPS navigation system that comes with an MP3 player. An automated voice interrupts the tune to give directions.

15 SUNAIR ELECTRONICS SNR

1,000

24

40

8.6

$1.88

19

29

5

TULSA

78.1

45

37

111.5

74.9

43

23

86.2

27.9

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

49

30

8

120.4

as of 6/1/05

1

24

RENO

$143.6

PRICE

56 FSB JULY/AUGUST 2005 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

18 COAST DISTRIBUTION SYS. CRV 130.7% MORGAN HILL, CALIF.

19 PANHANDLE ROYALTY PHX OKLAHOMA CITY

20 CCA INDUSTRIES CAW EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

21 MERGE TECHNOLOGIES MRGE MILWAUKEE

22 COLLEGIATE PACIFIC BOO DALLAS (24)

23 APPLIED SIGNAL TECH. APSG SUNNYVALE, CALIF.

24 IMAGE SENSING SYSTEMS ISNS ST. PAUL

25 CLINICAL DATA CLDA NEWTON, MASS.

$4.4

15

98.9

8.2

5.8

7.5

4.5

12.0

35.1

56.4

23.5

2.7

18.1

37.0

4.6

81.5

405

23.52

16

108.9

10.10

138

CCA sells health and beauty aids, along with dietary supplements, to retailers such as Wal-Mart, its largest customer. It was a pioneer in tooth-whitening products.

62.4

17.50

200

Doctors can go digital thanks to Merge, which makes software that lets hospitals eliminate paper used for information and archiving. It merged with Cedara Software in early 2005.

8.87

450

Collegiate Pacific is in the game of selling sports equipment—4,500 different items— mostly to institutions such as schools. Last year it acquired two uniform distributors.

17.90

498

Listen here: APSG’s products scan all manner of communications (cell calls, ship-to-shore, microwave) to find relevant information. The U.S. government accounts for most of its sales.

13.39

38

This developer of video vehicle-detection systems for traffic management has installed more than 30,000 cameras to reduce congestion and improve roadway planning.

17.82

218

Increasing demand for its drug-testing equipment has helped inject new sales at this maker of medical instruments. About half of its revenue comes from overseas.

35

80.9

40.0 66

142.8

61.2 37

10.8

57

50

48.0

97.3 12

59.4

6

37.4 71

DENVER (4)

27 SFBC INTERNATIONAL SFCC MIAMI

28 VENTANA MEDICAL SYS. VMSI TUCSON

29 PARLUX FRAGRANCES PARL FORT LAUDERDALE (75)

30 CARDIODYNAMICS INTL. CDIC SAN DIEGO

43.3

10.4

61

38.8

19.7

26

21.3

6

159.6

24.5

9.9

8.7

166.1

28.5 27

15

42.4

35.40

2,100

This contract-research firm began a new phase in 2004 when it acquired PharmaNet, a specialist in late-stage research, adding to the early-phase trial data it provides drugmakers.

41.4

42.80

732

Ventana makes instruments that automate slide-staining for pathologists so that they can efficiently analyze samples. Cancer researchers use its products to study tissue.

24.46

120

Ever heard of Paris Hilton? Parlux makes fragrances, watches, cosmetics, and handbags under the heiress’s name. Coming soon: a Guess fragrance and an Andy Roddick brand.

2.25

256

Originally used by NASA to monitor astronauts in flight, CardioDynamics’ technology provides doctors with a noninvasive way to gather cardiac data and is used on about 3.5 million patients.

62

94.1

91

10.1

18.55

60

38

36

249.8

73.8

52.7 48

7

31

86.6

24.1

18

64

103.3

39.6

129.7 6

41.0

–7.9 100

Panhandle receives royalties from about 5,000 natural-gas (80% of 2004 revenues) and oil wells in more than 20 states, including Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

No.

ROYAL GOLD: This Denver-based company finances gold and silver mines in return for receiving a royalty on production from the operators. Its current holdings include Nevada’s three biggest mines. Silver and copper make up a smaller part of its business.

26 ROYAL GOLD RGLD

Pinched lately by higher steel prices and rising freight costs, Coast dispenses supplies for the recreational-vehicle and marine industries through its 17 distribution centers.

$4.35

10

42

55

65.8

61.5

10

41

53.2

14.5

142.5%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

55

23

44

76.7

28.1

71

57

73.4

32.5

as of 6/1/05

3

24

34

47.9

$171.8

89

33

96.0

8.8%

PRICE

Description above.

JULY/AUGUST 2005 FSB 57 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

FSB

100

THE LIST

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

31 WEBSENSE WBSN

121.8%

SAN DIEGO (11)

21

32 TUTOGEN MEDICAL TTG

160.7

WEST PATERSON, N.J.

10

33 PACKETEER PKTR

135.7

$26.2

34 PAR TECHNOLOGY PTC

121.6

–0.5

35 VIDEO DISPLAY VIDE

144.5

13.5

36 ADVANCED NEURO SYS. ANSI

104.1

5.6

37 SAUCONY SCNYA

108.2

4.4

92.4

11.9

3.5

18.2

51.1

174.9

7.1

479

Websense’s software can help you watch your workers: It monitors and reports on employee Internet use, blocks specific content, and provides added security from viruses.

–6.0

2.12

204

This company’s got skin in the game: Tutogen takes human (and animal) donor tissue and processes it for use in different kinds of operations, from orthopedic to plastic surgery.

25.2

11.75

286

More than 7,000 companies use Packeteer’s systems to manage bandwidth by controlling traffic and prioritizing web access. Late last year it acquired Mentat, a network service provider.

63.3

28.67

1,411

Its ParTech unit serves fast-food purveyors, having installed 25,000 point-of-sale systems in 95 countries. Last year’s acquisition of a software company gives it access to 500 luxury hotels.

12.86

404

Screen gems: Video Display makes and distributes more than 3,000 types of display devices for military, medical, and industrial applications. It has 11 manufacturing plants.

33.96

506

Hitting a nerve: ANSI makes and sells neurostimulators, which help more than a million patients mask chronic pain and nervous-system disorders through electrical impulses.

19.35

343

Description below.

33

82.4

68.8 27

120.7

12

10.4

$54.18

86

98

29

PEABODY, MASS.

25.5

16.5%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

99

81

30

PLANO, TEXAS

28.9

35

12

TUCKER, GA. (60)

29.0

as of 6/1/05

96

26

22

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y.

$111.9

16

14

CUPERTINO, CALIF.

45.6%

PRICE

18.9 95

166.6

94

75.8 20

37

No.

SAUCONY: This maker of athletic footwear raced up to No. 43 on the FSB 100 in 2001, then tripped badly before restructuring its business—including closing U.S. manufacturing operations—for a return appearance. CEO John Fisher used grassroots marketing to rise to more than an also-ran against the giants and attract customers. He also attracted an acquirer: In June, Fisher sold Saucony, which had been in his family for four generations, to Stride Rite. (See profile on page 70.)

38 AMREP AXR NEW YORK (56)

39 CREDO PETROLEUM CRED DENVER (47)

72.9

13.7

45

35.9 70

20.3

132.8

52

3.7

27.4 31

52.8

22.04

1,440

15.40

11

47

10.3

55.8 43

Who believes in synergy anymore? Amrep derives about 80% of its revenue from providing circulation services to magazines. The rest? It comes from real estate development. Credo loves to get crude—oil—from wells it owns or operates in the U.S. It also holds the exclusive license on a system for recovering natural gas from sites that seem tapped out.

60 FSB JULY/AUGUST 2005 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

40 AMERICAN VANGUARD AVD NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. (26)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

33.5%

$14.5

75

40

IRVINE, CALIF. (15)

42 SS&C TECHNOLOGIES SSNC WINDSOR, CONN. (30)

43 FINDWHAT.COM FWHT FORT MYERS, FLA.

44 J. ALEXANDER’S JAX NASHVILLE (29)

45 FRIEDMAN INDUSTRIES FRD HOUSTON

46 ROCKY SHOES & BOOTS RCKY NELSONVILLE, OHIO

47 CPI AEROSTRUCTURES CVU EDGEWOOD, N.Y.

48 NETSMART TECH. NTST GREAT RIVER, N.Y. (70)

49 BENTLEY PHARM. BNT

39.0

22.6

167.8

48.3

4.8

6.9

8.6

96

73.6

122.4

2.8

5.7

90

93.8

169.5

9.6

14.8

8.7

22.6

18.7

44.8

2.5

122.9

Description below.

17.4 60

60.34

367

Software from Quality Systems helps diagnose and cure the information ills of doctors and dentists by managing back-office functions such as scheduling, billing, and patient records.

64.0

29.51

42

SS&C supplies software to the financial services industry, serving seven markets, including commercial lending and municipal finance. It made three acquisitions in the first half of 2005.

48.6

5.58

482

FindWhat.com found growth last year by making two major acquisitions. The company’s search engine delivers leads to advertisers, which pay a fee for every surfer clicking through.

49.8

7.65

2,650

This casual-dining chain of 27 restaurants in 12 states serves American-style food and specialty items such as Rattlesnake Pasta (no, it’s just chicken). JAX has plans to expand in 2006.

7.90

144

This steel processor’s two plants—in Lone Star, Texas, and Hickman, Ark.—can each process hot-rolled steel coils weighing as much as 25 tons, flattening them before selling them.

29.98

1,091

9.38

67

9.14

168

Netsmart’s subsidiary, Creative Socio-Medics, sells software and hardware to specialty health-care providers, such as psychiatric hospitals and substance-abuse clinics.

11.11

349

Bentley, a maker of drug-delivery systems, may be based in Exeter, N.H., but it derives 96% of its revenue from Europe, where its subsidiaries manufacture and sell pharmaceuticals.

3.00

48

A matter of fax: Castelle offers a full array of facsimile services that include desktop faxing, production faxing, fax and e-mail integration, and tools for developing custom applications.

34.06

531

Immucor provides automated systems for pretransfusion blood diagnostics, claiming 65% of the U.S. market and 30% of Europe’s. Some 80% of its customers are hospitals.

53

177.9

71.0 26

132.3

72.9 23

30.3

93.5 14

29.0

45.3 57

73.4

1.8 98

10.5

99

14.6

54.2

54

17

2.2

229

32

55

19

22.4

95.9

44

43

75.5

15.2

90

5.1

$18.47

46

69

40

13.8

82.2

87

56

78.2

24.9

5

9

50 CASTELLE CSTL

NORCROSS, GA.

17.0

82.7%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

AMERICAN VANGUARD: This maker of agricultural chemicals doesn’t develop products on its own. Instead it acquires or licenses them from its bigger peers and then rebrands them. Last year’s growth was fueled by DiBrom, an insecticide that was much in demand to kill the swarms of mosquitoes that plagued the South after hurricane season.

67

89

42

51 IMMUCOR BLUD

19.0

as of 6/1/05

16

37

47

EXETER, N.H. (39)

MORGAN HILL, CALIF.

14.4

63

68.8

$150.9

54

No.

41 QUALITY SYSTEMS QSII

19.7%

PRICE

59.9 40

122.8

115.0 8

Rocky Shoes & Boots produces premium footwear, sold via sporting-goods stores and big-box retailers. In January it acquired EJ Footwear Group, maker of Durango boots. Assembly required: CPI Aero, as it began calling itself in January, benefited from an uptick in orders for its structural aircraft parts from the U.S. Air Force and other military customers.

JULY/AUGUST 2005 FSB 61 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

FSB

100

THE LIST

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

52 SHUFFLE MASTER SHFL LAS VEGAS (34)

53 FIRST CASH FINAN. SVCS. FCFS ARLINGTON, TEXAS (25)

54 NEVADA GOLD & CASINOS UWN HOUSTON

55 SUN HYDRAULICS SNHY SARASOTA, FLA.

56 LIFETIME HOAN LCUT WESTBURY, N.Y. (87)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

32.9% 76

28.7

24.3

123.6

5.6

26

23.7

17.2

134.3

7.8

11.6

179.8

10.6

6.6

8.0

94.5

7.6

28.4

258

Deal with it: Gaming supplier Shuffle Master owns the patent for Big Raise Hold ’Em poker, recently featured on the Discovery Channel. It also makes a shuffler that can recognize cards.

80.6

17.40

1,822

First Cash has opened 125 pawnshops and payday advance stores in the past three years, bringing its total to 300 locations in 11 states and Mexico. Another 60 are planned this year.

36.5

10.95

35

Feeling lucky? Nevada Gold develops and operates casinos throughout the U.S., some in partnership with five Native American tribes. It also owns Pizza Hut outlets in Latin America.

40.9

36.36

678

This company’s hydraulic cartridge valves and manifolds control force, speed, and motion in manufacturing equipment. SNHY’s products are used in construction and other industries.

17.92

714

Lifetime Hoan makes cutlery and other housewares for such brand names as Cuisinart and KitchenAid. A 2004 acquisition added new categories, including glassware.

4.85

69

Light-sensitive coatings and films made by Ikonics are used primarily in the screen-printing market. Last year the company started a business unit selling signmaking equipment.

12.46

4,800

63

189.5

42.4 61

13.7

93

87

$28.15

74

84

0.8

65.2%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

17

83

8.5

as of 6/1/05

29

2

18

DULUTH, MINN.

$84.8

62

16

115.8

WICHITA (5)

20.7

85

129.2

19.7% 53

80

57 IKONICS IKNX

58 FOX & HOUND FOXX

$24.1

PRICE

54.3 45

149.5

28

50.3

Description below.

50

FOX & HOUND: Known until recently as Total Entertainment Restaurant Corp., this company operates 78 eateries in 22 states. Not all are named Fox & Hound; some are called Bailey’s. But they share such amenities as a full bar, games including darts and billiards, and an average of 40 TVs in each location. By 2006 the company hopes to open its 100th restaurant.

58

No. 59 MONARCH CASINO MCRI RENO (53)

60 PRIMEENERGY PNRG STAMFORD, CONN.

61 NATURAL ALTERNATIVES NAII

46.9 58

83.8

–19.1 100

62 CANTEL MEDICAL CMN

5.6

63 TALX TALX ST. LOUIS (48)

7.3

65

139.9

15.1

3.5

25.4

63.6

38.5

88.9

48.2 14

1,800

21.32

196

Oil be there: PrimeEnergy pumps oil and gas from such states as Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. This year it will spend $10 million to explore the Gulf of Mexico.

60.1

7.57

243

NAI wants to pump you up: It designs customized nutritional supplements—powders, tablets, and herbs—for private-label customers. It also sells consulting services.

30.95

701

Cantel’s medical equipment helps doctors and hospitals prevent and control infection. Its newest subsidiary makes packaging for transporting infectious specimens.

28.81

1,337

39

178.5

19

13.4

37.9

43.3 58

145.8

2.0 97

Monarch’s big bet is on its Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, which has almost 1,000 rooms, eight restaurants, and—most important, profitwise— 1,450 slot and video poker machines.

20.00

69

36

12.0

71.8 25

68

99

38.7

10.0 85

38

SAN MARCOS, CALIF.

LITTLE FALLS, N.J.

16.5

Nearly 7,500 businesses outsource payroll and HR to TALX. In March the company reached a $2.5 million settlement—neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing—over accounting issues.

62 FSB JULY/AUGUST 2005 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

FSB

100

THE LIST

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

64 BIO REFERENCE LABS BRLI

45.5%

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. (6)

60

65 SIGMATRON INTL. SGMA ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL.

66 QEP QEPC BOCA RATON (63)

67 CARRIZO OIL & GAS CRZO HOUSTON

68 INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ISSC EXTON, PA.

69 K-TRON INTERNATIONAL KTII PITMAN, N.J.

81.5

$8.5

4.6

4.6

10.9

14.4

26.3

16.5

15.3

166.4

6.6

17.6

50.2

55.1

51.4

36.6

WAYNE, PA.. (20)

71 BIRNER DENTAL MGMT. BDMS DENVER

72 ORBIT INTERNATIONAL ORBT HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.

73 EDGE PETROLEUM EPEX HOUSTON

35.9

56.6

71

59.8

112.5

1.4

94

19.2

1.9

6.0

31.9

30.0 25

SigmaTron produces circuitboards, motherboards, user interfaces, and other electronic components for use in everything from kitchen appliances to exercise equipment.

9.99

500

15.13

38

This energy company focuses on exploration and production of natural gas and oil along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana. As of last year it had drilled 373 wells.

62.5

33.72

129

ISSC, an air-data equipment supplier, took off thanks to a new FAA mandate reducing the vertical distance between planes. It recently introduced a flat-panel display for cockpits.

36.5

29.70

467

Description below.

Do-it-yourselfers have been floored by QEP, which sells home-improvement tools via retailers such as Home Depot. In May it acquired a maker of flooring adhesives.

61.3

69

No.

64.5

18.0

75.0

64

27.90

475

The market is open wide for Birner, which acquires and manages dentists’ offices, taking over administrative functions such as billing and renaming them under its Perfect Teeth brand.

10.16

104

Orbit, which made an acquisition in April, designs and manufactures display terminals and keyboards for the military. It also sells AC power sources and frequency converters.

13.97

53

Edge scouts for oil and natural gas using special software and other high-tech tools. It spent $50 million last year acquiring oil and gas properties in South Texas.

21

64.5

40.1 65

Eye on the prize: Escalon sells ophthalmic diagnostic, surgical, and pharmaceutical instruments. Last year it acquired Drew Scientific, based in Britain.

7.99

30

95

14.8

1,250

36

100

68

19.0

2.2

10.52

75

76

53

36.8

13.3

BRLI’s labs perform medical testing for physicians, nursing homes, and prisons. It also offers a web-based communication system for doctors. Last year it acquired a cancer genetics lab.

34

59

1.0

1,167

73

K-TRON INTERNATIONAL: Finally, machines that will handle a midnight feeding—not of infants, but of other machines. K-Tron’s feeders enable manufacturers to control the flow of material on the factory floor. Customers come from a range of industries, including plastics and food. K-Tron also makes machines that pulverize coal.

70 ESCALON MEDICAL ESMC

$14.51

44

66

46

42.5%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

51

33

79

71.2

107.5

72

72

30.7

9.3

as of 6/1/05

59

88

62

35.8

$136.2

58

39

41.9

17.8%

PRICE

64 FSB JULY/AUGUST 2005 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

74 GULF ISLAND FABRICATION GIFI HOUMA, LA.

75 NEOWARE SYSTEMS NWRE

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

64.0% 51

28.2

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA.

81

76 OPTELECOM OPTC

34.2

GERMANTOWN, MD.

77 KENSEY NASH KNSY EXTON, PA. (37)

78 NATIONAL RESEARCH NRCI LINCOLN (49)

79 TYLER TECHNOLOGIES TYL DALLAS

80 MERIDIAN BIOSCIENCE VIVO CINCINNATI

81 OIL-DRI ODC CHICAGO

82 HI-TECH PHARMACAL HITK AMITYVILLE, N.Y. (7)

83 EBIX EBIX SCHAUMBURG, ILL.

84 PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PVR RADNOR, PA.

85 PEET’S COFFE & TEA PEET EMERYVILLE, CALIF.

$12.0

5.6

1.6

14.1

4.6

10.1

9.5

4.6

6.4

54

29.7

13.5

12.9

4.0

26.7

2.2

12.6

172.3

38.2

80.3

14.5 70

10.11

114

Neoware’s “appliances” behave much like PCs but cost less. The company’s terminals rely on a central server and can run most software. Among its customers: Intel and ESPN.

50.1

10.83

70

This maker of fiber-optic modems—used in video surveillance, for instance—changed its name to Optelecom-NKF in April after buying NKF Electronics, a communications company.

24.3

27.05

300

Smooth operators: Kensey Nash makes medical devices and developed—then licensed out—a material that seals arterial punctures occurring during cardiovascular surgery.

37.2

14.00

205

NRCI measures hospital performance by surveying patients, using software it developed to mail out nearly nine million questionnaires a year and process 10,000 responses a day.

22.5

6.59

1,400

Tyler sells information-management software to local government offices, providing more than 200 applications to almost 6,000 offices. A new product aims to create order in the courts.

47.8

17.84

385

About 75% of Meridian’s revenues come from developing disposable tests for medical conditions from stomach ulcers to strep. Last year the company began studying bioterrorism.

16.90

781

Founded in 1941 as a distributor of clay floor absorbents, Oil-Dri makes the lion’s share of the world’s kitty litter under its own brands (Jonny Cat, for one) as well as for other companies.

29.80

200

Swallow the leader: HITK makes generic versions of more than 100 liquid prescription and over-the-counter medications. Some $4 billion more will go off-patent within five years.

13.28

239

EBIX supplies software to more than 3,000 insurance agencies and brokers in 52 countries. Insurance buyers and carriers use its website as an online auction house.

47.07

32

28.94

389

56

183.3

38.5 68

60.3

32.7 80

20.0

20.2 94

75.6

20

8.8

23.9

91

79

34.3

The booming oil market is only one reason that demand for Gulf Island’s offshore drilling and production platforms has soared. Hurricanes also destroyed equipment in the Gulf of Mexico.

72

32

98

56.3

20.9

1,050

88

97

27

7.7

62.4

78

86

114.0

36.1

$20.27

52

75

32

23.8

19.4

50

59

100.2

17.3

20.5%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

89

21

25

46.1

69.6

61

66

116.3

46.2

as of 6/1/05

93

15

78

38.4

$173.9

41

73

31.7

23.7%

PRICE

31.4 83

145.7

32.9

Coal fusion: PVR manages 54 coal mines, collecting royalties from third-party operators. Earlier this year it spent nearly $200 million acquiring the assets of a natural-gas business. Description below.

79

PEET’S COFFEE: In 1966, Alfred Peet opened his first coffee shop, in Berkeley. By 1984—three years after Starbucks got started—he had a handful, which he sold to the group that owned Starbucks. Peet’s and Starbucks shared an owner until 1987. Since then Peet’s has grown to 100 stores and cultivated other distribution channels, such as online, catalogs, and wholesale accounts. No word on what happened to that other chain.

85

No.

JULY/AUGUST 2005 FSB 65 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

FSB

100

THE LIST

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

86 LOJACK LOJN

67.1%

$10.4

49

WESTWOOD, MASS.

13.8%

$145.7

74

PRICE

as of 6/1/05

30.4%

$15.21

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS 800

Description below.

84

86

No.

LOJACK: As of February, Lojack wants to turn aspiring motorcycle thieves into uneasy riders. That is when the company introduced a version of its stolen-vehicle-recovery system for crotch rockets. As with cars, Lojack installs a hidden transmitter that can be activated by the police when the vehicle is reported as stolen. The cops can then trail the bad guys and recover the wheels. If only there were such a system to catch stray socks.

87 STRAYER EDUCATION STRA

22.1

ARLINGTON, VA. (31)

91

88 ACME UNITED ACU

32.8

FAIRFIELD, CONN.

89 CORE MOLDNG TECH. CMT COLUMBUS (70)

90 ANSYS ANSS CANONSBURG, PA. (55)

91 ALLIED MOTION TECH. AMOT ENGLEWOOD, COLO.

92 RAVEN INDUSTRIES RAVN SIOUX FALLS, S.D.

93 EXACTECH EXAC GAINESVILLE, FLA. (64)

41.2

3.2

5.1

34.6

2.3

84

110.7

16.7

21.2

16.8

8.3

134.5

21.2 49

16.70

110

23.5

9.84

1,094

Mold everything: CMT makes plastic parts for boats and trucks—everything from decks and hulls to fenders and hoods. An acquisition it made last year has led it into the auto market.

37.5

33.44

550

Keeping it virtual: This company’s simulation software helps engineers model how their product designs will perform under such realworld variables as temperature and stress.

5.00

550

Allied makes specialized motors that are used by a range of customers, from medical-device makers to the U.S. Postal Service. Last year it acquired a Netherlands motor maker.

26.82

850

Raven may look like any other industrial supplier, but it’s not. Besides electronics manufacturing and plastic sheeting, it makes balloons for Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.

13.59

190

Replaceable you: Exactech makes artificial knees, hips, and—new this year—shoulders that are used in replacement surgery. Its founder remains a practicing orthopedic surgeon.

70

62.7

35.9 76

157.7

92

7.3

1,691

90

48

83

25.3

13.1

59.1

58.3 42

81.8

30.1 85

Nearly 25,000 students, mainly working adults, attend Strayer, which added five campuses last year to increase its total to more than 30. Half of those students take courses online.

89.06

41

64

92

26.3

43.4

77

82

21.8

5.5

31.6 82

96

48

27.4

183.2

34

77

68.1

25.7

Begun in 1867, Acme made the cut because of its scissors. It sold 50 million pairs of them last year, thanks to such extras as stainless-steel blades and soft rubberized handles.

66 FSB JULY/AUGUST 2005 Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

2005 RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER CITY (2004 RANKING)

94 SPAN-AMERICA MEDICAL SPAN

EARNINGS/SHARE GROWTH

REVENUE GROWTH

TOTAL RETURN TO INVESTORS

Three-year annual rate RANK NET INCOME Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK REVENUE Four quarters to 12/31/04 (millions)

Three-year annual rate RANK STOCK

8.6%

$2.1

97

GREENVILLE, S.C.

95 NOBILITY HOMES NOBH

20.4

96 LIFEWAY FOODS LWAY

18.4

MORTON GROVE, ILL. (38)

95

97 EDUCATIONAL DEVEL. EDUC

23.2

4.6

98 II-VI IIVI

36.0

2.1

99 MERIT MEDICAL MMSI

36.8

2.5

100 ROCKY MT. CHOCOLATE RMCF

34.2 74

DURANGO, COLO.

16.8

18.4

22.6

10.0

16.3

14.3

30.6

11.9

312

Cushy job: Span-America’s therapeutic mattresses cushion and elevate injured body parts for patients in hospitals and at extendedcare facilities.

40.3

25.73

250

Home economics: Nobility sells premanufactured homes through nearly 20 company-owned stores and more than 50 independent retailers in Florida.

39.4

12.50

75

Organic growth: Lifeway makes a yogurt-like beverage, kefir, that started appearing on the shelves at Target in May. It also produces a line of beverages marketed to Hispanics.

24.5

10.41

72

EDUC sells children’s books, which it markets via 8,000 retailers and 10,000 direct sellers, many of whom hold home parties and call on schools and libraries.

17.14

1,502

II-VI’s lenses, mirrors, and prisms can detect the onset of osteoporosis or help aim a missile. Its industrial business accounts for 50% of revenues; military applications are No. 2.

15.40

1,307

The beat goes on: Merit makes disposable medical products used to treat heart disease, such as blowup stents for arteries. This year it has seven products coming out.

23.50

185

87

163.5

35.1 78

151.4

73

3.1

$10.31

67

85

17.9

35.6%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES COMMENTS

64

56

67

SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH (10)

50.0

63

69

SAXONBURG, PA.

15.6

as of 6/1/05

77

65

88

TULSA (43)

$49.2

47

93

OCALA, FLA. (81)

21.7%

PRICE

22.0 92

23.6

82

32.2

Description below.

81

No.

100

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE: With 285 stores, Rocky Mountain counts itself as the largest U.S. chocolate retailer. How can it drive customers to toss aside their calorie-counting? Four years ago the manufacturer and franchisor unveiled an upscale store design that highlights in-store candymaking operations. It’s merciless: Picture apples being swirled in caramel, smell the warm fresh-baked fudge. Well, maybe you will have a sample after all. Just one, right?

For more information about the companies on this list, plea se visit fsb.com. Copyright 2005 Time Inc. You may make a single printed copy of this content, solely for your personal use. For all other uses, including commercial and academic uses, please visit www.FortuneReprints.com and www.FortunePermissions.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2005 FSB 67