BizWest | 2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards | NCBR October ... · OCT. 29-NOV. 11, 2004 THE NORTHERN COLORADO BUSINESS REPORT 19B Emerging Entrepreneur Brent Eskew, FindYourSpot.com,

OCT. 29-NOV. 11, 2004 THE NORTHERN COLORADO BUSINESS REPORT 19B

Emerging Entrepreneur

Brent Eskew, FindYourSpot.com, WindsorBruce Golden, Bernard E. Rollin and Ralph V.

Switzer Jr., Optibrand Ltd., Fort CollinsAngelique Hunt, Risk Removal, Fort CollinsMike Jensen, Fort Collins Real Estate, Fort

CollinsPrue Kaley and Mike Levy,

NorthernColoradoRentals.com, Fort CollinsBrenda and Richard Lucio, Coyote Grill,

GreeleyJulie O’Gorman, Front Range Real Estate

Consultants, Fort CollinsClair Orr, AgTown Technologies, GreeleyPaul and Ninita Pellegrino, NitaCrisp, Fort

CollinsHoward Perko, Secure Foundations and

Structures Inc., Fort CollinsJeff Probst, Blue Sun Biodiesel, Fort CollinsKim Schatz, K& D Enterprises, LovelandJohn Smith, Citadel Advisory Group, Fort

Collins

Fort Collins

Michael Aller and David Lingle, Aller-LingleArchitects

David Bethune, Atrix Laboratories Inc.Robert and Heather Bisetti, Bisetti’s Italian

RestaurantMike Burns, Burns Marketing and

CommunicationsDavid Carson, CBW AutomationRhys Christensen, Realtec Commercial Real

Estate ServicesJoe and Karen DeAnda, Trios Salon and SpaJim Dismore, Ultimate Support SystemsMaury Dobbie, MediaTech ProductionsTerry Drahota, Drahota ConstructionDawn and Michael Duncan, Creative Career

ConnectionsDavid Dwyer, Dwyer, Ringenberg and FunkChad Fletcher, Enginuity Inc.Gretchen Gaede and Ryan Keiffer, The Write

WordsRick Griggs, Tantalus BooksDave Herzfeld, c3Technology Inc.Jeff Hiatt, ProsciRichard Keith, Private Escapes LLCDavid King, Triple Crown SportsRich and Colleen Laub, Institute for

Business and Medical CareersKeith Lipps, InvisionLester Litton, Earth Engineering ConsultantsStuart MacMillan and Tom Livingston, Everitt

Commercial PartnersLoren and Carl Maxey, Maxey Cos.Scott McCarthy and Steve Taylor, Austin’sDoug Odell, Odell Brewing Co.Gunther Preuss, Genesis Fixtures

Inc./Genesis InnovationsRoger Sample and John Bailey, Sample &

BaileyLori and Steve Schlotter, Colorado

CustomWare

Rayno Seaser, The Egg and IChris Sharp, SharpNet SolutionsDean Suposs, ADP/Avert Inc.Patty S. Taylor, First Class DirectMai Tran, Information Technology eXperts

Inc.Tom Turner and Dave Marvin, Wind2

Software Inc.Frank Vaught and Joe Frye, Vaught Frye

ArchitectsBob Vomaske, Vista SolutionsGary Young, Outdoor PromotionsTed and Ellen Zibel, The Perennial Gardener

Greeley

Byron Bateman, Cache BankBill Bensler, Flood and Peterson InsuranceDale Butcher and Bruce White, ConQuest Oil

Co.Brad Clarkson, The Group Real Estate

GreeleyBonnie Dean, Bonnie Dean AssociatesAllison Dunning, Merry Makers & DecoratorsTodd and Zeke Garretson, Garretson’s

Sports Center Co.Rob Haimson, Potato Brumbaugh’sTrent Johnson, Greeley Hat WorksMark Kendall, Kendall PrintingRoger Knoph, Envirotech ServicesLaurie Masi, The Point/ErgoMedMike Morgan, StarTekCarol Parish, Westlake Wine and SpiritsPowell Prothe, Vintage Corp.Curtis Sears, Landmark Cos. LLCLarry Seastrom, New Frontier BankTim Thissen, Thissen ConstructionBetty Tointon, Antiques at Lincoln ParkDuane Wallin, Bi-State MachineryTim and Sally Warde, Northern Colorado

Paper Co.Ted Warner, Connecting Point of GreeleySid Wilke, Big R Manufacturing and

DistributionLee and Warren Yoder, Weld County Garage

Loveland nominees

Rod Bryant, Gregory Electric Inc.Rod Bryner, RMV LandscapeMark Burke, Burke Cleaners and Mister

Neat’s FormalwearJerry Curtis, EagleSpan Steel Structures Inc.Van DeWar, Northern Colorado Cost Cutters

Inc.Jerald H. Donnan, Factual Data Corp.Hamid and Janice Eslan, The Black Steer

RestaurantCraig Harrison, Harrison Resource

Corp./LandVoyage.comJerry Helgeson, American Eagle DistributingSusan Jessup, Sylvan Dale Guest RanchLinda Ligon, Interweave PressBob Moorehead, Network Analysis and

Design Inc.Marcia Sampson, Eldon James Corp.Steven Sanford, Gibson HeatingClayton Schwerin, Alliance Construction

SolutionsMike Severance, Cactus GrilleRichard Van Der Meer, Goldco IndustriesDavid Yowell, MM Solutions

Outlying community nominees

Thomas Edman, Applied Films Corp.,Longmont (Weld County)

David Fahrenbruch, Sunblest Farms, FortLupton

Gary Gorsuch, Meadowlark Optics, FrederickMark Hopkins, Peak Industries, FrederickMartin Lind, Trollco Inc./Water Valley,

WindsorTom Rader, Colorado Railcar Manufacturing,

Fort LuptonWilliam Rankin, UQM Technologies, FrederickKarrol Steeves, Comfort Keepers, WindsorChauncey and Christy Taylor, Johnson’s

Corner, JohnstownNicolae Toderica, Star Precision, Longmont

(Weld County)Larry Wexler, EcomshareSherry Wirtz, The Local Pages, Windsor

Lifetime Achievement

Richard Boettcher, Professional Finance Co.,Greeley

Don Churchwell, Home State Bank, LovelandDr. Don Cook, Monfort Children’s

Clinic/National Pediatrics Association,Greeley

Jack Devereaux, The Home State Bank,Loveland

Bill Farr, Centennial Bank of the West,Windsor

George Hall, Hall-Irwin Corp., GreeleyLoren Maxey, Maxey Cos., Fort CollinsBill Neal, Wheeler Commercial Property

Services, Fort CollinsWayne Schrader, Schrader Oil Co., Fort

CollinsLeo Schuster, Progressive Living Structures,

LovelandJoe Tennessen, New Frontier Bank, Greeley

Regional Spirit

Agilent Technologies, LovelandCelestica Colorado, Fort CollinsErion Foundation, LovelandFlood & Peterson, Fort Collins Funding Partners for Housing Solutions, Fort

CollinsThe Group Real Estate Inc., Fort Collins Rich Harter, Fort Collins Convention &

Visitors Bureau, Fort CollinsHigh Plains Arts Council, LovelandEric Holsapple and Don Marostica, Loveland

Commercial LLC, LovelandMcKee Foundation, LovelandMonfort Family Foundation, EatonNew Belgium Brewing Co., Fort CollinsNorthern Colorado Economic Development

Corp., LovelandNorthern Colorado Legislative Alliance

2004 Bravo! nominees

2004

2B THE NORTHERN COLORADO BUSINESS REPORT OCT. 29-NOV. 11, 2004

Neal, Schuster epitomizedbest of entrepreneurship 2004

Bravo! Entrepreneur Steering CommitteeDavid May, president, Fort Collins Area Chamber of CommerceGaye Stockman, president, Loveland Chamber of Commerce

J.J. Johnston, CEO, Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp.Ron Klaphake, president, Greeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership Inc.

Jeff Nuttall, co-publisher, The Northern Colorado Business ReportTim Tracy, president, Greeley/Weld Chamber of Commerce

Christopher Wood, co-publisher, The Northern Colorado Business Report

Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards CommitteeBob Hessler, retired banker

Rene Clements, The Clements Co.Tim Dow, Dow Law Firm

Lucille Mantelli, Kodak Colorado DivisionKelly Peters, Loveland Center for Business Development

Ron Schneider, Bank OneTed Warner, Connecting Point of Greeley

Presented By:Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce

Greeley/Weld Chamber of CommerceGreeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership Inc.

Loveland Chamber of CommerceNorthern Colorado Economic Development Corp.

Platinum Sponsors

Reception Sponsor

Dinner Sponsor

Corporate Gift Sponsor

Gold SponsorsEveritt Commercial Partners • Palmer Flowers

Front Range Real Estate Consultants Inc.

Table SponsorsHome State Bank, Ptarmigan Country Club,

Mr. Neat’s Formalwear, Drahota, New Frontier Bank, Flood and Peterson, First National Bank, Community First Bank, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo,

Centennial Bank of the West, First Community Bank, Atrix Laboratories, McKee MedicalCenter/Foundation, Lighthouse Lending LLC, Peak Industries, Cache Bank & Trust, Advantage Bank,The Group, Phelps-Tointon, Inc., Progressive Living Structures, Connecting Point, City of Fort Collins,

CSU College of Business, Front Range Internet Inc.

MarketingBuzz Events

Video ProductionMediaTech Productions

Media SponsorNCBR

Event CoodinatorJames Rath

Audio/Visual Coordinator:MediaTech Productions

DécorCaldera Creative Services

FlowersPalmer Flowers

Print SponsorGenteel Graphics

Special thanks to:Signs By Tomorrow

Colorado Heirloom, Inc.Bobbie Carlyle

Celebration ofentrepreneurshipin NorthernColorado wouldnot be possible thisyear were we notalso to celebratethe lives of BillNeal and LeoSchuster, who diedin a July planecrash, along withFort Collins realestate broker ScottNelson.

In a year whenmany worthy indi-viduals were con-sidered for theB r a v o !E n t r e p r e n e u rL i f e t i m eA c h i e v e m e n tAward, Neal andSchuster stood outas the clear choic-es of our AwardsCommittee forthat most-presti-gious of all theB r a v o !E n t r e p r e n e u rawards.

Yes, the keyword is “choices.”For the first time,we are presentingtwo LifetimeA c h i e v e m e n tAwards, ratherthan limiting our-selves to just one,so lasting and deepare the legacies of Neal and Schuster.Both individuals not only built success-ful companies but also built and gaveback to their communities in remark-able ways.

You will read about both men inrelated stories in this special section.

Before we continue, however, itwould be advisable to recap somedetails about Bravo! Entrepreneur, aNorthern Colorado Business Reportprogram conducted in partnership withthe Fort Collins Area Chamber ofCommerce, the Greeley/Weld Chamberof Commerce, the Loveland Chamber ofCommerce, the Greeley-WeldEconomic Development ActionPartnership Inc. and the NorthernColorado Economic Development Corp.

Presidents of these organizationsappointed business leaders to anAwards Committee, which this yearsifted through more than 125 totalnominees — a record for this pro-gram. This year’s Awards Committeeincluded: Rene Clements, TheClements Co., Fort Collins; Tim Dow,The Dow Law Firm, Fort Collins; BobHessler, retired banker, Greeley;Lucille Mantelli, Kodak ColoradoDivision, Windsor; Kelly Peters,Loveland Center for BusinessDevelopment, Loveland; Ron

Schneider, Bank One, Loveland; andTed Warner, Connecting Point,Greeley

Winners of Bravo! Entrepreneurawards are chosen from Fort Collins,G r e e l e y ,Loveland andO u t l y i n gCommunit ies .Additionally, anE m e r g i n gE n t r e p r e n e u rAward, aL i f e t i m eA c h i e v e m e n tAward and aRegional SpiritAward are alsopresented.

The best traitsof entrepreneur-ship so evidenced by Neal and Schusteris demonstrated as well by our otherwinners. Here’s a rundown of all Bravo!Entrepreneur winners for 2004:

� Emerging Entrepreneur Award:Bruce Golden, Bernard E. Rollin &Ralph V. Switzer Jr., Optibrand Ltd.LLC, Fort Collins.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Fort Collins:David Bethune, Atrix Laboratories Inc.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Greeley: Timand Sally Warde, Northern ColoradoPaper.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Loveland:Mark Burke, Burke Cleaners and MisterNeat’s Formalwear.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, OutlyingCommunities: Mark Hopkins, PeakIndustries, Frederick.

� Regional Spirit Award: MonfortFamily Foundation, Eaton.

� Lifetime Achievement Awards: BillNeal, Wheeler Commercial PropertyServices LLC, Fort Collins, and LeoSchuster, Progressive Living StructuresInc., Loveland.

As always, we at The NorthernColorado Business Report need tothank our many partners, includingthose chambers of commerce and eco-nomic-development agencies notedabove. Thanks also to Invision/BuzzEvents, MediaTech Productions,Caldera Creative Services, GenteelGraphics, Palmer Flowers and Signs byTomorrow, and to our own Jim Rath,who jumped in to take care of manydetails.

Lastly, thanks to our many sponsors,including platinum sponsors FirstCommunity Bank and Kodak ColoradoDivision. Our reception sponsor wasHewlett-Packard Co., our dinner spon-sor was McWhinney Enterprises, andour corporate gift sponsor was C3Technology Inc. Gold sponsors includedEveritt Commercial Partners and FrontRange Real Estate Consultants Inc. Wealso benefited from having a recordnumber of table sponsors.

Jeff Nuttall and Christopher Woodare co-publishers of The NorthernColorado Business Report and foundingpartners of Bravo! Entrepreneur.

PUBLISHERS’NOTEBOOK

CHRISTOPHER

WOOD

JEFF NUTTALL


Bethune rides hard to rescueAtrix Laboratories from slumpBy Tom HackerThe Business Report

Sooner rather than later, DavidBethune will figure out what the leisurething is all about.

He wasalmost ready forit five years ago,when he waslured out of histhird retirementto resurrectsinking AtrixL a b o r a t o r i e sInc., a FortCollins biotechcompany whosesole productlanguished with-out a market.

It was a jobthat seemedclose to impossi-ble in November1999.

Investors inthis one-trickpony of a com-pany — and alame one at that— were on theedge of revolt,having seen their stock’s share valuetumble from slightly more than $20 toless than $5 in just two years.

Employees wore the grim faces ofdefeat, having watched their Atridoxperiodontal disease treatment fall flat asa flounder in the dental pharmaceuticalmarket.

“I was hesitant, but did it kind of as afavor to the board,” Bethune said,recalling how he and his wife werebuilding their retirement home inScottsdale, Ariz., when fellow Atrixboard members summoned him.

“The company was just down on itsknees with Atridox. The job was eitherto sell the company, or get it back on acourse of progress. When I got here, Icouldn’t stand the thought of just get-ting rid of it.”

When Bethune celebrates his fifth

anniversary next month, the date willmark a milestone that no one in 1999could have imagined. The merger of arevived Atrix with Canadian pharma-ceutical giant QLT Inc. — a deal thatmeant a six-fold increase in the value ofAtrix stock — will conclude within afew weeks of Bethune’s five-year mark.

The achievement is only part of whatled judges to select Bethune, the 64-year-old Atrix president and CEO, asthe Bravo! Entrepreneur of the Yearaward winner for Fort Collins.

Never in regional history have a pub-lic company’s fortunes reversed sosharply, and so quickly, as at Atrix,

“He’s a turnaround specialist,” saidclose friend David Neenan, president ofregional construction giant Neenan Cos.“He’s done that before a couple of timesin other places with other companies,and he worked the miracle again here.He’s one of the most effective leaders inthis town.”

Bethune’s company colleagues alsopush the credit toward him.

Michael Duncan, Atrix’s vice presi-dent and general manager, remembersthe darkest days, having joined thecompany in 1995 after a successfulcareer with Ciba-Geigy, now knownamong the pharmaceutical giants asNovartis Inc.

“A lot of the people who worked herethen were at the lowest point,” Duncansaid. “They had become familiar withfailure.”

The company was then in a near-futile strategy of getting Atridox, a time-release antibiotic, into the hands ofdentists who treat periodontal disease.

“Then Dave comes in, and the guy’sbasic principle is you get more luck theharder you work at it,” Duncan said. “Itwas like he was the manager of anunderdog baseball team, with every-body down-in-the-mouth. He said, ‘Ifyou believe in me and do what I ask,we’ll get there.’”

What Bethune asked for was diversi-fication. His vision was to take Atrix’score technology — a polymer-basedsubstance called Atrigel — and use it to

LEADING MAN — David Bethune, Chairman and CEO of Atrix Laboratories Inc., helped to liftthe Fort Collins pharmaceutical company from financial hardship to profitability.

COURTESY OF ATRIX LABORATORIES INC.

See ATRIX, 12B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Fort Collins––––––David Bethune

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of DTM were asking company officialsto assemble the pieces they manufac-tured.

This desire to manufacture and pro-vide labor for others, led to the incep-tion of Peak Industries.

"We started with a relatively smallcrew, maybe 15 people doing reallysimple assemblies, which includedsnapping together plastic parts,"Hopkins said. "We were fortunateenough to align ourselves with somepretty key players and we startedexpanding the business."

A year into the business, Hopkinssaid he realized the company was sell-ing labor, which could be found for alower rate in Asia.

"Selling labor in one of the high-est-labor cost countries in the worldis not a sustainable, long-termstrategic plan," he said. "We gottogether and thought of markets thatwere sustainable in the Coloradoeconomy and what we thought ofwas lower- to medium-volume, high-complexity, high-engineering con-tent, high-quality requirement mar-kets."

The company now employs about300 people with an average wage rate of$13 per hour. The company atmos-phere is one of acceptance and under-standing that different people have dif-ferent needs.

Peak has a coffee club, where mem-bers have 50 cents a week deductedfrom their paychecks to have the privi-lege of drinking Starbucks coffee atwork. Hopkins is active companywide

with his monthly "Lunch with Mark"meetings which allow employees to dis-cuss issues and ideas and he abides bythe "no-door" policy — no one has adoor.

The creation of an entrepreneurHopkins decided to move to Colorado

from upstate New York after falling inlove with the area during a ski trip.

He decided to work at Hewlett-Packard because the company hadfacilities in Colorado.

He worked at the Fort Collins loca-tion as a mechanical engineer and whilethere he decided he wanted to start hisown company, but knew he couldn't getthe experience he needed in his currentposition.

So, Hopkins accepted a position inBoulder working for Micromotion Inc.as its vice president of manufacturing.

"I knew I wanted to found my owncompany and I knew that I didn't knowwhat I needed to know, so I looked for aposition where I could get more practi-cal manufacturing management experi-ence," he said.

In 1996 Hopkins met Bob Grubb,president of DTM, through networkingwith the Boulder Chamber ofCommerce. The two sat down anddecided to start the manufacturing firmwith Hopkins at the helm.

"I think there are some character-istics of entrepreneurs that are pret-ty common and are well document-ed, but I think there are a lot ofthings you need to learn to be suc-cessful," he said. "Basically I think itcomes from passion to want to cre-ate something where there wasn'tsomething before. And if you havethat I think the rest of it can comenaturally."

OUTLYING, from 7B

Greeley, $10.5 million.� Colorado State University Monfort

Professor Program, Fort Collins, $2.5million.

The foundation was started in 1970by Warren and Edith Monfort, whosegrandchildren now oversee the organi-zation.

“Until ’87, it was just focused onWeld County,” said Dick Monfort.

In 1987, when ConAgra Foods Inc.acquired the Monfort Inc. meatpackingbusiness, the proceeds from the saleboosted the value of the foundation.The foundation’s assets doubled againin size in 2001 when the late KenMonfort passed away, leaving a large giftfrom his will.

“The foundation was really startedby my grandparents to help the com-munity,” said Dick Monfort, who runsthe foundation with his brother Charlie,sisters Kay and Kyle, and Ken’s widowMyra Monfort.

In the mid 1990s, the foundation— which counts assets of about $40million — started issuing large-scale grants for regional institu-tions, including Colorado StateUniversity, the University ofColorado Health Sciences Centerand, most recently, Children’sHospital in Denver.

In September the Monfortsannounced a $10 million donation tothe Denver-based hospital to beparceled out over a number of years.

The latter gift also reflects the central

mission of the foundation’s giving —children.

“We want to help children who havehad a tough blow in life, who are not asfortunate as we have been,” DickMonfort said.

Collectively, Dick and his siblingshave 15 children of their own, whichhas helped to influence the foundation’sfocus on children.

“We’re very fortunate we have chil-dren who are healthy,” he said.

The Monfort Children’s Clinic inGreeley, which opened in 1995, standsas the most enduring local symbol ofthe foundation’s emphasis on children’sissues.

“They care so much about this areaand its families and children,” Truswellsaid. “I think they recognize the futureof children is so important. They havejust reached out so much

The foundation’s ongoing goal is todistribute at least $2 million a year ingifts, Dick Monfort said.

While he declined to disclose a fulllist of recipients and their grants, thefoundation has announced about $25.5million in total gifts to about 200 agen-cies in the last five years.

SPIRIT, from 11 High-tech firm, restaurantmake mark in outlying areas

One of Northern Colorado’s leadinghigh-technology companies and one ofthe state’s landmark restaurants areamong the finalists this year for Bravo!Entrepreneur Outlying Communitiesaward.

Applied Films, located in theInterstate 25 corridor in southwestWeld County, was founded in 1976 inLongmont. The company, now headedby Tom Edman, provides thin film depo-sition solutions around the world for theflat panel display industry, architectur-al, automotive and solar glass, con-sumer products packaging and electron-ics industries.

The company employs over 500worldwide and in 2003 the companyreported $228.5 million in revenues, or48 per cent growth.

In 1950, Joe S. Johnson and one ofhis managers, Clayton Bearly staked theoutlines of a new gas station and cafe onColorado Highway 87. When Interstate25 opened in 1954, the legacy ofJohnson’s Corner truly began. Open 24hours a day, seven days a week, 365days a year, Johnson’s Corner has neverclosed its doors. Johnson died in 1981leaving his stepson Chauncey Taylor torun the operation. Taylor and his wife,Christy, are currently in the midst of a

$4 million to $5 million renovation ofthe landmark.

Colorado Inspection Agency, locatedin Windsor, inspects facilities during thephases of construction. It can inspectone-family homes to custom homes tomajor facilities. Billy Roberts and CraigCrader founded Colorado InspectionAgency in 1992. After many years ofinspecting buildings, they sold the busi-ness to Mike McCurdie in 1999.

Since taking over the business,McCurdie has created two more offices -- one in Westminster and the other inCentennial. His payroll has increasedfrom four employees in 1999 to 20.

Martin Lind founded Trollco Inc., aWindsor-based development company,along with former Denver Broncos starSteve Watson. The partnershiplaunched Water Valley, one of the state'spremiere master-planned golf coursecommunities, which features thePelican Lakes Golf and Country Club.

While Watson has since returned tothe Broncos organization as an assistantcoach and Lind has continued to buildin Water Valley. His projects alsoinclude the Eagle Crossing developmentin Loveland, and he’s a principalinvestor in the Colorado Eagles minorleague hockey team

D. MONFORT C. MONFORT


Commons.Neal also saw opportunities outside

of Northern Colorado, launching pro-jects in Wyoming and Nebraska, as wellas metropolitan in Denver.

At the same time, Neal linked upwith other partners outside Wheeler forprojects around the region, includingTuscany in Evans and Miramont in FortCollins.

Neal became known for his willing-ness to embrace unconventionalapproaches to development.

For instance, when the city of FortCollins implemented new land use stan-dards that emphasized higher densityhousing, many developers groused aboutthe heavy-handed city regulations. Nealopenly chastised the critics and devel-oped Rigden Farm as the first large-scalesubdivision under the new code.

“Rigden Farm was one of the bestthings we did and one of the worstthings we did,” Croci said. “It was agreat project — it still is a great project.Economically it will become very viablefor us.”

But Rigden Farm’s many delays andchanges experienced as a “guinea pig”project absorbed many of the would-beprofits, Croci acknowledged.Appropriately, Wheeler has gained per-mission to name William Neal Parkwaywithin the Rigden project.

Neal’s community interests madehim an unlikely figure in the develop-ment industry.

He patronized artists, led the chargefor taxes to buy public open space, andbacked environmental causes, such

clean up along the Cache la PoudreRiver. He also recorded an album as atribute to the river.

“His vision was the most importantthing,” Zahn said. “He wanted to makea constructive and positive contributionto the quality of life for the people livingin the homes in his subdivisions, or forthose working and operating businessesin the commercial centers he built.

‘A sense of timing’Leo Schuster showed instincts for

business decisions soon after he startedProgressive Living Structures, thehomebuilding company he founded in1978 with his wife Darlene.

“He would look at projects … otherpeople wouldn’t, and create somethingpopular,” Darlene said.

An example was his first develop-ment, a 24-unit condominium projectin Loveland called Locust Park.

A group of 18 would-be homebuyerswho knew each other were interested inliving near to each other. They wereeither retirees, or approaching retire-ment.

“In their mind it was kind of liketheir dream community,” Darlene said.And Leo delivered.

More recently, Schuster conceived ofthe idea for what be the Pyrenees devel-opment on an isolated piece of groundin northwest Loveland. His vision wasfor a French country-style home.

“People thought Loveland couldn’tsupport this type of product at thetime,” Darlene said. “Leo was a very cal-culated risk taker. He would some poten-tial and follow it through to success.”

Schuster’s ability to see potentialworked for people as well as for housingsubdivisions.

“Leo hired people who knew how todo their jobs,” Darlene said. “He wasnot somebody who micromanaged.”

The deft touch helped ProgressiveLiving Structures stay consistently prof-itable during periods of ups and downsin the real estate industry in NorthernColorado. Leo seemed to know whennot to commit to projects when demandwas about to wane, and when to investin advance of a growth curve.

“We survived when a lot of buildersdidn’t,” Darlene said. “Especially in the‘80s when the economy was flat.

Leo made great choices … He knewwhen not to be expanding. He would saythe most money he ever made was allthe money he never spent.”

At the time of this death, Schuster’scompany was building about 80 newhomes per year, and had started morethan 1,200 in 26 years of business.

Zahn credited Schuster with an “ele-gant sense of timing.”

An example was during the late1980s, when larger building companieswere leaving Northern Colorado at thepeak of a real estate slump.

“That’s when Leo bought most of theWagon Wheel subdivision (in FortCollins),” Zahn recalled. “It was cer-tainly counter intuitive … He steppedup and took a big risk. Ultimately the1990s were an exceptional period forNorthern Colorado in terms of growth.”

Schuster applied his business acu-men to other sectors. He invested in aseries of restaurants in Loveland,including Springfield’s and the CactusGrille. He hired Mike Severance in 1988to manage the Cactus Grille, eventuallyallowing Severance to invest in the busi-ness before selling to Severance entire-

ly.Severance now operates two restau-

rants, the Cactus Grille and Out ofBounds, in Loveland.

“Leo is the sole reason this business,actually these two restaurants, areviable,” Severance said.

“I never met another individual likehim. He had the ability to bring peopleto their full potential. He gave them theroom to stretch their wings, so to speak.I had been a restaurant manager forcorporations for a long time … I thinkLeo saw something in me.”

Schuster also saw something in hiscommunity.

He headed up the High Plains ArtsCouncil during the years whenLoveland was cementing its nationalreputation as a center for sculpture art.He also served on Loveland’s EconomicDevelopment Council board of direc-tors.

His donations of supplies, money andtime helped varied groups such asHabitat for Humanity, the Boy Scouts ofAmerica, Colorado State University andthe MS Society.

Different but equalZahn, who was a friend and associate

of both Neal and Schuster, said the twomen had distinctive personalities.

Neal was outgoing and rarely shiedfrom public view. Schuster, despite hiscommunity contributions, managed tostay out of the news.

But the two shared a commitment tohonest dealings.

“One thing that embodies both ofthese guys is that ethics was of theutmost importance,” he said. “A lot ofpeople give lip service to ‘win-win,’ butthat would be true of both of them.”

LIFETIME, from 10B


Energetic Wardes can’t settle for the status quo in businessBy Sue LentheBusiness Report Correspondent

GREELEY — Greeley entrepreneursTim and Sally Warde say their 26-year-old business, Northern Colorado Paper,is a work in progress.

“It’s a passion for me,” said TimWarde, who is known for rising earlyand working long hours. “You learnevery day.”

The couple built the wholesale paperdistribution company from scratch.They launched it at a time when theywere too naive to realize how hardbuilding a viable business might be,Sally Warde said.

That wasback in October1978. Tim hadbeen working ina family busi-ness — a corru-gated box com-pany owned byhis father calledC o n t a i n e rSystems. Whenthat businesssold to a largercorporate entity, Tim and Sally decidedthey wanted to stay in Greeley and havemore control over their future than cor-porate life might allow. They figured

they could buildon Tim’s existingcontacts.

“We naivelysaid, ‘Let’s starta distributionbusiness,’ ” Sallyrecalled. “Webought a carloadof paper prod-ucts, rented a lit-tle warehouseand Tim wentout on the streets with rolls of toiletpaper under his arms and knocked ondoors. At night I would do the books andall the secretarial work.”

Today Northern Colorado Paperextends well behind the region it isnamed for. The company delivers avariety of industrial paper products,shipping supplies, janitorial suppliesand equipment, hospital specialtyproducts and restaurant suppliesacross the Front Range and intosouthern Wyoming and southwesternColorado.

Clients range from small, indepen-dently owned businesses to governmententities and corporations.

“We always say there’s not a singlebusiness that couldn’t use some of ourproducts, whether it’s toilet paper,cleaning chemicals or whatever. It’sunlimited,” Sally said.

That simple statement embodies theinterest and energy that Tim and Sallybring to their “work in progress.”They’re passionate about the business,its customers and employees.

Associates use words like dedicationand fairness when describing Tim andSally.

Darrell McAllister, CEO of Bank ofChoice and a long-time friend of theWardes said, “They’re extremely hard-working, very diligent and very caringabout their employees and taking goodcare of their business.”

Tim is a member of the board ofdirectors for Bank of Choice, a role hewas selected for because of his businessacumen and community involvement,McAllister said.

For the Wardes, building NorthernColorado Paper has meant building goodcustomer relationships both inside andoutside the business, Tim said. “It’s cer-tainly not going to be a success unlessyou have good customers.”

Providing good service to the compa-ny’s external customers requires strongrelationships among its internal cus-tomers — the employees. “Two thingsare integral in our opinion and that isthe internal customers and the externalcustomers,” Tim said.

Both Wardes say they enjoy thevariety the business offers. “No day isthe same, no week is the same, noyear is the same,” Tim said. Andthat’s a good thing for a man whodescribes himself as “hyper to the

POWER COUPLE — Tim and Sally Warde,co-owners of Northern Colorado Paper inGreeley, have made the company suc-cessful with their strong work ethics.

COURTESY OF TIM AND SALLY WARDE

See GREELEY, 13B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Greeley––––––Tim & Sally Warde

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Alternative fuels start-up firmamong high-revving newcomers

Northern Colorado rising businessstars are represented among the final-ists for the Bravo! EmergingEntrepreneur award. Up-and-comingentrepreneurs include:

� Privately held Blue Sun Biodiesel, abreakthrough agriculture energy com-pany headed by Jeff Probst, developsoilseed energy crops and productionand distribution networks to sell high-performance biodiesel fuel. Founded in2001, Blue Sun's objective is to bringthe cost of biodiesel in line with petrole-um diesel. Blue Sun will be building a2.5-million-gallon per year biodieselplant in Alamosa to supply the compa-ny’s pre-sold distribution network.

� Front Range Real EstateConsultants started in September 1999with one employee and Julie O'Gorman.The business now has offices inLoveland, Cheyenne, Northglenn,Colorado Springs, Grand Lake andMontrose. In 2003 the company report-ed $2.6 million in revenues and nowemploys 34. The business offers a 24-hour turnaround time from inspectionto completion. Clients have includedbanks, insurance companies, the feder-al government, various state and localgovernments, private individuals andinvestors.

� Citadel Advisory Group, a FortCollins-based consultant for buyers andsellers of existing companies, The com-pany is reaping the fruits of increasedactivity in the mergers-and-acquisitionsmarketplace for small- and mid-sizedbusinesses. Co-owners John A. Smithand Chris C. Frevert started the compa-ny in 2002 and reported $3.7 million inrevenues in 2003. Citadel offers merger

and acquisition advisory services, suc-cession planning, company and intellec-tual property valuations, divestmentadvisory and strategic financial advisoryservices.

� Angelique Hunt was born andraised in New York City and met herhusband and business partner RickHunt — a Colorado native — while bothworked at Pfizer Inc. in New York City.The Hunts purchased Risk Removal — acompany created by the Neenan Co. in1989 — in October 2002. Angelique ismajority owner and president of thecompany and Rick is general managerand chief estimator.

Risk Removal cleans up asbestos,lead, mold, mercury, contaminated soilsand other biohazards for clients thatinclude schools, government, hospitals,military bases and residential cus-tomers.

The company has 15 full-timeemployees and serves a territory pri-marily in Colorado and Wyoming. RiskRemoval Inc. was recently rated No. 52in Colorado Biz magazine's Top 100women-owned businesses and No. 28in the Top 50 minority-owned busi-nesses.

HUNT PROBST

death. The OptiReader is a combination

handheld computer and ocular fundusdigital video camera. The user holds thereader in front of the eye of the animalfor less than a second. The camera cap-tures an image and the computer storesthe image and records the date, time,and location of the animal. The com-puter contains a global positioning sys-tem to provide accurate information.

The reader wand also contains a barcode reader to read codes imprinted ona carcass. Optibrand also developed awand, which reads any microchipsimplanted in the cattle.

This information is downloaded to acomputer and the customer can use theinformation to analyze herds and trackbirth traits. This information is thenencrypted into a database to track ananimal from birth to feedlot to slaugh-ter.

Another important safety feature ofthe program is the security of theOptiReader. The device housing cannotbe opened without disabling the device,making the system tamper-proof.

"For larger customers we chargethem a subscription fee rather than aper-click fee," Golden said. "It is ourcustomers’ data so we give them thehardware and the software that man-

ages the data. We monitor what is goingon in real time, and we take care of thehardware."

Leading in the marketplaceOptibrand is a graduate of the Fort

Collins Virtual Incubator, which pro-vides discounted professional servicesto start-up companies. The companygraduated from the incubator — nowcalled the Fort Collins TechnologyIncubator — in April 2003, and is nowthe organization’s shining star.

"When they started in the incubatorthey held onto our coat tails, but now Ifeel like we are holding on to their coattails as they are more and more suc-cessful," said Kathy Kregel, executivedirector of the Fort Collins TechnologyIncubator. "I am just tickled for them atall of their success."

The company has a select few cus-tomers including Greeley-based Swift &Co. and Denver-based Maverick RanchNatural Meats. Within the next fiveyears, Golden said he hopes to have aninternational presence in all major live-stock species and to be a larger providerin the food safety world.

The company is on track to reachthose goals. While Golden declined tocomment on revenues, he mentionedthe company now employs 20 peopleand recently moved to a 4,800-square-foot office space in the Opera Galleriain downtown Fort Collins, which dou-bled the previous headquarters space.

EMERGING, from 9B


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Burke avoids bad advice, findsperfect fit with formalwear ideaKristen S. BastianThe Business Report

LOVELAND — As the oldest of fivechildren and the possible heir to a drycleaning business, a young Mark Burkeknew one thing; he wanted to get out ofhis hometown of Davenport, Iowa.

He found his escape and success inNorthern Colorado. Burke came to FortCollins to attend Colorado StateUniversity. It was while he was still asenior at the school that he decided tostart his own business. He wanted to dosomething different, something that thearea didn’t already have. He decided toopen a tuxedo shop.

Burke approached his academic advi-sor with his vision. His advisor suggest-ed making the business plan a class pro-ject. In the end, the class determinedthat a tuxedo business was destined tofail in the area.

At the time, the population ofLarimer County was just shy of120,000. Fortunately, Burke didn’theed his classmates’ warnings. Hecouldn’t because he had already securedthe funding and signed a lease with theFort Collins Foothills Fashion Mall. In1974, Burke opened his first business,Mister Neat’s Formalwear.

Today, that first store is the only orig-inal tenant of the mall still operatingunder the original ownership. Burkenow has 20 stores stretching across theFront Range from Cheyenne, Wyo., toColorado Springs.

In 1996, Burke purchased dry clean-ing equipment to handle the needs ofMister Neat’s. Prior to doing the servicein-house, the company’s laundryexpense was about $500,000 annually.

“It wasn’t just about saving money, itwas about controlling quality,” Burke said.

The quality of dry cleaning was sogood that Burke opened up a store inFort Collins to serve as a pick-up centerfor the central dry cleaning operations— Burke Cleaners.

There are four Burke Cleaners inFort Collins and two in Loveland. All ofthe cleaning is still done at the centraloperations, but now 80 percent of thecleaning is for customers and only 20percent is for Mister Neat’s.

Burke will not take all of the creditfor his success.

“The word entrepreneurship doesn’t

mean that muchbecause no onedoes it alone,”he said. Thekey to the suc-cess is the man-agement team.”

N a n c yHaboush, presi-dent of MisterNeat’s, has beenwith the compa-ny since 1988.Keith Longwell,senior vice pres-ident has beenwith the compa-ny since 1989.Bret Ellis, thechief financialofficer, startedwith the compa-ny in 2000.

Haboush saidthe reason shehas stayed isbecause ofBurke and his work ethic. She said heis not the typical “desk executive.”

“That’s not the kind of leader he is,”she said. “He is still really involved withthe company because he is passionateabout it.”

She said he visits the stores often andstill works with the customers.

“When people find out he’s the CEO,they’re surprised,” she said.

Haboush also said that Burke’s dedi-cation to all of his employees is whatkeeps the company together.

“He knows every employee in our com-pany by name and what store they workin,” she said. In a company with morethan 200 employees, that’s impressive.

Burke holds quarterly company meet-ings for all full- and part-time employees.These meeting are more like events.They’re held at a Denver hotel and fea-ture a dinner, and what’s best is theemployees get paid for being there.

“He’s a good boss,” said Will Sebra, anemployee at the Fort Collins FoothillsMall store. “He knows what he wants andhe wants it done that way. It’s goodbecause he knows what he is doing.”

Sebra, a speech communications/Spanishmajor at Colorado State University, was beenemployed with Mister Neat’s for three years.

ABOVE THE CROWD — Mark Burke, founder of Mister Neat’s Formalwear and BurkeCleaners, stands on a platform overlooking his Loveland warehouse filled with tuxedos.

KRISTEN BASTIAN • THE BUSINESS REPORT

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Loveland––––––MarkBurke

See LOVELAND, 14B


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Ex-HP engineer helps company scale peaks in competitive sector

By Kim LockThe Business Report

FREDERICK — When large compa-nies need to manufacture products theylook to Peak Industries Inc. inLongmont to provide the detailed ser-vices they require.

The company specializes in manu-facturing low- to mid-quantity batchesof high-value products. This includesmedial equipment used in hospitals anddoctors' offices and commercial goodsused by professionals and companiesnationwide.

Peak manufactures commercialproducts for Hewlett-Packard Co.,Coinstar Inc. and Particle MeasuringSystems Inc. The company builds opti-cal jukebox data storage systems, self-service kiosks and particle measure-ment counters for the respective com-panies.

"We build product for StorageTekfor Hewlett-Packard and for some ofthe big Front Range names in terms ofstorage equipment," said MarkHopkins, president of Peak Industries."And then we do some things for com-panies you wouldn't necessarily haveheard of. We have a lot of California-

based cus-tomers ... andwe have somesmaller locallybased busi-nesses."

H e w l e t t -Packard hasPeak Industriesbuild its opticaljukebox datastorage systembecause thecompany has arecord of quali-ty.

"Mark is anex-HP guy whoknows our busi-ness needs andhas been a greatpartner who isbuilding thesepretty complexpieces ofm a c h i n e r y, "said Jeff Kato,director of Hewlett-Packard's automa-tion business segment of data storage."They are more nimble and are moreadaptable to our products than othersare.

Peak manufactures 150 devices amonth for Hewlett-Packard. Thesedevices range from desktop storagemodules to devices that are largeenough to stand it.

Peak is also a registered devicemanufacturer with the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration and it builds allof its medical products under FDAscrutiny.

"Typically we are building complexmachinery like a kidney dialysismachine," Hopkins said.

The company manufactures a metab-olism analyzer for Healthetech Inc, ahome hemodialysis machine for AksysLtd. and a spinal nerve detection sys-

tem for Nuvasive Inc. In 2004, Hopkins said the company

hopes to have $75 million in revenues.

Out of plasticPeak Industries was founded in

1996 as a spin off of DTM ProductsInc., a Longmont-based injection-molding firm. At the time, customers

Bravo!Entrepreneur —OutlyingCommunities––––––Mark Hopkins

See OUTLYING, 18B

ASSEMBLY LINE — Mark Hopkins, president of Peak Industries, stands with a Coinstarchange machine. Coinstar is among the clients for Peak, which is a contract manufacturerbased in southwest Weld County.

KIM LOCK • THE BUSINESS REPORT

Hopkins’ success earns

Bravo! for outlying areas;

Peak nears $75M in sales


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He transferred from the Denver store a yearago to attend the university. He said thecompany is very flexible with his schedulefor school.

Burke believes in supporting schools.This year, the company started a schol-arship program and gave out $1,000scholarships to 10 students all across theFront Range. He hopes to increase theamount of scholarships given each year.

The stores are prospering. The com-bined revenues for 2003 were about $10million. Burke said he’s not done yet. Hesaid he plans to expand both businesses.

He is looking to build more BurkeCleaners in Fort Collins and Lovelandand eventually move into Greeley andLongmont. The company could open asmany as 15 more locations in the nextcouple of years; after that the facilitywill need to be expanded.

Mister Neat’s might get two morestores in the metro area in the nearfuture. Burke also said he has interestin expanding into Utah in the Salt Lakearea and into New Mexico. He estimat-ed this could happen as soon as 2006.

Burke never expected the companywould be so big. His constant goal hasalways only to be the best.

“We don’t rent a tux; we sell an expe-rience,” he said.

LOVELAND, from 6B

Loveland 2004 finalists have business growth in commonKristen S. BastianThe Business Report

LOVELAND — From meager begin-nings, David Yowell built MM Solutionsinto a company 28-employees strongwith nationally recognized clients.

Yowell started the company in hisgarage with a pickup and a cell phonewhile he was working for his father-in-lawat Mail Mart. His first major job was crat-ing for the annual sculpture show inLoveland. He moved from there to con-solidating box orders and doing packagingfor the local mailing companies and thenproviding order fulfillment for TeledyneWaterpik. He retained a building andincorporated the business in 1994.

Now Yowell serves companies such asAgilent, Advanced Energy, Celestica andDakocytomation. MM Solutions offerslogistics services, freight management,crating and packaging and packagingmaterials. The 2003 sales were up about50 percent from the previous year.

Marcia Sampson runs Eldon JamesCorp. full-steam ahead. Since she tookcontrol of the reins in 2000, she’s ush-ered through the expansion of the prod-uct line, the company’s professional cer-tification and registration and anincrease in distributor agreementsnationally and internationally.

The company manufactures tubesand hose fittings for applications inindustries ranging from beverage dis-pensing to medical products.

Sampson’s dedication to seeing EldonJames grow led her to spend a year trav-eling the country, living in a 30-foot trail-er. Her dedication to her children led herto bring them along for the journey.

The company’s 2003 revenues were$2.6 million and they employed 24 people.

In 1982, Susan Jessup took over man-agement of Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch.The Jessup family operated the ranchsince it was opened to the public in 1946.

Named "Best Family Vacation" byFrommer's Colorado guidebook andrated among the "top ten Colorado DudeRanches" by True West Magazine

During the 1990s, the ranch expand-ed its customer base from guest ranchtourists to businesses looking for aunique retreat, weddings and familyreunions. There are now five meetingrooms suited for parties of 10 to 150.

The ranch maintains a herd of 80 hors-es and employs 65 to 70 people in the sum-mer and 25 through the winter months.

The ranch struggled to remain open in theearly 1980s but has steadily moved intothe black after Susan Jessup began anactive marketing program in 1987.

Kroll Factual Data Inc. specializes inbackground information for mortgagelending, employment screening andother types of business information.

Jerald Donnan started Factual DataCorp. with his wife, Marcia, as a two-person mortgage-credit-reportingagency in Fort Collins in 1985. Thebusiness relocated to Loveland in 1998.

In 2003, New York-based Kroll Inc.purchased Factual Data Corp., withunanimous approval from its board ofdirectors, for $115 million in cash andstocks. Chairman and CEO Donnanbecame president of the newly formedKroll Factual Data Inc.

"Joining Kroll is a win for our share-holders, our customers and our employ-ees alike," he said in a statement.

Donnan retired at the end of 2003,turning the leadership over to his sonJames Donnan.

For the second quarter of 2003, thelast that Donnan served as chairmanand CEO, the company reported $24million in revenues, a 70 percentincrease over second quarter 2002.

Jerald is currently looking at a num-ber of local business opportunities tostart or venture; his entrepreneurialspirit and drive are still going strongsince his retirement from Factual Data.

DONNAN JESSUP

YOWELL SAMPSON


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point that I don’t like to sit in oneplace too long.”

Sally describes Tim as the drivingforce in the business, the one whoworks 14 hours a day connecting withcustomers and vendors. “I always tellTim he’s like a superman. He can get ona forklift and work in the warehouse. ...He drives trucks, loads trucks.”

Tim says Sally doesn’t give herselfenough credit. “She does the HR andheads up the management team.”

Sally has long since stepped out ofthe accounting and helps with sales.“I’m like Tim, I don’t really like to sitstill and be in the office.” She also likesto be active in the community and par-

ticipates in a long list of organizationsincluding the Economic DevelopmentAction Partnership, United Way andthe chamber of commerce.

The business is based out of a75,000-square-foot warehouse inGreeley. A branch operation with asmaller warehouse is located in Pueblo.Tim and Sally say they look towardmore growth for their company. Theymay put a warehouse in Durango andare considering a branch in Denver.They may look at reaching into NewMexico and farther into Wyoming.

Tim and Sally believe growth andchange in business is important. Timsaid, “The minute you think you wantto take anything for granted or youwant to maintain a status quo you’regoing to probably go downhill or back-wards.”

GREELEY, from 4B

By Business Report staff

New Frontier Bank opened inGreeley in 1998 in a tiny modularbuilding with $6 million in capital.Since then, chairman and CEO LarrySeastrom has guided the company tobecome a $475 million banking opera-tion with 93 employees at two loca-tions.

Seastrom’s leadership has included aclose attention to employee needs. Hecreated the creation a position with theunique title of vice president of culturalenhancement, which focuses on inter-

nal communication and keepingemployees engaged in bank operations.

Lee and Warren Yoder continue anear-century old legacy of Weld CountyGarage, which the father and son duohas helped to operate since 1982.

Lee Yoder moved to Greeley in1976 and went to work for Garnseyand Wheeler Ford. But he alwaysknew he wanted his own dealershipand made that dream come true sixyears later.

Weld County Garage opened indowntown Greeley in 1908. The dealer-ship recently moved to the U.S.

Highway 34 Bypass in west Greeley.Warren Yoder is general manager of

the company, which sells GM, Buickand Pontiac cars and trucks. The deal-ership employs about 140.

Ted Warner runs Connecting Point ofGreeley, an information technology ser-vices firm that provides computer sup-port for Northern Colorado businessclients.

The company recently secured athree-year deal, in alliance with anotherfirm, to develop a remote-access database system for a collection of WeldCounty health care agencies.

Connecting Point totals more than $5million a year in revenue and employs20 people.

Bi-State Machinery President DuaneWallin recently expanded his JohnDeere agricultural equipment businesswhen he acquired a rival dealer in FortCollins. With the purchase, he grew hisbusiness from $23 million in annualsales to nearly $30 million.

Wallin took over Bi-State in 1990. Heprospered despite a slump in farmprices, in part by diversifying into lawn-and-garden and construction equip-ment.

Greeley finalists reflect wide range of industries

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FORT COLLINS — It began as a rad-ical idea to end cattle branding. Now itcould be the key to the future of theAmerican beef market.

Optibrand Ltd. LLC launched itsOptiReader to the commercial marketat the end of 2003 — one week after acow in Washington was discovered to beinfected with Bovine SpongiformEnchphalopathy, more commonlyknown "Mad Cow Disease".

The serendipitous timing worked inOptibrand's favor; the company is receiv-ing worldwide attention in trade maga-zines and major news outlets like CBS andUSA Today. Earlier this month membersof Japan's Nippon media visited Optibrandto find out more about the reader.

"We have a press delegation out everyother week or so," said Bruce Golden,Optibrand's CEO.

The U.S. Department of Agriculturehas decided to let the marketplacedetermine the technology used in theNational Animal Identification System.This is good news for Optibrandbecause the company's system is so ver-satile.

"Our technology is one of many alter-

natives thatmeets the stan-dards of NAIS,"Golden said."Our customersare gravitatingtowards ours o l u t i o nbecause of thesecure featuresno other tech-nology offers."

The safety oftechnology

Optibrand isbuilt on the sim-ple idea of find-ing a way toidentify cattlefrom birth tob u t c h e r .Ranchers andfeedlot opera-tors traditional-ly relied on apaper systemwhich trackedcattle by their individual ear tag num-bers and by branding on the rear.

The company's Secure IdentityPreservation system offers a humaneand non-invasive method to identifylivestock by photographing the retina.

The device uses the retinal vascularpattern — the pattern of blood vesselslocated at the back of the eye. The reti-nal vascular pattern is present frombirth, never changing from birth to

Optibrand quick to make mark with its livestock tracking tool

EYE OF INVENTION — Bruce Golden, CEO of Optibrand Ltd., displays the OptiReader systemhe helped develop. The system collects retinal images of cattle to prove their identity. Areal-time retinal scan is shown on the screen behind Golden. The device can also read barcodes and take pictures of ear tags or other identifying features to track the cow.


See EMERGING, 15B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Emerging Entrepreneur––––––Bruce Goldan,Bernard E. Rollin& Ralph V. Switzer

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deliver drugs to treat illness far beyondthe narrow realm of dental disease.

He asked for speed. He wanted thenew products in and out of the federalFood and Drug Administration regulato-ry maze within a few, not a dozen,years.

Reinvigorated Atrix workers deliv-ered Eligard, a time-release treatmentfor prostate cancer, that has become thecompany’s flagship product.

He asked for commitment.

“My first job was looking at theculture, and the morale, and decid-ing whether we could fix thisthing,” Bethune said. “My first goalwas to develop a vision that peoplecould latch onto. It worked, and westarted trying to build somethinghere.”

The house that Bethune and 200Atrix employees built was attractiveenough to lure the interest of QLT, acash-rich Canadian firm that had aneye-disease drug as its runaway suc-cess.

Five years after Bethune’s arrival,shareholders and employees alike have

found what Bethune told them wasahead. Now Atrix’s CEO says its time tospend more time on a horse, or aHarley, than behind his president’sdesk.

He recently bought his third Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a $20,000 UltraClassic Electra Glide — a hog that is,well, presidential.

“I splurged and bought some heatedgrips,” he confessed. “They really are alot more comfortable.”

When not on weekend rides in themountains with a group, includingDuncan, that has become almost a com-pany Harley club, Bethune and his wife

are likely to be at a Loveland horse farmwhere six cutting horses keep bothbusy.

Ah, the office is still there — if onlyfor a few more months.

“I’m going to be on board during thetransition, because I’ve got a lot of goodpeople that we care about,” Bethunesaid, adding he’ll stay on the board ofthe combined company once the merg-er is complete.

“Then, I really do want to spend asmuch time as I can raising some world-class quarter horses, and find out aboutthis leisure thing. I have friends whohave told me about it.”

ATRIX, from 3B

Fort Collins Bravo! finalists display economic diversityAdvertising, electronic media, com-

mercial real estate and the restaurantbusiness are sectors that spawned the2004 finalists for The NorthernColorado Business Report’s Bravo!Entrepreneur of the Year Award forFort Collins:

� Thirty-two years of steady growthhave marked Mike Burns’ progress indelivering advertising services to FortCollins clients. Along the way, BurnsMarketing Communications Inc. alsobecame a leader in community service,providing pro bono work for a broadspectrum of non-profit clients includingthe Boys & Girls Clubs of LarimerCounty, Wingshadow, FoothillsGateway and the Discovery ScienceCenter.

� Maury Dobbie, the founder and

owner of MediaTech Productions Inc.,has been an entrepreneur since the ageof 19 and has owned five diverse com-panies since 1979.

She has also stepped forward as aleader in the women-owned businesscommunity, sharing tricks of her vari-ous trades with other female entrepre-neurs.

Media Tech, celebrating its 10thanniversary this year, has reapednumerous national awards for televisionand Internet production work. Dobbie isthe previous winner of a Bravo! Award,the 2002 honor for the region’s emerg-ing entrepreneur.

� Breaking away from a solid basewithout leaving it completely behind,Tom Livingston and Stu MacMillan havetaken their 18-year careers with Everitt

Cos. to another level with EverittCommercial Partners, the project man-agement arm of the company.

Formed in 1995, the group headed byMacMillan and Livingston has helpedchange the Fort Collins landscape withprojects such as the Centre forAdvanced Technology, Oakridge

Business Park and Colorado StateUniversity’s Natural Resource ResearchCampus.

� Rayno Seaser and his wife,Patty, opened their first Egg and Irestaurant in Fort Collins in 1987,and it quickly became one of thecity’s favorite breakfast-and-lunchdining venues. Classical music andfresh flowers, amenities usuallyreserved for fine-dining dinner estab-lishments, were part of the Egg and Iformula that led Seaser to own andmanage four other locations in thenorthern Front Range, and launch afranchise company that controlsanother nine locations in Coloradoand Wyoming. The company alsoplans to open three more franchisesby early next year.

BURNS SEASER


Monfort Foundation lendsweight to charitable effortsBy Robert BaunThe Business Report

EATON — In the late stages of its2001-2002 fundraising campaign, theprospects forthe United Wayof Weld Countywere lookinggrim.

The charita-ble agency wasnearly $400,000short of its goalwith less than amonth beforethe deadline.Many would-bedonors werea p p a r e n t l ytapped out aftergiving money tohelp with theaftermath of theSept. 11 terror-ist attacks.Furthermore,the stock mar-ket was indecline, puttingextra pressureon the potentialpool charitable funds.

That’s when the Monfort FamilyFoundation came into the picture, cut-ting a check for $350,000 to put theUnited Way within reach of its goal.

In ensuing years, the foundation

has added gifts of $400,000 each yearto the United Way, one of a growinglist of causes to benefit from the fami-ly which is synonymous with WeldCounty’s status as an agribusinesspowerhouse.

“They are very generous to UnitedWay,” said Jeannine Truswell, executivedirector of the United Way of WeldCounty. “If you look at the last 10 years,it would be millions.”

United Way is one of the MonfortFamily Foundation’s regular beneficia-ries — Foundation trustees DickMonfort, Kay (Monfort) Ward and Kyle(Monfort) Futo have all served on theUnited Way’s board of directors at vari-ous times.

“Not only is it a family foundation,but they individually have all lenttheir leadership,” Truswell said. Still,it’s just one of a long list of granteesthat includes causes such as theAmerican Cancer Society, Colorado 4-H, Habitat for Humanity, Meals onWheels, North Colorado MedicalCenter Foundation, the SpecialOlympics, the University of NorthernColorado and the Weld Food Bank.

Major gifts announced in recent yearsinclude:

� The Children’s Hospital, Denver,$10 million.

� University of Colorado HealthSciences Center, Denver, $5 million.

� The University of NorthernColorado Monfort College of Business,

GIFT GIVING — A gift from the Monfort Family Foundation helped to fund development ofColorado State University’s Edna Rizley Griffin Concert Hall, which opened in April. TheMonfort Foundation is the 2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur Regional Spirt award winner.


Bravo!Entrepreneur —Regional Spirit––––––Monfort FamilyFoundation

See SPIRIT, 18B

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Grand Lake970.887.9840

Montrose970.252.0319

Cheyenne307.637.4484

What makes Adecco

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T E C H N I C A L

S C I E N T I F I C

Light Industrial, Clerical, Administrative,Word Processing

IT, Help Desk, Programmers,Engineers, Designers

Biologists, Chemists, Clinical ResearchSpecialists, Technicians

Neal, Schuster shared zest for business, communitiesBy Robert BaunThe Business Report

In 1976 Bill Neal gave up his job as astaff planner with the city of Greeley’splanning department to delve into realestate. The early career change put Nealon a track to become one of the mostinstrumental figures in NorthernColorado’s development over the pastquarter century.

Just a year later, Leo Schusterarrived in Loveland , fresh out of col-lege, plying a trade as a handyman. In1978 he bought three housing lots inMasonville. It was the first step to hiscompany’s construction of 1,200 newhomes throughout the region, as well asbusiness and community interests thatincluded restaurants and the arts.

Neal’s and Schuster’s paths eventual-ly crossed in the 1980s. To each other,they would become friends, businessallies, and inspirations. To those whoworked with them, they would becomementors and leaders in their respectivefirms.

Neal and Schuster died in a planecrash on July 24, but their contribu-tions and legacies are recognized with2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur LifetimeAchievement award from The NorthernColorado Business Report.

Origins of influenceNeal cut his teeth in the real estate

business at Wheeler Realty in Greeley,under the guidance of John R. P.

Wheeler. He later opened a Wheeleroffice in Fort Collins, and assisted in thedevelopment of subdivisions like BrownFarm and Fairbrooke.

Neal would eventually acquire theWheeler business in its entirety, andbecame more directly involved in resi-dential land development, said JoeZahn, a long-time friend of both Nealand Schuster.

Even as he was establishing his ownposition in the industry, Zahn recalledthat Neal “always took people under his

wing. There are a lot of successful realestate people that came up under Bill’stutelage.”

In the late 1980s Neal’s influence inthe community was recognized by then-Gov. Roy Romer, who picked Neal torepresent Northern Colorado on thestate’s Transportation Commission.

Neal’s business interests expanded inthe 1990s when he formed a commer-cial real estate operation, WheelerCommercial Property Services, in 1995along with partner Fred Croci.

The gregarious Neal served as thepublic face of the Wheeler partnership.

“His main function was to try to finddeals and tohandle the polit-ical aspects” ofthe developmentprocess, as wellas lining up nec-essary investors,Croci said. “ Idid the gruntwork, so tospeak.”

The role fitNeal’s personali-ty.

“He knewe v e r y b o d y , ”Croci said. “Hewas just such aneasy going sortof guy. Nothingever riled Bill.He could ana-lyze things veryquickly on hisfeet. He knewwho to talk too.If it wasn’t anarea of his expertise, he knew how to getin touch with people who could helphim.”

Wheeler Commercial put togethertrend setting projects in Fort Collinsand Windsor, such as Poudre ValleyPlaza, Rigden Farm, and Windsor

See LIFETIME, 17B

HIGH ACHIEVERS — Bill Neal, left, and Leo Schuster, each made a deep impression onNorthern Colorado with their business success and community service. The two men diedearlier this year in a plane crash.

COURTESY OF WHEELER COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, PROGRESSIVE LIVING STRUCTURES

Bravo!Entrepreneur —LifetimeAchivement––––––Bill Neal & Leo Schuster


Monfort Foundation lendsweight to charitable effortsBy Robert BaunThe Business Report

EATON — In the late stages of its2001-2002 fundraising campaign, theprospects forthe United Wayof Weld Countywere lookinggrim.

The charita-ble agency wasnearly $400,000short of its goalwith less than amonth beforethe deadline.Many would-bedonors werea p p a r e n t l ytapped out aftergiving money tohelp with theaftermath of theSept. 11 terror-ist attacks.Furthermore,the stock mar-ket was indecline, puttingextra pressureon the potentialpool charitable funds.

That’s when the Monfort FamilyFoundation came into the picture, cut-ting a check for $350,000 to put theUnited Way within reach of its goal.

In ensuing years, the foundation

has added gifts of $400,000 each yearto the United Way, one of a growinglist of causes to benefit from the fami-ly which is synonymous with WeldCounty’s status as an agribusinesspowerhouse.

“They are very generous to UnitedWay,” said Jeannine Truswell, executivedirector of the United Way of WeldCounty. “If you look at the last 10 years,it would be millions.”

United Way is one of the MonfortFamily Foundation’s regular beneficia-ries — Foundation trustees DickMonfort, Kay (Monfort) Ward and Kyle(Monfort) Futo have all served on theUnited Way’s board of directors at vari-ous times.

“Not only is it a family foundation,but they individually have all lenttheir leadership,” Truswell said. Still,it’s just one of a long list of granteesthat includes causes such as theAmerican Cancer Society, Colorado 4-H, Habitat for Humanity, Meals onWheels, North Colorado MedicalCenter Foundation, the SpecialOlympics, the University of NorthernColorado and the Weld Food Bank.

Major gifts announced in recent yearsinclude:

� The Children’s Hospital, Denver,$10 million.

� University of Colorado HealthSciences Center, Denver, $5 million.

� The University of NorthernColorado Monfort College of Business,

GIFT GIVING — A gift from the Monfort Family Foundation helped to fund development ofColorado State University’s Edna Rizley Griffin Concert Hall, which opened in April. TheMonfort Foundation is the 2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur Regional Spirt award winner.


Bravo!Entrepreneur —Regional Spirit––––––Monfort FamilyFoundation

See SPIRIT, 18B

Porter Industries, Inc. 5202 Granite Street, Loveland, CO 80538

1-800-352-5239 X 205

www.porterindustries.comwww.maid-clean.com

O P T I M I S T I C

Professional Cleaning Since 1967

418 8th St. SE, Unit B11, Loveland, CO 80537-6492www.kimble-precision.com

970.667.2778 | Fax: 970.667.1232

Prototyping

Short Run Production

Electro-Mechanical Assembly

CNC Milling • CNC Turning

Tooling & Fixturing

Production Machining

“Turn Key Solutions”


FRONT RANGE REAL ESTATECONSULTANTS, INC.S e r v i n g Co l o ra d o a n d W yo m i n g

L o v e l a n d9 7 0 . 6 6 9 . 9 1 6 1

w w w . f r r e c i . c o m

Appraisals...Residential. Commercial. Resort.

Northglenn303.252.9766

Southern Colorado719.544.7817

Grand Lake970.887.9840

Montrose970.252.0319

Cheyenne307.637.4484

What makes Adecco

Adecco Staffing > 970.204.4801Adecco Technical > 970.377.2944T H E E M P L O Y M E N T P E O P L E ®

STAND OUT.-Specialized Divisions-

S T A F F I N G

T E C H N I C A L

S C I E N T I F I C

Light Industrial, Clerical, Administrative,Word Processing

IT, Help Desk, Programmers,Engineers, Designers

Biologists, Chemists, Clinical ResearchSpecialists, Technicians

Neal, Schuster shared zest for business, communitiesBy Robert BaunThe Business Report

In 1976 Bill Neal gave up his job as astaff planner with the city of Greeley’splanning department to delve into realestate. The early career change put Nealon a track to become one of the mostinstrumental figures in NorthernColorado’s development over the pastquarter century.

Just a year later, Leo Schusterarrived in Loveland , fresh out of col-lege, plying a trade as a handyman. In1978 he bought three housing lots inMasonville. It was the first step to hiscompany’s construction of 1,200 newhomes throughout the region, as well asbusiness and community interests thatincluded restaurants and the arts.

Neal’s and Schuster’s paths eventual-ly crossed in the 1980s. To each other,they would become friends, businessallies, and inspirations. To those whoworked with them, they would becomementors and leaders in their respectivefirms.

Neal and Schuster died in a planecrash on July 24, but their contribu-tions and legacies are recognized with2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur LifetimeAchievement award from The NorthernColorado Business Report.

Origins of influenceNeal cut his teeth in the real estate

business at Wheeler Realty in Greeley,under the guidance of John R. P.

Wheeler. He later opened a Wheeleroffice in Fort Collins, and assisted in thedevelopment of subdivisions like BrownFarm and Fairbrooke.

Neal would eventually acquire theWheeler business in its entirety, andbecame more directly involved in resi-dential land development, said JoeZahn, a long-time friend of both Nealand Schuster.

Even as he was establishing his ownposition in the industry, Zahn recalledthat Neal “always took people under his

wing. There are a lot of successful realestate people that came up under Bill’stutelage.”

In the late 1980s Neal’s influence inthe community was recognized by then-Gov. Roy Romer, who picked Neal torepresent Northern Colorado on thestate’s Transportation Commission.

Neal’s business interests expanded inthe 1990s when he formed a commer-cial real estate operation, WheelerCommercial Property Services, in 1995along with partner Fred Croci.

The gregarious Neal served as thepublic face of the Wheeler partnership.

“His main function was to try to finddeals and tohandle the polit-ical aspects” ofthe developmentprocess, as wellas lining up nec-essary investors,Croci said. “ Idid the gruntwork, so tospeak.”

The role fitNeal’s personali-ty.

“He knewe v e r y b o d y , ”Croci said. “Hewas just such aneasy going sortof guy. Nothingever riled Bill.He could ana-lyze things veryquickly on hisfeet. He knewwho to talk too.If it wasn’t anarea of his expertise, he knew how to getin touch with people who could helphim.”

Wheeler Commercial put togethertrend setting projects in Fort Collinsand Windsor, such as Poudre ValleyPlaza, Rigden Farm, and Windsor

See LIFETIME, 17B

HIGH ACHIEVERS — Bill Neal, left, and Leo Schuster, each made a deep impression onNorthern Colorado with their business success and community service. The two men diedearlier this year in a plane crash.

COURTESY OF WHEELER COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, PROGRESSIVE LIVING STRUCTURES

Bravo!Entrepreneur —LifetimeAchivement––––––Bill Neal & Leo Schuster



FORT COLLINS — It began as a rad-ical idea to end cattle branding. Now itcould be the key to the future of theAmerican beef market.

Optibrand Ltd. LLC launched itsOptiReader to the commercial marketat the end of 2003 — one week after acow in Washington was discovered to beinfected with Bovine SpongiformEnchphalopathy, more commonlyknown "Mad Cow Disease".

The serendipitous timing worked inOptibrand's favor; the company is receiv-ing worldwide attention in trade maga-zines and major news outlets like CBS andUSA Today. Earlier this month membersof Japan's Nippon media visited Optibrandto find out more about the reader.

"We have a press delegation out everyother week or so," said Bruce Golden,Optibrand's CEO.

The U.S. Department of Agriculturehas decided to let the marketplacedetermine the technology used in theNational Animal Identification System.This is good news for Optibrandbecause the company's system is so ver-satile.

"Our technology is one of many alter-

natives thatmeets the stan-dards of NAIS,"Golden said."Our customersare gravitatingtowards ours o l u t i o nbecause of thesecure featuresno other tech-nology offers."

The safety oftechnology

Optibrand isbuilt on the sim-ple idea of find-ing a way toidentify cattlefrom birth tob u t c h e r .Ranchers andfeedlot opera-tors traditional-ly relied on apaper systemwhich trackedcattle by their individual ear tag num-bers and by branding on the rear.

The company's Secure IdentityPreservation system offers a humaneand non-invasive method to identifylivestock by photographing the retina.

The device uses the retinal vascularpattern — the pattern of blood vesselslocated at the back of the eye. The reti-nal vascular pattern is present frombirth, never changing from birth to

Optibrand quick to make mark with its livestock tracking tool

EYE OF INVENTION — Bruce Golden, CEO of Optibrand Ltd., displays the OptiReader systemhe helped develop. The system collects retinal images of cattle to prove their identity. Areal-time retinal scan is shown on the screen behind Golden. The device can also read barcodes and take pictures of ear tags or other identifying features to track the cow.


See EMERGING, 15B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Emerging Entrepreneur––––––Bruce Goldan,Bernard E. Rollin& Ralph V. Switzer

Innovative technology

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deliver drugs to treat illness far beyondthe narrow realm of dental disease.

He asked for speed. He wanted thenew products in and out of the federalFood and Drug Administration regulato-ry maze within a few, not a dozen,years.

Reinvigorated Atrix workers deliv-ered Eligard, a time-release treatmentfor prostate cancer, that has become thecompany’s flagship product.

He asked for commitment.

“My first job was looking at theculture, and the morale, and decid-ing whether we could fix thisthing,” Bethune said. “My first goalwas to develop a vision that peoplecould latch onto. It worked, and westarted trying to build somethinghere.”

The house that Bethune and 200Atrix employees built was attractiveenough to lure the interest of QLT, acash-rich Canadian firm that had aneye-disease drug as its runaway suc-cess.

Five years after Bethune’s arrival,shareholders and employees alike have

found what Bethune told them wasahead. Now Atrix’s CEO says its time tospend more time on a horse, or aHarley, than behind his president’sdesk.

He recently bought his third Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a $20,000 UltraClassic Electra Glide — a hog that is,well, presidential.

“I splurged and bought some heatedgrips,” he confessed. “They really are alot more comfortable.”

When not on weekend rides in themountains with a group, includingDuncan, that has become almost a com-pany Harley club, Bethune and his wife

are likely to be at a Loveland horse farmwhere six cutting horses keep bothbusy.

Ah, the office is still there — if onlyfor a few more months.

“I’m going to be on board during thetransition, because I’ve got a lot of goodpeople that we care about,” Bethunesaid, adding he’ll stay on the board ofthe combined company once the merg-er is complete.

“Then, I really do want to spend asmuch time as I can raising some world-class quarter horses, and find out aboutthis leisure thing. I have friends whohave told me about it.”

ATRIX, from 3B

Fort Collins Bravo! finalists display economic diversityAdvertising, electronic media, com-

mercial real estate and the restaurantbusiness are sectors that spawned the2004 finalists for The NorthernColorado Business Report’s Bravo!Entrepreneur of the Year Award forFort Collins:

� Thirty-two years of steady growthhave marked Mike Burns’ progress indelivering advertising services to FortCollins clients. Along the way, BurnsMarketing Communications Inc. alsobecame a leader in community service,providing pro bono work for a broadspectrum of non-profit clients includingthe Boys & Girls Clubs of LarimerCounty, Wingshadow, FoothillsGateway and the Discovery ScienceCenter.

� Maury Dobbie, the founder and

owner of MediaTech Productions Inc.,has been an entrepreneur since the ageof 19 and has owned five diverse com-panies since 1979.

She has also stepped forward as aleader in the women-owned businesscommunity, sharing tricks of her vari-ous trades with other female entrepre-neurs.

Media Tech, celebrating its 10thanniversary this year, has reapednumerous national awards for televisionand Internet production work. Dobbie isthe previous winner of a Bravo! Award,the 2002 honor for the region’s emerg-ing entrepreneur.

� Breaking away from a solid basewithout leaving it completely behind,Tom Livingston and Stu MacMillan havetaken their 18-year careers with Everitt

Cos. to another level with EverittCommercial Partners, the project man-agement arm of the company.

Formed in 1995, the group headed byMacMillan and Livingston has helpedchange the Fort Collins landscape withprojects such as the Centre forAdvanced Technology, Oakridge

Business Park and Colorado StateUniversity’s Natural Resource ResearchCampus.

� Rayno Seaser and his wife,Patty, opened their first Egg and Irestaurant in Fort Collins in 1987,and it quickly became one of thecity’s favorite breakfast-and-lunchdining venues. Classical music andfresh flowers, amenities usuallyreserved for fine-dining dinner estab-lishments, were part of the Egg and Iformula that led Seaser to own andmanage four other locations in thenorthern Front Range, and launch afranchise company that controlsanother nine locations in Coloradoand Wyoming. The company alsoplans to open three more franchisesby early next year.

BURNS SEASER


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point that I don’t like to sit in oneplace too long.”

Sally describes Tim as the drivingforce in the business, the one whoworks 14 hours a day connecting withcustomers and vendors. “I always tellTim he’s like a superman. He can get ona forklift and work in the warehouse. ...He drives trucks, loads trucks.”

Tim says Sally doesn’t give herselfenough credit. “She does the HR andheads up the management team.”

Sally has long since stepped out ofthe accounting and helps with sales.“I’m like Tim, I don’t really like to sitstill and be in the office.” She also likesto be active in the community and par-

ticipates in a long list of organizationsincluding the Economic DevelopmentAction Partnership, United Way andthe chamber of commerce.

The business is based out of a75,000-square-foot warehouse inGreeley. A branch operation with asmaller warehouse is located in Pueblo.Tim and Sally say they look towardmore growth for their company. Theymay put a warehouse in Durango andare considering a branch in Denver.They may look at reaching into NewMexico and farther into Wyoming.

Tim and Sally believe growth andchange in business is important. Timsaid, “The minute you think you wantto take anything for granted or youwant to maintain a status quo you’regoing to probably go downhill or back-wards.”

GREELEY, from 4B

By Business Report staff

New Frontier Bank opened inGreeley in 1998 in a tiny modularbuilding with $6 million in capital.Since then, chairman and CEO LarrySeastrom has guided the company tobecome a $475 million banking opera-tion with 93 employees at two loca-tions.

Seastrom’s leadership has included aclose attention to employee needs. Hecreated the creation a position with theunique title of vice president of culturalenhancement, which focuses on inter-

nal communication and keepingemployees engaged in bank operations.

Lee and Warren Yoder continue anear-century old legacy of Weld CountyGarage, which the father and son duohas helped to operate since 1982.

Lee Yoder moved to Greeley in1976 and went to work for Garnseyand Wheeler Ford. But he alwaysknew he wanted his own dealershipand made that dream come true sixyears later.

Weld County Garage opened indowntown Greeley in 1908. The dealer-ship recently moved to the U.S.

Highway 34 Bypass in west Greeley.Warren Yoder is general manager of

the company, which sells GM, Buickand Pontiac cars and trucks. The deal-ership employs about 140.

Ted Warner runs Connecting Point ofGreeley, an information technology ser-vices firm that provides computer sup-port for Northern Colorado businessclients.

The company recently secured athree-year deal, in alliance with anotherfirm, to develop a remote-access database system for a collection of WeldCounty health care agencies.

Connecting Point totals more than $5million a year in revenue and employs20 people.

Bi-State Machinery President DuaneWallin recently expanded his JohnDeere agricultural equipment businesswhen he acquired a rival dealer in FortCollins. With the purchase, he grew hisbusiness from $23 million in annualsales to nearly $30 million.

Wallin took over Bi-State in 1990. Heprospered despite a slump in farmprices, in part by diversifying into lawn-and-garden and construction equip-ment.

Greeley finalists reflect wide range of industries

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Ex-HP engineer helps company scale peaks in competitive sector


FREDERICK — When large compa-nies need to manufacture products theylook to Peak Industries Inc. inLongmont to provide the detailed ser-vices they require.

The company specializes in manu-facturing low- to mid-quantity batchesof high-value products. This includesmedial equipment used in hospitals anddoctors' offices and commercial goodsused by professionals and companiesnationwide.

Peak manufactures commercialproducts for Hewlett-Packard Co.,Coinstar Inc. and Particle MeasuringSystems Inc. The company builds opti-cal jukebox data storage systems, self-service kiosks and particle measure-ment counters for the respective com-panies.

"We build product for StorageTekfor Hewlett-Packard and for some ofthe big Front Range names in terms ofstorage equipment," said MarkHopkins, president of Peak Industries."And then we do some things for com-panies you wouldn't necessarily haveheard of. We have a lot of California-

based cus-tomers ... andwe have somesmaller locallybased busi-nesses."

H e w l e t t -Packard hasPeak Industriesbuild its opticaljukebox datastorage systembecause thecompany has arecord of quali-ty.

"Mark is anex-HP guy whoknows our busi-ness needs andhas been a greatpartner who isbuilding thesepretty complexpieces ofm a c h i n e r y, "said Jeff Kato,director of Hewlett-Packard's automa-tion business segment of data storage."They are more nimble and are moreadaptable to our products than othersare.

Peak manufactures 150 devices amonth for Hewlett-Packard. Thesedevices range from desktop storagemodules to devices that are largeenough to stand it.

Peak is also a registered devicemanufacturer with the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration and it builds allof its medical products under FDAscrutiny.

"Typically we are building complexmachinery like a kidney dialysismachine," Hopkins said.

The company manufactures a metab-olism analyzer for Healthetech Inc, ahome hemodialysis machine for AksysLtd. and a spinal nerve detection sys-

tem for Nuvasive Inc. In 2004, Hopkins said the company

hopes to have $75 million in revenues.

Out of plasticPeak Industries was founded in

1996 as a spin off of DTM ProductsInc., a Longmont-based injection-molding firm. At the time, customers

Bravo!Entrepreneur —OutlyingCommunities––––––Mark Hopkins

See OUTLYING, 18B

ASSEMBLY LINE — Mark Hopkins, president of Peak Industries, stands with a Coinstarchange machine. Coinstar is among the clients for Peak, which is a contract manufacturerbased in southwest Weld County.


Hopkins’ success earns

Bravo! for outlying areas;

Peak nears $75M in sales


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He transferred from the Denver store a yearago to attend the university. He said thecompany is very flexible with his schedulefor school.

Burke believes in supporting schools.This year, the company started a schol-arship program and gave out $1,000scholarships to 10 students all across theFront Range. He hopes to increase theamount of scholarships given each year.

The stores are prospering. The com-bined revenues for 2003 were about $10million. Burke said he’s not done yet. Hesaid he plans to expand both businesses.

He is looking to build more BurkeCleaners in Fort Collins and Lovelandand eventually move into Greeley andLongmont. The company could open asmany as 15 more locations in the nextcouple of years; after that the facilitywill need to be expanded.

Mister Neat’s might get two morestores in the metro area in the nearfuture. Burke also said he has interestin expanding into Utah in the Salt Lakearea and into New Mexico. He estimat-ed this could happen as soon as 2006.

Burke never expected the companywould be so big. His constant goal hasalways only to be the best.

“We don’t rent a tux; we sell an expe-rience,” he said.

LOVELAND, from 6B

Loveland 2004 finalists have business growth in commonKristen S. BastianThe Business Report

LOVELAND — From meager begin-nings, David Yowell built MM Solutionsinto a company 28-employees strongwith nationally recognized clients.

Yowell started the company in hisgarage with a pickup and a cell phonewhile he was working for his father-in-lawat Mail Mart. His first major job was crat-ing for the annual sculpture show inLoveland. He moved from there to con-solidating box orders and doing packagingfor the local mailing companies and thenproviding order fulfillment for TeledyneWaterpik. He retained a building andincorporated the business in 1994.

Now Yowell serves companies such asAgilent, Advanced Energy, Celestica andDakocytomation. MM Solutions offerslogistics services, freight management,crating and packaging and packagingmaterials. The 2003 sales were up about50 percent from the previous year.

Marcia Sampson runs Eldon JamesCorp. full-steam ahead. Since she tookcontrol of the reins in 2000, she’s ush-ered through the expansion of the prod-uct line, the company’s professional cer-tification and registration and anincrease in distributor agreementsnationally and internationally.

The company manufactures tubesand hose fittings for applications inindustries ranging from beverage dis-pensing to medical products.

Sampson’s dedication to seeing EldonJames grow led her to spend a year trav-eling the country, living in a 30-foot trail-er. Her dedication to her children led herto bring them along for the journey.

The company’s 2003 revenues were$2.6 million and they employed 24 people.

In 1982, Susan Jessup took over man-agement of Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch.The Jessup family operated the ranchsince it was opened to the public in 1946.

Named "Best Family Vacation" byFrommer's Colorado guidebook andrated among the "top ten Colorado DudeRanches" by True West Magazine

During the 1990s, the ranch expand-ed its customer base from guest ranchtourists to businesses looking for aunique retreat, weddings and familyreunions. There are now five meetingrooms suited for parties of 10 to 150.

The ranch maintains a herd of 80 hors-es and employs 65 to 70 people in the sum-mer and 25 through the winter months.

The ranch struggled to remain open in theearly 1980s but has steadily moved intothe black after Susan Jessup began anactive marketing program in 1987.

Kroll Factual Data Inc. specializes inbackground information for mortgagelending, employment screening andother types of business information.

Jerald Donnan started Factual DataCorp. with his wife, Marcia, as a two-person mortgage-credit-reportingagency in Fort Collins in 1985. Thebusiness relocated to Loveland in 1998.

In 2003, New York-based Kroll Inc.purchased Factual Data Corp., withunanimous approval from its board ofdirectors, for $115 million in cash andstocks. Chairman and CEO Donnanbecame president of the newly formedKroll Factual Data Inc.

"Joining Kroll is a win for our share-holders, our customers and our employ-ees alike," he said in a statement.

Donnan retired at the end of 2003,turning the leadership over to his sonJames Donnan.

For the second quarter of 2003, thelast that Donnan served as chairmanand CEO, the company reported $24million in revenues, a 70 percentincrease over second quarter 2002.

Jerald is currently looking at a num-ber of local business opportunities tostart or venture; his entrepreneurialspirit and drive are still going strongsince his retirement from Factual Data.

DONNAN JESSUP

YOWELL SAMPSON


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EXPERTISE

Alternative fuels start-up firmamong high-revving newcomers

Northern Colorado rising businessstars are represented among the final-ists for the Bravo! EmergingEntrepreneur award. Up-and-comingentrepreneurs include:

� Privately held Blue Sun Biodiesel, abreakthrough agriculture energy com-pany headed by Jeff Probst, developsoilseed energy crops and productionand distribution networks to sell high-performance biodiesel fuel. Founded in2001, Blue Sun's objective is to bringthe cost of biodiesel in line with petrole-um diesel. Blue Sun will be building a2.5-million-gallon per year biodieselplant in Alamosa to supply the compa-ny’s pre-sold distribution network.

� Front Range Real EstateConsultants started in September 1999with one employee and Julie O'Gorman.The business now has offices inLoveland, Cheyenne, Northglenn,Colorado Springs, Grand Lake andMontrose. In 2003 the company report-ed $2.6 million in revenues and nowemploys 34. The business offers a 24-hour turnaround time from inspectionto completion. Clients have includedbanks, insurance companies, the feder-al government, various state and localgovernments, private individuals andinvestors.

� Citadel Advisory Group, a FortCollins-based consultant for buyers andsellers of existing companies, The com-pany is reaping the fruits of increasedactivity in the mergers-and-acquisitionsmarketplace for small- and mid-sizedbusinesses. Co-owners John A. Smithand Chris C. Frevert started the compa-ny in 2002 and reported $3.7 million inrevenues in 2003. Citadel offers merger

and acquisition advisory services, suc-cession planning, company and intellec-tual property valuations, divestmentadvisory and strategic financial advisoryservices.

� Angelique Hunt was born andraised in New York City and met herhusband and business partner RickHunt — a Colorado native — while bothworked at Pfizer Inc. in New York City.The Hunts purchased Risk Removal — acompany created by the Neenan Co. in1989 — in October 2002. Angelique ismajority owner and president of thecompany and Rick is general managerand chief estimator.

Risk Removal cleans up asbestos,lead, mold, mercury, contaminated soilsand other biohazards for clients thatinclude schools, government, hospitals,military bases and residential cus-tomers.

The company has 15 full-timeemployees and serves a territory pri-marily in Colorado and Wyoming. RiskRemoval Inc. was recently rated No. 52in Colorado Biz magazine's Top 100women-owned businesses and No. 28in the Top 50 minority-owned busi-nesses.

HUNT PROBST

death. The OptiReader is a combination

handheld computer and ocular fundusdigital video camera. The user holds thereader in front of the eye of the animalfor less than a second. The camera cap-tures an image and the computer storesthe image and records the date, time,and location of the animal. The com-puter contains a global positioning sys-tem to provide accurate information.

The reader wand also contains a barcode reader to read codes imprinted ona carcass. Optibrand also developed awand, which reads any microchipsimplanted in the cattle.

This information is downloaded to acomputer and the customer can use theinformation to analyze herds and trackbirth traits. This information is thenencrypted into a database to track ananimal from birth to feedlot to slaugh-ter.

Another important safety feature ofthe program is the security of theOptiReader. The device housing cannotbe opened without disabling the device,making the system tamper-proof.

"For larger customers we chargethem a subscription fee rather than aper-click fee," Golden said. "It is ourcustomers’ data so we give them thehardware and the software that man-

ages the data. We monitor what is goingon in real time, and we take care of thehardware."

Leading in the marketplaceOptibrand is a graduate of the Fort

Collins Virtual Incubator, which pro-vides discounted professional servicesto start-up companies. The companygraduated from the incubator — nowcalled the Fort Collins TechnologyIncubator — in April 2003, and is nowthe organization’s shining star.

"When they started in the incubatorthey held onto our coat tails, but now Ifeel like we are holding on to their coattails as they are more and more suc-cessful," said Kathy Kregel, executivedirector of the Fort Collins TechnologyIncubator. "I am just tickled for them atall of their success."

The company has a select few cus-tomers including Greeley-based Swift &Co. and Denver-based Maverick RanchNatural Meats. Within the next fiveyears, Golden said he hopes to have aninternational presence in all major live-stock species and to be a larger providerin the food safety world.

The company is on track to reachthose goals. While Golden declined tocomment on revenues, he mentionedthe company now employs 20 peopleand recently moved to a 4,800-square-foot office space in the Opera Galleriain downtown Fort Collins, which dou-bled the previous headquarters space.

EMERGING, from 9B


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Burke avoids bad advice, findsperfect fit with formalwear ideaKristen S. BastianThe Business Report

LOVELAND — As the oldest of fivechildren and the possible heir to a drycleaning business, a young Mark Burkeknew one thing; he wanted to get out ofhis hometown of Davenport, Iowa.

He found his escape and success inNorthern Colorado. Burke came to FortCollins to attend Colorado StateUniversity. It was while he was still asenior at the school that he decided tostart his own business. He wanted to dosomething different, something that thearea didn’t already have. He decided toopen a tuxedo shop.

Burke approached his academic advi-sor with his vision. His advisor suggest-ed making the business plan a class pro-ject. In the end, the class determinedthat a tuxedo business was destined tofail in the area.

At the time, the population ofLarimer County was just shy of120,000. Fortunately, Burke didn’theed his classmates’ warnings. Hecouldn’t because he had already securedthe funding and signed a lease with theFort Collins Foothills Fashion Mall. In1974, Burke opened his first business,Mister Neat’s Formalwear.

Today, that first store is the only orig-inal tenant of the mall still operatingunder the original ownership. Burkenow has 20 stores stretching across theFront Range from Cheyenne, Wyo., toColorado Springs.

In 1996, Burke purchased dry clean-ing equipment to handle the needs ofMister Neat’s. Prior to doing the servicein-house, the company’s laundryexpense was about $500,000 annually.

“It wasn’t just about saving money, itwas about controlling quality,” Burke said.

The quality of dry cleaning was sogood that Burke opened up a store inFort Collins to serve as a pick-up centerfor the central dry cleaning operations— Burke Cleaners.

There are four Burke Cleaners inFort Collins and two in Loveland. All ofthe cleaning is still done at the centraloperations, but now 80 percent of thecleaning is for customers and only 20percent is for Mister Neat’s.

Burke will not take all of the creditfor his success.

“The word entrepreneurship doesn’t

mean that muchbecause no onedoes it alone,”he said. Thekey to the suc-cess is the man-agement team.”

N a n c yHaboush, presi-dent of MisterNeat’s, has beenwith the compa-ny since 1988.Keith Longwell,senior vice pres-ident has beenwith the compa-ny since 1989.Bret Ellis, thechief financialofficer, startedwith the compa-ny in 2000.

Haboush saidthe reason shehas stayed isbecause ofBurke and his work ethic. She said heis not the typical “desk executive.”

“That’s not the kind of leader he is,”she said. “He is still really involved withthe company because he is passionateabout it.”

She said he visits the stores often andstill works with the customers.

“When people find out he’s the CEO,they’re surprised,” she said.

Haboush also said that Burke’s dedi-cation to all of his employees is whatkeeps the company together.

“He knows every employee in our com-pany by name and what store they workin,” she said. In a company with morethan 200 employees, that’s impressive.

Burke holds quarterly company meet-ings for all full- and part-time employees.These meeting are more like events.They’re held at a Denver hotel and fea-ture a dinner, and what’s best is theemployees get paid for being there.

“He’s a good boss,” said Will Sebra, anemployee at the Fort Collins FoothillsMall store. “He knows what he wants andhe wants it done that way. It’s goodbecause he knows what he is doing.”

Sebra, a speech communications/Spanishmajor at Colorado State University, was beenemployed with Mister Neat’s for three years.

ABOVE THE CROWD — Mark Burke, founder of Mister Neat’s Formalwear and BurkeCleaners, stands on a platform overlooking his Loveland warehouse filled with tuxedos.

KRISTEN BASTIAN • THE BUSINESS REPORT

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Loveland––––––MarkBurke

See LOVELAND, 14B

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Commons.Neal also saw opportunities outside

of Northern Colorado, launching pro-jects in Wyoming and Nebraska, as wellas metropolitan in Denver.

At the same time, Neal linked upwith other partners outside Wheeler forprojects around the region, includingTuscany in Evans and Miramont in FortCollins.

Neal became known for his willing-ness to embrace unconventionalapproaches to development.

For instance, when the city of FortCollins implemented new land use stan-dards that emphasized higher densityhousing, many developers groused aboutthe heavy-handed city regulations. Nealopenly chastised the critics and devel-oped Rigden Farm as the first large-scalesubdivision under the new code.

“Rigden Farm was one of the bestthings we did and one of the worstthings we did,” Croci said. “It was agreat project — it still is a great project.Economically it will become very viablefor us.”

But Rigden Farm’s many delays andchanges experienced as a “guinea pig”project absorbed many of the would-beprofits, Croci acknowledged.Appropriately, Wheeler has gained per-mission to name William Neal Parkwaywithin the Rigden project.

Neal’s community interests madehim an unlikely figure in the develop-ment industry.

He patronized artists, led the chargefor taxes to buy public open space, andbacked environmental causes, such

clean up along the Cache la PoudreRiver. He also recorded an album as atribute to the river.

“His vision was the most importantthing,” Zahn said. “He wanted to makea constructive and positive contributionto the quality of life for the people livingin the homes in his subdivisions, or forthose working and operating businessesin the commercial centers he built.

‘A sense of timing’Leo Schuster showed instincts for

business decisions soon after he startedProgressive Living Structures, thehomebuilding company he founded in1978 with his wife Darlene.

“He would look at projects … otherpeople wouldn’t, and create somethingpopular,” Darlene said.

An example was his first develop-ment, a 24-unit condominium projectin Loveland called Locust Park.

A group of 18 would-be homebuyerswho knew each other were interested inliving near to each other. They wereeither retirees, or approaching retire-ment.

“In their mind it was kind of liketheir dream community,” Darlene said.And Leo delivered.

More recently, Schuster conceived ofthe idea for what be the Pyrenees devel-opment on an isolated piece of groundin northwest Loveland. His vision wasfor a French country-style home.

“People thought Loveland couldn’tsupport this type of product at thetime,” Darlene said. “Leo was a very cal-culated risk taker. He would some poten-tial and follow it through to success.”

Schuster’s ability to see potentialworked for people as well as for housingsubdivisions.

“Leo hired people who knew how todo their jobs,” Darlene said. “He wasnot somebody who micromanaged.”

The deft touch helped ProgressiveLiving Structures stay consistently prof-itable during periods of ups and downsin the real estate industry in NorthernColorado. Leo seemed to know whennot to commit to projects when demandwas about to wane, and when to investin advance of a growth curve.

“We survived when a lot of buildersdidn’t,” Darlene said. “Especially in the‘80s when the economy was flat.

Leo made great choices … He knewwhen not to be expanding. He would saythe most money he ever made was allthe money he never spent.”

At the time of this death, Schuster’scompany was building about 80 newhomes per year, and had started morethan 1,200 in 26 years of business.

Zahn credited Schuster with an “ele-gant sense of timing.”

An example was during the late1980s, when larger building companieswere leaving Northern Colorado at thepeak of a real estate slump.

“That’s when Leo bought most of theWagon Wheel subdivision (in FortCollins),” Zahn recalled. “It was cer-tainly counter intuitive … He steppedup and took a big risk. Ultimately the1990s were an exceptional period forNorthern Colorado in terms of growth.”

Schuster applied his business acu-men to other sectors. He invested in aseries of restaurants in Loveland,including Springfield’s and the CactusGrille. He hired Mike Severance in 1988to manage the Cactus Grille, eventuallyallowing Severance to invest in the busi-ness before selling to Severance entire-

ly.Severance now operates two restau-

rants, the Cactus Grille and Out ofBounds, in Loveland.

“Leo is the sole reason this business,actually these two restaurants, areviable,” Severance said.

“I never met another individual likehim. He had the ability to bring peopleto their full potential. He gave them theroom to stretch their wings, so to speak.I had been a restaurant manager forcorporations for a long time … I thinkLeo saw something in me.”

Schuster also saw something in hiscommunity.

He headed up the High Plains ArtsCouncil during the years whenLoveland was cementing its nationalreputation as a center for sculpture art.He also served on Loveland’s EconomicDevelopment Council board of direc-tors.

His donations of supplies, money andtime helped varied groups such asHabitat for Humanity, the Boy Scouts ofAmerica, Colorado State University andthe MS Society.

Different but equalZahn, who was a friend and associate

of both Neal and Schuster, said the twomen had distinctive personalities.

Neal was outgoing and rarely shiedfrom public view. Schuster, despite hiscommunity contributions, managed tostay out of the news.

But the two shared a commitment tohonest dealings.

“One thing that embodies both ofthese guys is that ethics was of theutmost importance,” he said. “A lot ofpeople give lip service to ‘win-win,’ butthat would be true of both of them.”

LIFETIME, from 10B


Energetic Wardes can’t settle for the status quo in businessBy Sue LentheBusiness Report Correspondent

GREELEY — Greeley entrepreneursTim and Sally Warde say their 26-year-old business, Northern Colorado Paper,is a work in progress.

“It’s a passion for me,” said TimWarde, who is known for rising earlyand working long hours. “You learnevery day.”

The couple built the wholesale paperdistribution company from scratch.They launched it at a time when theywere too naive to realize how hardbuilding a viable business might be,Sally Warde said.

That wasback in October1978. Tim hadbeen working ina family busi-ness — a corru-gated box com-pany owned byhis father calledC o n t a i n e rSystems. Whenthat businesssold to a largercorporate entity, Tim and Sally decidedthey wanted to stay in Greeley and havemore control over their future than cor-porate life might allow. They figured

they could buildon Tim’s existingcontacts.

“We naivelysaid, ‘Let’s starta distributionbusiness,’ ” Sallyrecalled. “Webought a carloadof paper prod-ucts, rented a lit-tle warehouseand Tim wentout on the streets with rolls of toiletpaper under his arms and knocked ondoors. At night I would do the books andall the secretarial work.”

Today Northern Colorado Paperextends well behind the region it isnamed for. The company delivers avariety of industrial paper products,shipping supplies, janitorial suppliesand equipment, hospital specialtyproducts and restaurant suppliesacross the Front Range and intosouthern Wyoming and southwesternColorado.

Clients range from small, indepen-dently owned businesses to governmententities and corporations.

“We always say there’s not a singlebusiness that couldn’t use some of ourproducts, whether it’s toilet paper,cleaning chemicals or whatever. It’sunlimited,” Sally said.

That simple statement embodies theinterest and energy that Tim and Sallybring to their “work in progress.”They’re passionate about the business,its customers and employees.

Associates use words like dedicationand fairness when describing Tim andSally.

Darrell McAllister, CEO of Bank ofChoice and a long-time friend of theWardes said, “They’re extremely hard-working, very diligent and very caringabout their employees and taking goodcare of their business.”

Tim is a member of the board ofdirectors for Bank of Choice, a role hewas selected for because of his businessacumen and community involvement,McAllister said.

For the Wardes, building NorthernColorado Paper has meant building goodcustomer relationships both inside andoutside the business, Tim said. “It’s cer-tainly not going to be a success unlessyou have good customers.”

Providing good service to the compa-ny’s external customers requires strongrelationships among its internal cus-tomers — the employees. “Two thingsare integral in our opinion and that isthe internal customers and the externalcustomers,” Tim said.

Both Wardes say they enjoy thevariety the business offers. “No day isthe same, no week is the same, noyear is the same,” Tim said. Andthat’s a good thing for a man whodescribes himself as “hyper to the

POWER COUPLE — Tim and Sally Warde,co-owners of Northern Colorado Paper inGreeley, have made the company suc-cessful with their strong work ethics.

COURTESY OF TIM AND SALLY WARDE

See GREELEY, 13B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Greeley––––––Tim & Sally Warde


Bethune rides hard to rescueAtrix Laboratories from slumpBy Tom HackerThe Business Report

Sooner rather than later, DavidBethune will figure out what the leisurething is all about.

He wasalmost ready forit five years ago,when he waslured out of histhird retirementto resurrectsinking AtrixL a b o r a t o r i e sInc., a FortCollins biotechcompany whosesole productlanguished with-out a market.

It was a jobthat seemedclose to impossi-ble in November1999.

Investors inthis one-trickpony of a com-pany — and alame one at that— were on theedge of revolt,having seen their stock’s share valuetumble from slightly more than $20 toless than $5 in just two years.

Employees wore the grim faces ofdefeat, having watched their Atridoxperiodontal disease treatment fall flat asa flounder in the dental pharmaceuticalmarket.

“I was hesitant, but did it kind of as afavor to the board,” Bethune said,recalling how he and his wife werebuilding their retirement home inScottsdale, Ariz., when fellow Atrixboard members summoned him.

“The company was just down on itsknees with Atridox. The job was eitherto sell the company, or get it back on acourse of progress. When I got here, Icouldn’t stand the thought of just get-ting rid of it.”

When Bethune celebrates his fifth

anniversary next month, the date willmark a milestone that no one in 1999could have imagined. The merger of arevived Atrix with Canadian pharma-ceutical giant QLT Inc. — a deal thatmeant a six-fold increase in the value ofAtrix stock — will conclude within afew weeks of Bethune’s five-year mark.

The achievement is only part of whatled judges to select Bethune, the 64-year-old Atrix president and CEO, asthe Bravo! Entrepreneur of the Yearaward winner for Fort Collins.

Never in regional history have a pub-lic company’s fortunes reversed sosharply, and so quickly, as at Atrix,

“He’s a turnaround specialist,” saidclose friend David Neenan, president ofregional construction giant Neenan Cos.“He’s done that before a couple of timesin other places with other companies,and he worked the miracle again here.He’s one of the most effective leaders inthis town.”

Bethune’s company colleagues alsopush the credit toward him.

Michael Duncan, Atrix’s vice presi-dent and general manager, remembersthe darkest days, having joined thecompany in 1995 after a successfulcareer with Ciba-Geigy, now knownamong the pharmaceutical giants asNovartis Inc.

“A lot of the people who worked herethen were at the lowest point,” Duncansaid. “They had become familiar withfailure.”

The company was then in a near-futile strategy of getting Atridox, a time-release antibiotic, into the hands ofdentists who treat periodontal disease.

“Then Dave comes in, and the guy’sbasic principle is you get more luck theharder you work at it,” Duncan said. “Itwas like he was the manager of anunderdog baseball team, with every-body down-in-the-mouth. He said, ‘Ifyou believe in me and do what I ask,we’ll get there.’”

What Bethune asked for was diversi-fication. His vision was to take Atrix’score technology — a polymer-basedsubstance called Atrigel — and use it to

LEADING MAN — David Bethune, Chairman and CEO of Atrix Laboratories Inc., helped to liftthe Fort Collins pharmaceutical company from financial hardship to profitability.

COURTESY OF ATRIX LABORATORIES INC.

See ATRIX, 12B

Bravo!Entrepreneur —Fort Collins––––––David Bethune

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of DTM were asking company officialsto assemble the pieces they manufac-tured.

This desire to manufacture and pro-vide labor for others, led to the incep-tion of Peak Industries.

"We started with a relatively smallcrew, maybe 15 people doing reallysimple assemblies, which includedsnapping together plastic parts,"Hopkins said. "We were fortunateenough to align ourselves with somepretty key players and we startedexpanding the business."

A year into the business, Hopkinssaid he realized the company was sell-ing labor, which could be found for alower rate in Asia.

"Selling labor in one of the high-est-labor cost countries in the worldis not a sustainable, long-termstrategic plan," he said. "We gottogether and thought of markets thatwere sustainable in the Coloradoeconomy and what we thought ofwas lower- to medium-volume, high-complexity, high-engineering con-tent, high-quality requirement mar-kets."

The company now employs about300 people with an average wage rate of$13 per hour. The company atmos-phere is one of acceptance and under-standing that different people have dif-ferent needs.

Peak has a coffee club, where mem-bers have 50 cents a week deductedfrom their paychecks to have the privi-lege of drinking Starbucks coffee atwork. Hopkins is active companywide

with his monthly "Lunch with Mark"meetings which allow employees to dis-cuss issues and ideas and he abides bythe "no-door" policy — no one has adoor.

The creation of an entrepreneurHopkins decided to move to Colorado

from upstate New York after falling inlove with the area during a ski trip.

He decided to work at Hewlett-Packard because the company hadfacilities in Colorado.

He worked at the Fort Collins loca-tion as a mechanical engineer and whilethere he decided he wanted to start hisown company, but knew he couldn't getthe experience he needed in his currentposition.

So, Hopkins accepted a position inBoulder working for Micromotion Inc.as its vice president of manufacturing.

"I knew I wanted to found my owncompany and I knew that I didn't knowwhat I needed to know, so I looked for aposition where I could get more practi-cal manufacturing management experi-ence," he said.

In 1996 Hopkins met Bob Grubb,president of DTM, through networkingwith the Boulder Chamber ofCommerce. The two sat down anddecided to start the manufacturing firmwith Hopkins at the helm.

"I think there are some character-istics of entrepreneurs that are pret-ty common and are well document-ed, but I think there are a lot ofthings you need to learn to be suc-cessful," he said. "Basically I think itcomes from passion to want to cre-ate something where there wasn'tsomething before. And if you havethat I think the rest of it can comenaturally."

OUTLYING, from 7B

Greeley, $10.5 million.� Colorado State University Monfort

Professor Program, Fort Collins, $2.5million.

The foundation was started in 1970by Warren and Edith Monfort, whosegrandchildren now oversee the organi-zation.

“Until ’87, it was just focused onWeld County,” said Dick Monfort.

In 1987, when ConAgra Foods Inc.acquired the Monfort Inc. meatpackingbusiness, the proceeds from the saleboosted the value of the foundation.The foundation’s assets doubled againin size in 2001 when the late KenMonfort passed away, leaving a large giftfrom his will.

“The foundation was really startedby my grandparents to help the com-munity,” said Dick Monfort, who runsthe foundation with his brother Charlie,sisters Kay and Kyle, and Ken’s widowMyra Monfort.

In the mid 1990s, the foundation— which counts assets of about $40million — started issuing large-scale grants for regional institu-tions, including Colorado StateUniversity, the University ofColorado Health Sciences Centerand, most recently, Children’sHospital in Denver.

In September the Monfortsannounced a $10 million donation tothe Denver-based hospital to beparceled out over a number of years.

The latter gift also reflects the central

mission of the foundation’s giving —children.

“We want to help children who havehad a tough blow in life, who are not asfortunate as we have been,” DickMonfort said.

Collectively, Dick and his siblingshave 15 children of their own, whichhas helped to influence the foundation’sfocus on children.

“We’re very fortunate we have chil-dren who are healthy,” he said.

The Monfort Children’s Clinic inGreeley, which opened in 1995, standsas the most enduring local symbol ofthe foundation’s emphasis on children’sissues.

“They care so much about this areaand its families and children,” Truswellsaid. “I think they recognize the futureof children is so important. They havejust reached out so much

The foundation’s ongoing goal is todistribute at least $2 million a year ingifts, Dick Monfort said.

While he declined to disclose a fulllist of recipients and their grants, thefoundation has announced about $25.5million in total gifts to about 200 agen-cies in the last five years.

SPIRIT, from 11 High-tech firm, restaurantmake mark in outlying areas

One of Northern Colorado’s leadinghigh-technology companies and one ofthe state’s landmark restaurants areamong the finalists this year for Bravo!Entrepreneur Outlying Communitiesaward.

Applied Films, located in theInterstate 25 corridor in southwestWeld County, was founded in 1976 inLongmont. The company, now headedby Tom Edman, provides thin film depo-sition solutions around the world for theflat panel display industry, architectur-al, automotive and solar glass, con-sumer products packaging and electron-ics industries.

The company employs over 500worldwide and in 2003 the companyreported $228.5 million in revenues, or48 per cent growth.

In 1950, Joe S. Johnson and one ofhis managers, Clayton Bearly staked theoutlines of a new gas station and cafe onColorado Highway 87. When Interstate25 opened in 1954, the legacy ofJohnson’s Corner truly began. Open 24hours a day, seven days a week, 365days a year, Johnson’s Corner has neverclosed its doors. Johnson died in 1981leaving his stepson Chauncey Taylor torun the operation. Taylor and his wife,Christy, are currently in the midst of a

$4 million to $5 million renovation ofthe landmark.

Colorado Inspection Agency, locatedin Windsor, inspects facilities during thephases of construction. It can inspectone-family homes to custom homes tomajor facilities. Billy Roberts and CraigCrader founded Colorado InspectionAgency in 1992. After many years ofinspecting buildings, they sold the busi-ness to Mike McCurdie in 1999.

Since taking over the business,McCurdie has created two more offices -- one in Westminster and the other inCentennial. His payroll has increasedfrom four employees in 1999 to 20.

Martin Lind founded Trollco Inc., aWindsor-based development company,along with former Denver Broncos starSteve Watson. The partnershiplaunched Water Valley, one of the state'spremiere master-planned golf coursecommunities, which features thePelican Lakes Golf and Country Club.

While Watson has since returned tothe Broncos organization as an assistantcoach and Lind has continued to buildin Water Valley. His projects alsoinclude the Eagle Crossing developmentin Loveland, and he’s a principalinvestor in the Colorado Eagles minorleague hockey team

D. MONFORT C. MONFORT


Emerging Entrepreneur

Brent Eskew, FindYourSpot.com, WindsorBruce Golden, Bernard E. Rollin and Ralph V.

Switzer Jr., Optibrand Ltd., Fort CollinsAngelique Hunt, Risk Removal, Fort CollinsMike Jensen, Fort Collins Real Estate, Fort

CollinsPrue Kaley and Mike Levy,

NorthernColoradoRentals.com, Fort CollinsBrenda and Richard Lucio, Coyote Grill,

GreeleyJulie O’Gorman, Front Range Real Estate

Consultants, Fort CollinsClair Orr, AgTown Technologies, GreeleyPaul and Ninita Pellegrino, NitaCrisp, Fort

CollinsHoward Perko, Secure Foundations and

Structures Inc., Fort CollinsJeff Probst, Blue Sun Biodiesel, Fort CollinsKim Schatz, K& D Enterprises, LovelandJohn Smith, Citadel Advisory Group, Fort

Collins

Fort Collins

Michael Aller and David Lingle, Aller-LingleArchitects

David Bethune, Atrix Laboratories Inc.Robert and Heather Bisetti, Bisetti’s Italian

RestaurantMike Burns, Burns Marketing and

CommunicationsDavid Carson, CBW AutomationRhys Christensen, Realtec Commercial Real

Estate ServicesJoe and Karen DeAnda, Trios Salon and SpaJim Dismore, Ultimate Support SystemsMaury Dobbie, MediaTech ProductionsTerry Drahota, Drahota ConstructionDawn and Michael Duncan, Creative Career

ConnectionsDavid Dwyer, Dwyer, Ringenberg and FunkChad Fletcher, Enginuity Inc.Gretchen Gaede and Ryan Keiffer, The Write

WordsRick Griggs, Tantalus BooksDave Herzfeld, c3Technology Inc.Jeff Hiatt, ProsciRichard Keith, Private Escapes LLCDavid King, Triple Crown SportsRich and Colleen Laub, Institute for

Business and Medical CareersKeith Lipps, InvisionLester Litton, Earth Engineering ConsultantsStuart MacMillan and Tom Livingston, Everitt

Commercial PartnersLoren and Carl Maxey, Maxey Cos.Scott McCarthy and Steve Taylor, Austin’sDoug Odell, Odell Brewing Co.Gunther Preuss, Genesis Fixtures

Inc./Genesis InnovationsRoger Sample and John Bailey, Sample &

BaileyLori and Steve Schlotter, Colorado

CustomWare

Rayno Seaser, The Egg and IChris Sharp, SharpNet SolutionsDean Suposs, ADP/Avert Inc.Patty S. Taylor, First Class DirectMai Tran, Information Technology eXperts

Inc.Tom Turner and Dave Marvin, Wind2

Software Inc.Frank Vaught and Joe Frye, Vaught Frye

ArchitectsBob Vomaske, Vista SolutionsGary Young, Outdoor PromotionsTed and Ellen Zibel, The Perennial Gardener

Greeley

Byron Bateman, Cache BankBill Bensler, Flood and Peterson InsuranceDale Butcher and Bruce White, ConQuest Oil

Co.Brad Clarkson, The Group Real Estate

GreeleyBonnie Dean, Bonnie Dean AssociatesAllison Dunning, Merry Makers & DecoratorsTodd and Zeke Garretson, Garretson’s

Sports Center Co.Rob Haimson, Potato Brumbaugh’sTrent Johnson, Greeley Hat WorksMark Kendall, Kendall PrintingRoger Knoph, Envirotech ServicesLaurie Masi, The Point/ErgoMedMike Morgan, StarTekCarol Parish, Westlake Wine and SpiritsPowell Prothe, Vintage Corp.Curtis Sears, Landmark Cos. LLCLarry Seastrom, New Frontier BankTim Thissen, Thissen ConstructionBetty Tointon, Antiques at Lincoln ParkDuane Wallin, Bi-State MachineryTim and Sally Warde, Northern Colorado

Paper Co.Ted Warner, Connecting Point of GreeleySid Wilke, Big R Manufacturing and

DistributionLee and Warren Yoder, Weld County Garage

Loveland nominees

Rod Bryant, Gregory Electric Inc.Rod Bryner, RMV LandscapeMark Burke, Burke Cleaners and Mister

Neat’s FormalwearJerry Curtis, EagleSpan Steel Structures Inc.Van DeWar, Northern Colorado Cost Cutters

Inc.Jerald H. Donnan, Factual Data Corp.Hamid and Janice Eslan, The Black Steer

RestaurantCraig Harrison, Harrison Resource

Corp./LandVoyage.comJerry Helgeson, American Eagle DistributingSusan Jessup, Sylvan Dale Guest RanchLinda Ligon, Interweave PressBob Moorehead, Network Analysis and

Design Inc.Marcia Sampson, Eldon James Corp.Steven Sanford, Gibson HeatingClayton Schwerin, Alliance Construction

SolutionsMike Severance, Cactus GrilleRichard Van Der Meer, Goldco IndustriesDavid Yowell, MM Solutions

Outlying community nominees

Thomas Edman, Applied Films Corp.,Longmont (Weld County)

David Fahrenbruch, Sunblest Farms, FortLupton

Gary Gorsuch, Meadowlark Optics, FrederickMark Hopkins, Peak Industries, FrederickMartin Lind, Trollco Inc./Water Valley,

WindsorTom Rader, Colorado Railcar Manufacturing,

Fort LuptonWilliam Rankin, UQM Technologies, FrederickKarrol Steeves, Comfort Keepers, WindsorChauncey and Christy Taylor, Johnson’s

Corner, JohnstownNicolae Toderica, Star Precision, Longmont

(Weld County)Larry Wexler, EcomshareSherry Wirtz, The Local Pages, Windsor

Lifetime Achievement

Richard Boettcher, Professional Finance Co.,Greeley

Don Churchwell, Home State Bank, LovelandDr. Don Cook, Monfort Children’s

Clinic/National Pediatrics Association,Greeley

Jack Devereaux, The Home State Bank,Loveland

Bill Farr, Centennial Bank of the West,Windsor

George Hall, Hall-Irwin Corp., GreeleyLoren Maxey, Maxey Cos., Fort CollinsBill Neal, Wheeler Commercial Property

Services, Fort CollinsWayne Schrader, Schrader Oil Co., Fort

CollinsLeo Schuster, Progressive Living Structures,

LovelandJoe Tennessen, New Frontier Bank, Greeley

Regional Spirit

Agilent Technologies, LovelandCelestica Colorado, Fort CollinsErion Foundation, LovelandFlood & Peterson, Fort Collins Funding Partners for Housing Solutions, Fort

CollinsThe Group Real Estate Inc., Fort Collins Rich Harter, Fort Collins Convention &

Visitors Bureau, Fort CollinsHigh Plains Arts Council, LovelandEric Holsapple and Don Marostica, Loveland

Commercial LLC, LovelandMcKee Foundation, LovelandMonfort Family Foundation, EatonNew Belgium Brewing Co., Fort CollinsNorthern Colorado Economic Development

Corp., LovelandNorthern Colorado Legislative Alliance

2004 Bravo! nominees

2004


Neal, Schuster epitomizedbest of entrepreneurship 2004

Bravo! Entrepreneur Steering CommitteeDavid May, president, Fort Collins Area Chamber of CommerceGaye Stockman, president, Loveland Chamber of Commerce

J.J. Johnston, CEO, Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp.Ron Klaphake, president, Greeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership Inc.

Jeff Nuttall, co-publisher, The Northern Colorado Business ReportTim Tracy, president, Greeley/Weld Chamber of Commerce

Christopher Wood, co-publisher, The Northern Colorado Business Report

Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards CommitteeBob Hessler, retired banker

Rene Clements, The Clements Co.Tim Dow, Dow Law Firm

Lucille Mantelli, Kodak Colorado DivisionKelly Peters, Loveland Center for Business Development

Ron Schneider, Bank OneTed Warner, Connecting Point of Greeley

Presented By:Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce

Greeley/Weld Chamber of CommerceGreeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership Inc.

Loveland Chamber of CommerceNorthern Colorado Economic Development Corp.

Platinum Sponsors

Reception Sponsor

Dinner Sponsor

Corporate Gift Sponsor

Gold SponsorsEveritt Commercial Partners • Palmer Flowers

Front Range Real Estate Consultants Inc.

Table SponsorsHome State Bank, Ptarmigan Country Club,

Mr. Neat’s Formalwear, Drahota, New Frontier Bank, Flood and Peterson, First National Bank, Community First Bank, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo,

Centennial Bank of the West, First Community Bank, Atrix Laboratories, McKee MedicalCenter/Foundation, Lighthouse Lending LLC, Peak Industries, Cache Bank & Trust, Advantage Bank,The Group, Phelps-Tointon, Inc., Progressive Living Structures, Connecting Point, City of Fort Collins,

CSU College of Business, Front Range Internet Inc.

MarketingBuzz Events

Video ProductionMediaTech Productions

Media SponsorNCBR

Event CoodinatorJames Rath

Audio/Visual Coordinator:MediaTech Productions

DécorCaldera Creative Services

FlowersPalmer Flowers

Print SponsorGenteel Graphics

Special thanks to:Signs By Tomorrow

Colorado Heirloom, Inc.Bobbie Carlyle

Celebration ofentrepreneurshipin NorthernColorado wouldnot be possible thisyear were we notalso to celebratethe lives of BillNeal and LeoSchuster, who diedin a July planecrash, along withFort Collins realestate broker ScottNelson.

In a year whenmany worthy indi-viduals were con-sidered for theB r a v o !E n t r e p r e n e u rL i f e t i m eA c h i e v e m e n tAward, Neal andSchuster stood outas the clear choic-es of our AwardsCommittee forthat most-presti-gious of all theB r a v o !E n t r e p r e n e u rawards.

Yes, the keyword is “choices.”For the first time,we are presentingtwo LifetimeA c h i e v e m e n tAwards, ratherthan limiting our-selves to just one,so lasting and deepare the legacies of Neal and Schuster.Both individuals not only built success-ful companies but also built and gaveback to their communities in remark-able ways.

You will read about both men inrelated stories in this special section.

Before we continue, however, itwould be advisable to recap somedetails about Bravo! Entrepreneur, aNorthern Colorado Business Reportprogram conducted in partnership withthe Fort Collins Area Chamber ofCommerce, the Greeley/Weld Chamberof Commerce, the Loveland Chamber ofCommerce, the Greeley-WeldEconomic Development ActionPartnership Inc. and the NorthernColorado Economic Development Corp.

Presidents of these organizationsappointed business leaders to anAwards Committee, which this yearsifted through more than 125 totalnominees — a record for this pro-gram. This year’s Awards Committeeincluded: Rene Clements, TheClements Co., Fort Collins; Tim Dow,The Dow Law Firm, Fort Collins; BobHessler, retired banker, Greeley;Lucille Mantelli, Kodak ColoradoDivision, Windsor; Kelly Peters,Loveland Center for BusinessDevelopment, Loveland; Ron

Schneider, Bank One, Loveland; andTed Warner, Connecting Point,Greeley

Winners of Bravo! Entrepreneurawards are chosen from Fort Collins,G r e e l e y ,Loveland andO u t l y i n gCommunit ies .Additionally, anE m e r g i n gE n t r e p r e n e u rAward, aL i f e t i m eA c h i e v e m e n tAward and aRegional SpiritAward are alsopresented.

The best traitsof entrepreneur-ship so evidenced by Neal and Schusteris demonstrated as well by our otherwinners. Here’s a rundown of all Bravo!Entrepreneur winners for 2004:

� Emerging Entrepreneur Award:Bruce Golden, Bernard E. Rollin &Ralph V. Switzer Jr., Optibrand Ltd.LLC, Fort Collins.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Fort Collins:David Bethune, Atrix Laboratories Inc.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Greeley: Timand Sally Warde, Northern ColoradoPaper.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, Loveland:Mark Burke, Burke Cleaners and MisterNeat’s Formalwear.

� Bravo! Entrepreneur, OutlyingCommunities: Mark Hopkins, PeakIndustries, Frederick.

� Regional Spirit Award: MonfortFamily Foundation, Eaton.

� Lifetime Achievement Awards: BillNeal, Wheeler Commercial PropertyServices LLC, Fort Collins, and LeoSchuster, Progressive Living StructuresInc., Loveland.

As always, we at The NorthernColorado Business Report need tothank our many partners, includingthose chambers of commerce and eco-nomic-development agencies notedabove. Thanks also to Invision/BuzzEvents, MediaTech Productions,Caldera Creative Services, GenteelGraphics, Palmer Flowers and Signs byTomorrow, and to our own Jim Rath,who jumped in to take care of manydetails.

Lastly, thanks to our many sponsors,including platinum sponsors FirstCommunity Bank and Kodak ColoradoDivision. Our reception sponsor wasHewlett-Packard Co., our dinner spon-sor was McWhinney Enterprises, andour corporate gift sponsor was C3Technology Inc. Gold sponsors includedEveritt Commercial Partners and FrontRange Real Estate Consultants Inc. Wealso benefited from having a recordnumber of table sponsors.

Jeff Nuttall and Christopher Woodare co-publishers of The NorthernColorado Business Report and foundingpartners of Bravo! Entrepreneur.

PUBLISHERS’NOTEBOOK

CHRISTOPHER

WOOD

JEFF NUTTALL

ILLUSTRATION BY JIM SCHLICHTING

Oct. 29-Nov.11, 2004

BSECTION

Platinum sponsors:

Documents

BizWest | 2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards | NCBR October ... · OCT. 29-NOV. 11, 2004 THE NORTHERN COLORADO BUSINESS REPORT 19B Emerging Entrepreneur Brent Eskew, FindYourSpot.com,