LandJet zooms to top of ‘Fastest Growing Companies’ list

25 celebrated with 2024 annual QCBJ awards

Mark Ross, co-founder and CEO of LandJet, talks about the tumultuous journey his company took on their way to being named the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Company.

What does it take to be one of the fastest growing companies in the region?

It takes great customer service and teamwork from company employees. It also takes a unique transportation service for business people on the move, and a trusted kennel to house a family’s pets during those business trips.

More than 200 business leaders gathered at the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport to honor some of the region’s most dynamic companies during the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s third annual Fastest Growing Companies Awards event.

Those were some of the reasons given by company leaders on Thursday night, Oct. 10, who were honored during the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s third annual Fastest Growing Companies Awards event.

More than 200 business leaders gathered at the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport to help honor some of the region’s most dynamic companies that have made significant contributions to the strength of the Quad Cities economy. 

At the awards event, the QCBJ announced the rankings and introduced the top 25 fastest growing companies. The event’s Platinum Sponsor was TBK Bank and Gold Sponsor was Honkamp. 

Honorees were ranked according to revenue growth over a two-year period with both dollar and percentage increases taken into account. The honorees were required to provide financial information regarding their revenue growth between 2021 and 2023. This information was gathered confidentially by Honkamp, which calculated the growth percentages of each to determine the company rankings. 

John Lohman, CEO and president of the Corridor Media Group, which publishes the QCBJ, told the crowd on Thursday that the event was about honoring companies that have “thrived despite the challenges” of the pandemic years.

All of the honored companies have had a “positive impact on the community,” said Tasha Keegan, senior vice president, commercial banking, at  TBK Bank, during the ceremony. (Ms. Keegan, along with Michelle Steining, shareholder with Honkamp, introduced the top fastest growing companies during the awards ceremony.)

Landjet tops the list

Topping the list was LandJet. It grew by a whopping 272% during the two-year period. (Centennial Tax & Accounting was the QCBJ’s No. 1 Fastest Growing Company in 2023, and Revive at the Group Med Spa topped the QCBJ’s inaugural list two years ago.)

LandJet – a private, chartered transportation service with facilities in Davenport and Bettendorf –  took top honors because it provides a service customers love; it’s not just about getting people to their destinations. It’s also about giving them a mobile office that is ideal for working, collaborating and entertaining, said Mark Ross, co-founder of LandJet, who took over as company CEO this fall.

“People love the product. They love being on a LandJet. … and they love being productive the whole time they are on the trips,” Mr. Ross added in a recent interview with the QCBJ.

But LandJet isn’t all business all the time. Mr. Ross said when he became involved with the transportation service a few years ago, he assumed LandJet would almost exclusively be for the business traveler. 

The times and the travelers are changing. These days, business trips account for about 60% of the LandJet treks. The other 40% are non-business journeys to hospitals, recreation treks and many other destinations.

On Thursday night, Mr. Ross told the crowd LandJet continues to improve. The company is in the midst of having more and better vehicles made for its travelers and has hired more employees. The goals are to keep offering a great travel service and keep growing.

“We hope to be back here next year,” he added.

Customer service key

Other growing company leaders also have big plans and hopes for the future. For instance, the transportation company C&W Transport Solutions was second on the growth list with a staggering growth rate of  251%. “For us, it’s all about customer service,” said Kevin Wolfe, CEO of C&W.

Another growing company honored Thursday was Mallard Pointe Kennels of Coal Valley, Illinois. The boarding and grooming facility – owned by sisters Julie Campagna and Blair Williams –  has been seeing great growth because its experienced staff gives great care to pets.

“Also, people continue to travel. We get to care for their pets, especially on weekends,” said Ms. Williams.

On typical weekends, Mallard Pointe is caring for about 100 dogs, she added.

Another company honored Thursday night was Barrel House, with a 40% growth rate in two years. 

Jimmy Holt, president of Barrell House, said great teamwork by its employees has been key to the growth of the popular restaurants that now have about seven locations.

“We also dared to take a chance. … Franchising put us in different markets,” he added.

Representatives of nearly all the Fastest Growing Companies award honorees were on hand Thursday night. Many shared videos about their operations.

Complete winners list

Here is a complete list of the top 25 winners honored Thursday, where they ranked, and their revenue growth over the two-year period:

  1. LandJet, 4620 E. 53rd St., Davenport, up 272%.
  2. C&W Transport Solutions, 3520 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport, up 251%.
  3. Tri-City Ironworks, 6225 N. Brady St., Davenport, up 249%.
  4. Centennial Tax & Accounting, 100 E. Kimberly Road, suite 500, Davenport, up 182%.
  5. Tri-City Fire Protection, 6225 N. Brady St., Davenport, up 163%.
  6. Barron Equipment Company,  4710 N. Brady St., Davenport, up 80.95%.
  7. Mbrico LLC, P.O. Box 1108, Bettendorf, up 80.17%
  8. The Advisory Group, 2210 E. 52nd St., Davenport, up 78.63%
  9. Paramount Millwright Services, 6225 N. Brady St., Davenport, up 78.15%.
  10. Russell, 4700 E. 53rd St., Davenport, up 77%.
  11. American Industrial Door Company,  629 Perry St., Davenport, up 69%
  12. ALM Positioners, Inc.,  8080 Centennial Expressway, Rock Island, up 65%.
  13. Oertel Metal Works, 9104 N. Zenith Ave., Davenport, up 48.92%.
  14. MoboTrex,  109 W. 55th St., Davenport, up 48.42%.
  15. Crawford Company, 1306 Mill St., Rock Island, up 46%
  16. Barrel House, 3475 Jersey Ridge Road, up 40%.
  17. Mallard Pointe Kennels, 2377 Highway 6, Coal Valley, up 39%.
  18. River Cities Engineering, Inc.,  323 Research Parkway, Davenport, up 36%
  19. SmoothieCompay.com (Royale), 5315 Tremont Ave., Davenport, up 27%.
  20. Revive at the Group Med Spa,  5374 Eastern Ave., Davenport, up 25%
  21. CBI Bank & Trust,  301 Iowa Ave., Muscatine, up 24%.
  22. Rock Valley Physical Therapy, 850 43rd Ave., Moline, up 19.96%.
  23. Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists, P.C. “The Group”, 5350 Eastern Ave., Davenport, up 19.29%.
  24. Tri-City Electric Co., 6225 N. Brady St., Davenport, up 18%.
  25. Point Builders, 131 W. 2nd St., Davenport, up 16%.

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