Talan Products named to 2008 Inner City 100 list

Talan Products, Cleveland, became one of two U.S. metal forming companies to make the 2008 Inner City 100 list, a national ranking of the fastest-growing inner-city companies from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Inc.magazine.

Only 10 manufacturers and two metal forming companies were chosen. The other was Spex Precision Machine Technologies, Rochester, N.Y.

Talan also was chosen in 1998, the first year of ICIC rankings. This year more than 6,500 nominations were received nationwide, according to the company. Talan says its growth rate was 156 percent over the past five years, which propelled it into the top rankings.

In order to qualify for the list, a company must have at least 51 percent of its operations located in an economically distressed urban area; have at least 10 full-time employees; and have a five-year operating sales history that includes at least $200,000 in revenue in the first year of consideration, an increase in year-five sales over year-four sales, and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million. The 2008 Inner City 100 winners operate from 58 cities in 31 states. Nineteen companies on the list are based in California, the most ever for a single state; Texas and Massachusetts each have seven, and New York and Maryland each have five. Six states (Pennsylvania, Oregon, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana) have four companies on the list. Ohio has three.

The ICIC is a national not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. The organization promotes economic prosperity in America's inner cities through private-sector engagement intended to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.

For more information about the 2008 Inner City 100 list, contact Deirdre Coyle at 617-292-2363, ext. 242. The list also is online at www.icic.org.