The Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Atlanta
Atlanta Business Chronicle
The past year was the most eventful in the history of Wolf Camera Inc., said founder and CEO Chuck Wolf.
"We went from 3,500 employees to over 7,000, and from less than 300 stores to over 750," he said.
The acquisition of Eastman Kodak Co.'s Fox Photo chain took Wolf Camera into 19 additional states. Wolf operated in 17 states at the time of the deal.
Also during the past year, another 44 Wolf Camera stores opened in various cities.
"It was a period of tremendous growth. Now, we're in the process of closing the unprofitable Fox Photo stores," Wolf said.
The acquisition of ProEx, a 38-store Minneapolis-based chain of children's photo finishing and portrait studios, "offered a tremendous formula for quality and lower prices than most studios. They have such a success story, and we're hoping to roll out the same concept in Atlanta," Wolf said.
The new Wolf Camera Portrait Studios will offer in-and-out service that lets customers get pictures back in 90 minutes.
Founded in 1974 by Wolf, the company began with a store in Atlanta and another in Charlotte, N.C., and has primarily focused on the Southeastern and Midwestern states and California.
Since 1996, Wolf Camera's revenue has increased 60 percent, and its number of employees has more than doubled.
Matrix continues to fill bottomless pit of IT jobs
Matrix Resources Inc. continues to be a leader in information systems staffing.
The booming economy and shortage of information technology (IT) workers -- along with industry acceptance of hiring temporary and permanent professionals -- are factors that have contributed to his company's success, CEO William Gower said. But his company's solid infrastructure has been equally important in Matrix's growth.
"We've continued to stay focused on strengthening our internal processes and on becoming a paperless environment," Gower said.
A new Web site will be rolled out on May 1, and the company already has won a national industry award for that effort. In addition, staff training now takes place through videoconferencing.
Matrix's revenues have grown from $60 million in 1996 to $135.4 million in 1998. Permanent employees have increased from 640 to 1,404.
Support Technologies `dares to be different'
For Cliff Oxford, CEO of Support Technologies Inc., the whirlwind began when he created his company in 1995 -- and it has never stopped.
This is the company's first time on the Pacesetters' list.
With a home office in Atlanta, Oxford has opened six additional offices in Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, N.C., Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and London during the past three years -- and is prepared to open in 10 more major cities in 1999.
Support Technologies provides help desk services, including staffing, outsourcing, consulting and education.
"We're the first company to write the methodology on how to run a help desk," he said. "We moved the help desk from the back office to the front office. In the [information technology] industry, most companies treat the help desk as an entry-level position, the last place you want to be. I saw it as a more strategic service, and developed the concept of first-class customer service."
He attributes his company's success to "its constant focus on reinventing the help desk industry, and its ability to dare to be different," Oxford said.
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