Thomas Mechanical ranked ‘8th Fastest Growing’ by The Capital Corporation
RISING RANKS – Thomas Mechanical’s Fire Protection Division Manager Kris Hornberger, left, and Thomas Mechanical Owner Martin Lowry were in Columbia last week where the company was named the 8th Fastest Growing Company in SC by The Capital Corporation.
Laurens, South Carolina – Thomas Mechanical of Laurens was honored last week as the state’s 8th fastest growing company, and owner Martin Lowry said local connections are still critical to success.
The state-wide honor was presented by The Capital Corporation at an annual ceremony recognizing some of the state’s elite businesses at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
A Mechanical Contracting and Fire Prevention Solutions company, Thomas Mechanical has been ranked 8th among South Carolina’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies, a competition among the state’s businesses ranked for combined revenue and employee growth.
“It’s judged based on a three-year run of revenue growth and employee growth,” said Thomas Mechanical owner Martin Lowry. “You have to have a minimum of $3 million in revenue to enter, and we now have between 85-90 employees. We’ve grown a lot in recent years.”
Entering the competition requires a great deal of effort since businesses are judged from their financials, verified by tax returns and employment numbers over a three-year span. And this isn’t the first time the company has been noticed.
“Once we were ranked as the 25th, and then we were ranked 17th and then 15th, so this is our highest ranking yet,” Lowry said.
The company’s move to Hunter Industrial Park Road, visible from I-385, likely had a lot to do with its recent growth, he added.
“It helps, and we’re well-recognized in the Greenville community,” Lowry said. “But we’re proud that we are in Laurens. We could have built the new facility somewhere else because a large percentage of our work is outside the county, but Laurens is a good place to be because when it comes down to it, we have to do a good job, and people still do business with people.”
South Carolina’s 50 Fasting Growing Businesses competition is sponsored and presented by The Capital Corporation, a market investment advisory banking firm which presents the competition and ranks the companies for the economic vitality they provide within South Carolina. The event was hosted by Integrated Media which publishes the state’s regional business magazines.
“It’s also co-sponsored by other large business firms and there are some are real heavy-hitters involved in this program. Now we can use this ranking in our own marketing materials,” Lowry said, “But no matter how many accolades you get, it comes down to people working with people.”
