Ayuda Management repeats as top-growing firm.

• Position: TOP 50 minority-owned companies - Company rankings

A year ago when Ayuda Management Corp. posted the best year-over-year growth of any firm in the ColoradoBiz Top 50 Minority-Owned Companies ranking, Ayuda founder Maria Vogt reacted to her firm's 970 percent revenue jump by forecasting more growth.

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She knew what she was talking about. From 2007 to last year, Vogt's Broomfield-based construction-management firm increased revenues another 405 percent - improving year-over-year from $2.98 million to $15.1 million - to repeat as the top-growing minority-owned company among the ColoradoBiz Top 50.

Next among the top growers was Innovar Group, a staffing and recruiting-services firm based in Greenwood Village. Innovar's revenues improved 234 percent year-over-year, from $2.87 million in 2007 to $9.6 million last year.

Third for growth was Arrow Technologies, a 7-year-old firm that specializes in fiber optic and copper cabling solutions. The Centennial-based company increased revenues from $3.6 million in 2007 to $8.6 million last year for a year-over-year gain of 139 percent.

Vogt, 44, attributes Ayuda's most recent growth to its decision to expand its business line from construction management to include "we utilities" - specifically installation of water-sanitation lines on the Denver-to-Golden light rail expansion project.

"We saw an area for growth in infrastructure, and utilities specifically," Vogt said. "We saw there was going to be a lot of (stimulus) money going to infrastructure."

In broadening its business line, Ayuda more than doubled its work force. It went from 14 employees last year to 28 early this year and as of mid-June had increased to 38.

Despite the company's growth the past two years, Vogt, whose customers include the Air Force and a handful of commercial clients, says Ayuda isn't necessarily looking to add clients.

"We can't go after everything," she said. "We're not trying to have tons and tons of customers. We have eight customers, and we do a lot for those customers. I think what happens with companies that have the kind of growth we have, they spread themselves a little too thin with their customer base. We have the same customers we had last year.

"Our key managers each have one of those clients, and it's their responsibility to completely take care of each one. It's a lot of personal attention to each of our clients."

TOP 50 MINORITY - OWNED COMPANIES Ranked by revenue 2009 2008 COMPANY '08 CROSS '07 GROSS % CHANGE RANK RANK REVENUES REVENUES (000'S) (000'S) 1 1 Burt Automotive Network $2,065,189 $2,111,774 -2% 2 2 Mike Shaw Automotive Group 250,000 300,000 -17% 3 Global Technology 125,959 139,490 -10% Resources Inc. 4 Heating & Plumbing 80,000 72,500 10% Engineers Inc. 5 4 Alpine Buick Pontiac GMC 47,757 40,000 19% 6 7 Softec Solutions Inc. 25,751 18,945 36% 7 6 Managed Business Solutions 24,015 20,965 15% LLC 8 5 Rocky Mountain Instrument 21,000 23,000 -9% Co. (RMl Laser) 9 11 Setpoint Systems Corp. 15,900 12,100 31% 10 9 Protech Sales Inc. 15,500 12,700 22% 11 37 Ayuda Management Corp. 15,056 2,984 405% 12 8 Information Technology 13,500 15,000 -10% Experts Inc 13 12 Gallegos Sanitation Inc. 13,467 11,841 14% 14 10 All American Seasonings 12,443 12,949 -4%...