Sharing secrets: revenue and workforce gains come from training, technology and tacts, Fast 40 execs say.

GROWTH IS TOUGH FOR ANY COMPANY IN TODAY'S ECONOMY, BUT THESE FOLKS FIGURED IT OUT. Business North Carolina magazine invited representatives from several 2015 North Carolina Mid-Market Fast 40 companies to a round-table discussion. They shared insight into their successes, which include posting impressive workforce and revenue gains from 2012 to 2014, and described how recruiting workers, harnessing technology and handling growth were all important. Participating were Aubrey Meador, president of Mebane-based ARCA Inc., which manufactures cash-automation equipment; John Winter, vice president of operations at direct-current systems developer Greensboro-based ABT Power Management Inc.; Rick Davenport, president of construction for Greensboro-based builder Samet Corp.; and Jon Olin, managing partner and vice president of Ettain Group Inc., a Charlotte-based information-technology staffing service. Joining them were Erik Horstmann and Scott Duda, managing partners at Richmond, Va.-based Cherry Bekaert LLP, the accounting firm that compiled the list. Ben Kinney, Business North Carolina publisher, moderated the discussion, which High Point University hosted. The transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.

What trends do this year's North Carolina Mid-Market Fast 40 companies share?

DUDA Each company dealt with unique issues, but growth was on everyone's mind, whether that was navigating it or managing it while retaining the culture that made them successful. Technology is a second universal theme. It's keeping these businesses competitive by differentiating them from competitors.

HORSTMANN That uniqueness was key to their revenue growth. Most of the companies have a game plan for their growth. Even if the workers weren't in the roles, they knew what they wanted to do and were ready to execute.

How are you using technology to grow your business?

MEADOR We help bank branches operate efficiently and offer better customer service. People aren't using bank branches as much, so fewer are built and staffs are small. That creates issues, such as when a customer wants to simply cash a check but has to wait 20 minutes for a commercial customer processing a cash deposit. Technology, to a large part, helps us turn those negative experiences positive. It allows staff to do more than cash checks or record deposits. We've gone from selling cash-automation products manufactured for all banks 10 years ago to custom products that target individual needs. Bankers hate risk. Why invest in technology infrastructure when the future is unknown? We're providing interlocking smaller pieces that make for easier decisions and less risk. It's a modular approach to success, theirs and ours.

OLIN Technology saves money and increases revenue. How important are technology-skilled workers to companies? The unemployment rate for IT talent is less than 2%. There might be 10 Java-developer positions open in Winston-Salem, for...