Area High-Tech Businesses Continue to Thrive
Success in high-tech industries depends, in part, on making things more convenient and efficient to use.
Just ask the folks at Advanced Recognition Technologies. The Simi Valley company is in its ninth year of manufacturing software that enables phones, computers and other electronic equipment to be activated simply by voice or handwriting.
Advanced Recognition Technologies’ recent success has landed the company at No. 7 on the 1999 Los Angeles Technology Fast 50 list announced by the Deloitte and Touche LLP accounting and consulting firm.
Deloitte & Touche presents an annual ranking of technology firms in Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside and Santa Barbara counties, based on the firms five-year revenue growth.
Advanced Recognition Technologies, a privately held company, increased its revenue by 3,157%. The five-year increase was the most by any Ventura County business on the list and marked the first time the company had cracked the top 50. In all, eight Ventura County companies made the list, and another company--younger than the five-year minimum--received special recognition.
“It means we’re doing something right,” said Brenda Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Advanced Recognition Technologies. “Our market has grown, especially over the last three years. More manufacturers are seeing a demand for the technology, and consumer acceptance has grown quite a bit.”
The other Ventura County businesses on the list were Camarillo firms View Tech, ranked No. 11 with a 1,315% revenue increase; JeTech Data Systems, No. 19 with a 530% increase; EOS Corp., No. 21 with a 467% increase; Vitesse Semiconductor, No. 26 with a 392% increase; Rifocs Corp., No. 31 with a 347% increase, and BioSource International, No. 38 with a 250% increase.
Biopool International ranked No. 48 with a 172% revenue improvement over five years. And Dental Medical Diagnostic Systems of Westlake Village was the top business in the Jumpstarter category, for companies that have achieved significant revenue growth but have been in business less than five years. The firm has increased revenue 8,600% since 1995.
“All along the whole 101 Corridor, including Ventura County and Calabasas, you’re getting a large number of start-ups and companies that have gone a long way beyond start-ups now,” said Dan Benson, a partner in Deloitte & Touche.
“It’s really because people have chosen to live in Ventura County and have then started their businesses here. They’ve been doing it for quite a few years now, and some of the businesses are starting to hit a really good size,” he said.
Benson said quality-of-life issues play a critical role in the development of the high-tech corridor.
“People are able to start up technology businesses wherever they want to; there’s no restrictions,” Benson said. “They can start their businesses where they live or where they want to live.”
