Seven companies in region make GrowFL top 50 list of fast-growth companies

Seven companies in the region, from a plumbing business to a brewery to a cybersecurity firm, were named to the annual GrowFL Companies to Watch list. 

The Edward Lowe Foundation created the Companies to Watch list, in its 13th year, to recognize and honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace with innovative strategies and processes, according to a statement. 

To qualify for the award, companies must be headquartered in Florida and have between six and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million, GrowFL says. From 2019 through 2022, these companies generated close to $2 billion in revenue and added 871 employees, reflecting a 99% increase in revenue and a 62% increase in jobs for the four-year period. That translates into a 27% average annual revenue growth and a 19% average annual growth in employees, the organization adds. 

The winners from the west coast of Florida include:

• Cigent Technology Inc; Lee County
• Fort Myers Brewing Co.; Lee County 
• Integrated Security Consultants; Hillsborough County
• Paragon Cyber Solutions; Hillsborough County
• Pro-Tec Plumbing; Collier County
• PVM; Pinellas County
• Volt Lightning; Hillsborough County

“GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch was designed to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and to shine a spotlight on the deserving second-stage businesses in our state,” GrowFL President and CEO Jennifer Taylor says in the statement. 

One of the winners, Naples-based Pro-Tec Plumbing & Air, specializes in new construction and large special projects, with services that include installing and repairing toilets, plumbing fixtures, water heaters, garbage disposals and water filtration systems. It serves residential and commercial customers in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties, with locations in Naples, Fort Myers, Ave Maria and Babcock Ranch. “We are truly honored and humbled to be recognized as a GrowFL Company to Watch,” Pro-Tec President Richard Hume, who founded the business in 2008 with a few tools in the back of his pickup truck, says in a separate statement. “And it wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and commitment of our front-line employees and the trust, confidence and continued support of our many satisfied customers across Southwest Florida.”

Since the first awards celebration in 2011, GrowFL has honored 600 companies statewide. The 2023 winners were announced on Oct. 5 and will be formally recognized at a February 2024 awards celebration in Orlando.