Local company on list of 100 fast-growing urban firms

A small Toledo company that makes precision parts for defense contractors and the aviation industry has been included on an advocacy group's list of the 100 fastest-growing inner-city companies in the nation.

Rogar International Inc., which does business as Hansen Machine & Tool Co., was 83rd on the list that was compiled by the Boston-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine.

The privately held company was included on the list after it was nominated locally because its revenues had doubled between 2004 and 2008 to $2.8 million, Steven Pedigo, who is a spokesman for the inner-city advocacy group, said.

Hansen Machine has been in business in Toledo since 1907 and was purchased in 1988 by Ron Clark, a former executive with Champion Spark Plug. The company, with 11 employees, operates a 32,000-square-foot shop in the 4000 block of Dewey Street, near the intersection of North Detroit and Sylvania avenues.

The ICIC's "Inner City 100" list has been published each of the last 12 years to recognize growing firms in economically hard-hit urban areas.

Companies on this year's list are 34 percent minority-owned and 18 percent women-owned, and are in 58 cities across 34 states.

To qualify, companies were required to have at least 51 percent of their operations in economically distressed urban areas and have at least $200,000 in revenues and at least 10 employees.

Ken Clark, Rogar's chief financial officer and chief operating officer and Ron Clark's son, said growth in the firm's work with defense contractors and local glass makers accounted for the nearly doubling of revenues over the five-year period.

"What we have seen is a combination of increase in the glass industry and, also early on, we saw an increase in our parts we manufacture for defense [contractors]," for items like the B-1 bomber and Blackhawk helicopter, Ken Clark said.

The company added two people to its work force during that period.