Design/build remodeling 25 years in business 2003 volume: $20 million Staff: 36 office, 8 field

Normandy Builders is — in a good way, of course — like the irradiated bug in a B science fiction movie: It just keeps growing larger and larger.

Founded 25 years ago by Reg Marzec (center) and John Steindl (right), the company made the leap from successful to monstrously successful when the owners hired general manager Andrew Wells (left). “[Andy] really took us into the 21st century in terms of streamlining and computerizing our business,” Marzec says.

Today, every phase of the business, from lead tracking to job costing, is automated and tightly controlled. “We watch all the details all the time,” Wells says.

Kristene Wolff And that focus isn't lost on production or service.

“We recognize that our customers are our main priority,” Marzec says, noting the sale-to-completion-and-beyond responsibilities of the company's sales and design staff.

Will the growth ever stop? “We feel like the Chicago market is limitless,” Wells says. “Even though we're a $20 million company, we're still a small piece of a big market.”