The Virginian-Pilot
© September 18, 2008

By Kathy Adams

VIRGINIA BEACH

Employees often play pingpong at the office of software company IssueTrak Inc.

They play hard, but they also work hard. That's been IssueTrak's recipe for success, said founder and chief executive Hank Luhring.

Apparently it works.

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce named IssueTrak the Small Business of the Year on Wednesday at a luncheon at The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center.

"I'm really blessed with a wonderful team that works hard," Luhring said. "We have a lot of fun around here and, you know, it's exciting for them to feel like they're part of a great company that's been recognized by this."

The chamber also recognized a variety of small firms, including the Small Businesses of the Year for each of the five South Hampton Roads cities and the Rising 25 - five "up-and-coming businesses" from each city.

Also, Steve Coplon, president of the Coplon Development Co., accepted the TowneBank Award for Small Business Development, recognizing his years of work helping entrepreneurs.

The chamber hands out the honors each year to recognize the contributions small-business owners make to the local economy. There are about 161,000 small businesses in the region, said Jim Carroll, the chamber's vice president for small business and executive director of the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads.

"Small businesses provide the goods and services that support the quality of life that we enjoy today," Carroll said. The five finalists "demonstrate the success and leadership and innovation that have brought their businesses to the forefront of their industries."

A panel of five judges selected IssueTrak from among the city finalists based on criteria including financial performance, business history, community involvement, customer service, and staff training and motivation.

It was a close competition this year, with IssueTrak winning by one point, said Carroll, a member of the judging committee.

IssueTrak's passion for customer service and ability to evolve with the market stood out, Carroll said.

Luhring founded IssueTrak as Luhring and Associates in 1992. Back then it was a one-man computer programming and consulting business.

After a few years, Luhring decided the company needed to evolve to keep growing. In 2000, he and his five employees created a Web-based software program to track trends and issues within a company, such as customer support requests and information technology problems.

Trader Publishing Co. bought the first copy in 2001, and IssueTrak has flourished ever since.

Today the company employs 36 people and serves 1,300 customers in 28 countries. Those customers include Microsoft, Toyota, Merrill Lynch and the Army. Last year, the company generated revenue of $5.54 million.

Luhring credits his employees with IssueTrak's success.

"One of the strong points of our company is collaboration," he said, "and the only way we've made it this far is to bring out the best of each person in the company."

For more information about IssueTrak or to request an interactive demo, please call at 1-866-ISSUETRAK or visit www.issuetrak.com.

Contact:
Douglas Christian
info@issuetrak.com
1-866-ISSUETRAK (866-477-8387)