By Ken Mammarella
Special to Delaware Business Times

A dozen local companies made Inc.'s new 2017 list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing privately held firms in America. We asked each to tell us why - the secrets to their success - in 100 words or less.

Responses are in their order on the list, ranked by 2013-16 percentage revenue growth. Figures used are from Inc.

Companies on Inc.'s list incorporated in Delaware but not domiciled here are excluded. Several companies did not respond to requests for comment. You can see the full list at www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2017.

130 - HomeStar Remodeling

North Wilmington, window contractors and roofing, www.homestarremodeling.com, founded
in 2013, 3,074 percent growth to $3.6 million in revenue, 29 employees.

336 - FTG Equipment Solutions

Carneys Point, New Jersey, generator and air compressor distributors, ftgequipment.com, founded in 2012, 1,322 percent growth to $5.1 million in revenue, five employees.

732 - Lending Manager

Newark, mortgage websites, www.lendingmanager.com, founded in 2012, 625 percent growth to
$2.1 million in revenue, four employees.

1,013 - ChiroFusion

North Wilmington, cloud-based electronic health records for chiropractors, www.chirofusionsoftware.com, founded in 2012, 428 percent growth to $4 million in revenue, 26 employees.

"It comes down to three things. Remaining focused on our vision, building a great team and listening to our customers," said Damon Cozamanis, founding partner and president. "We have remained true to our vision of being the leading developer of affordable, cloud-based EHR (electronic health record) software for chiropractors since our inception in 2012. To achieve this, we built a team that aligned with our values and mission. We also value customer feedback and recognize that our customers are a rich source of information and provide us insight we simply can't get anywhere else. Many of our enhancements and features have been initiated at the request of customers."

1,969 - Placers

Newark, contingent workforces, myplacers.com, founded in 2011, 192 percent growth to
$3.8 million in revenue, 205 employees.

2,012 - Synchrogenix Information Strategies

North Wilmington, regulatory and medical writing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, www.Synchrogenix.com, founded in 1986, 186 percent growth to $38.4 million in revenue, 156 employees.

"At Synchrogenix, we succeed together. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the contributions of our entire team," said Kelley Kendle, president of Synchrogenix. "Our clients see and feel a difference in the way we work together and the high level of excellence we bring, as well as, our vision on how we see ourselves in the future. By constantly thinking about what the client needs and how we can best serve that need, we are revolutionizing the way we address R&D's biggest challenges through regulatory strategy, sciences services."

2,071 - Chesapeake Plumbing & Heating

Frankford, chesapeakeplumbingandheating.com, founded in 2003, 178 percent growth to $16.9 million in revenue, 100 employees.

"Enriching the lives of our employees is the main focus," said Chesapeake owner Travis Martin. "That may seem counterintuitive, but we believe it translates into the highest level of customer service. We strive to continually grow leaders and empower the people that make Chesapeake excel. We work diligently to maintain a culture built on our core values that our people exemplify every day. As we enjoy the kind of growth that placed us on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the country for the last three consecutive years, we know that our focus has to remain on our company's culture for continued success."

3,604 - SecureNetMD

Lewes, information technology services for health-care providers, securenetmd.com, founded in 2007, 85 percent growth to $4.5 million in revenue, 43 employees.

"The team is the most important part of our growth," said co-founder Jack Berberian, noting that all employees are required to be certified or credentialed in their fields and that their attention to detailed customer service has meant a 97 percent client retention. He also credits "a diversified portfolio of products" that appeals to solo practitioners (its first clients), hospitals and publicly traded companies in 18 states. Those products now include voice over internet phones, disaster recovery, network security and virtualization. "We're extremely good at any product we bring on board."

3,736 - The Siegfried Group

Wilmington, certified public accountants and leadership advisory firm, www.siegfriedgroup.com, founded in 1988, 80 percent growth to $135.6 million in revenue, 617 employees.

Founder Rob Siegfried attributes the consistent growth of The Siegfried Group to many differentiating factors, most notably the hundreds of dedicated and passionate employees working with its valued clients to advance their most important finance and accounting projects. Siegfried provides another valuable service: leadership advisory. "Our clients can be more reflective on how they think and feel about their careers, relationships, life and success," he said. "Leadership advisory is a hallmark of Siegfried. We help people transform themselves to become better leaders to exponentially improve their lives."

3,900 - Karins and Associates

Newark, engineering, www.karinsengineering.com, founded in 1973, 74 percent growth to $5.7 million, 53 employees.

"Karins provides exceptional client service and, as a result, has a large base of repeat clients as a foundation from which to grow," said Dev Sitaram, president, principal and project manager. "We maintain conservative fiscal management policies that, along with our project management and operations' approach, have created stability during varying business and economic conditions, allowing Karins to sustain and grow the business over several decades. Our strategic plan calls for geographic diversity in order to remain competitive. In 2016, we acquired Momenee Inc. outside of our current market area but in a region in which we wanted to grow. The acquisition has proven to be successful."

4,800 - Implify

Newark, information technology, implifyinc.com, founded in 2006, 46 percent growth to $5.9 million in revenue, 36 employees.

4,941 - Applied Control Engineering

Newark, automation, process control and information technology systems integration, ace-net.com, founded in 1991, 42 percent growth to $22.2 million in revenue, 133 employees.

"At Applied Control Engineering, success has been built on relationships with our employees, customers and system suppliers," said President Ian P. Burns. "Employee relationships ensure lower turnover and familiarity with our customers and suppliers. Customers rely on our familiarity with their processes, systems and people. Our suppliers depend on ACE to know their systems; how to apply their products to solve customers' problems. The interdependent relationship between ACE, our customers and our suppliers is a new business reality. An orderly management and ownership transition has secured the relationships for years to come. Our employees, customers and suppliers can count on ACE to be there."