Local companies win awards

ALACHUA – Alachua-based RTI Surgical was one of 12 businesses in Alachua County to receive an award from the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce in its fourth annual Business of the Year awards.

RTI Surgical is known for its work in surgical implants in sports medicine, spine and orthopedic procedures.

The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce awarded the company with the Best Business Expansion after it bought Pioneer Surgical in July of 2013 for $130 million. RTI is expected to earn $75 million in annual revenue from the purchase.

The company also broke ground earlier this year to build a 41,000-square-foot building in Alachua to expand the company’s headquarters.

“All of us in the park are excited and proud about this award for RTI,” said Patti Breedlove, director of the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator. “They’re already the largest employer in Progress Park and they’ve been a tremendous leader.”

With the expansion of RTI, Progress Corporate Park is growing in businesses, with RTI remaining its largest.

“The park is seeing a lot of growth,” said Jenny Highlander, manager of corporate communications for RTI. “Nanotherapuetics is growing out here, and it definitely goes to show that there is a lot of growth and potential and innovation happening up here in the Progress Corporate Park.”

The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce was not the deciding factor in who won the awards, but a board of local members of the community, said Deborah Bowie, vice president of chamber development.

“I think the highest honor that anyone can receive is when your peers tell you, ‘hey, you’re the best at what we’ve seen,’” Bowie said.

When Bowie was sitting in the room watching the award ceremony, she said the effort and work that every local business had put in to becoming one of the best in the community left her in awe.

“I think that when you’re in the mix with peer companies who are maybe doing something better than you, or you are doing something better than them, it’s sort of that rising tide concept,” Bowie said.

The event has helped inspire other businesses in the community by feeding off of the successes and creativity each company offers, Bowie said.

In addition to RTI, local business Peerfly also was awarded with the Overall Best Small Business of the Year. Peerfly is an Alachua-based sales and marketing company, and made the list of the top 30 startup businesses on Entreprenuer.com.

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