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No. 7
Revenue growth FY 2021 to 2023: 150.5%
2023 revenue: $20.5 million
Process Alliance is eager for growth. This is the third consecutive year that the pharmaceutical engineering consultant is among the Fast 25, and a fourth in 2025 wouldn’t be surprising. The company, already riding a wave of growth brought on by opportunity as well as a hot-selling drug, recently has added an engineering design subsidiary and a medical-device unit to its portfolio. And the company is moving beyond its traditional verticals of pharmaceuticals and animal health into chemical manufacturing.
Walk the talk: Company President Darren Thompson highlights his team’s experience as chemical engineers as a key factor in the company’s growth. They know what a pharmaceutical plant needs to operate. “We’ve been able to have that conversation that, basically, ‘We’ve been in your shoes; we understand the pain and the challenges that you have.’” Another factor: Eli Lilly and Co.’s wildly popular diabetes and weight-loss drug Mounjaro. Lilly, where Thompson used to work, is an anchor client. “Their growth rate has provided tremendous opportunity,” he says.
The COVID factor: The unprecedented demand for speedy drug production during the pandemic was an opportunity for Process Alliance to show that it can deliver, he says. “COVID really gave us a platform to develop new relationships.”
Growing pains: Such rapid growth brings its share of challenges, Thompson says. The company, which began in 2018, is on its third enterprise software system. HR systems need to evolve to ensure that the workplace is compliant but also that pillars are in place to create an attractive workplace culture. “You’re constantly behind on infrastructure,” he says. “How do we keep pace with our growth?”
Generational gap: The company began with a handful of people over the age of 55. The majority of the workforce is now under 35. “We have to be mindful that there are generational differences,” Thompson says. “How do we make sure we’re actively working on the cultural piece that encompasses the 25-year-old and a 65-year-old?”•
Check out more of IBJ’s ranking of Indy’s fastest-growing companies.
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