Sevier News Messenger Sevier County News and Opinion
With more than 30 million businesses in the United States, it’s remarkable enough to make the Inc. 5000 List of fastest growing among them. Even more impressive is achieving the feat for eight years running, as Kodak’s KaTom Restaurant Supply has done.
The list by “Inc.” magazine is the latest recognition the company has received for its continued growth. The magazine also recently recognized KaTom as one of America’s fastest-growing woman-owned companies, an honorific already bestowed upon it twice by the Women Presidents’ Organization. The company was recognized as the 23rd-largest in its industry this year by trade publication “Foodservice Equipment & Supplies.”
“My late husband Tim, who co-founded KaTom with me there in our garage in Russellville, always reminded us, ‘Customers are not interruptions to your work; they are the reason you are here.’ We’ve built this amazing company on that philosophy of always putting the customer first and I believe that’s why we continue to see this phenomenal growth,” KaTom Founder, President, and CEO Patricia Bible says. “I’m so thankful to be where we are, and I’m so proud we’ve been able to keep this a customer-focused, family company while growing it into a leader in our industry. We never dreamed of anything like this 30 years ago when we were laying the foundations of KaTom.”
Rankings on the Inc. 5000 List are determined by three-year growth percentages, with KaTom shown recording a 51-percent increase in sales over the last three years. The company is one of 14 East Tennessee businesses to make the list, with the Knoxville area home to nine of those. Sevier County claims two, with KaTom and Sevierville’s IMEG tourism and destination marketing agency making the list.
“That incredible growth KaTom has experienced is a direct result of the hard work Patricia and the staff do every day,” Sevier County Economic Development Council Executive Director Allen Newton says. “We are proud to have KaTom in our community. The company is a great corporate citizen; it’s everything the community would want in a corporate partner.”
KaTom Restaurant Supply offers commercial and residential kitchen equipment through www.katom.com, a mail-order catalog, and a retail outlet, Chef Supplies, at its Kodak, Tenn. headquarters up the road from Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
I have used this Katom company for different items over the past 22 years. They have always been very helpful and courteous to me. I love going there to get lots of various items and always satisfied with my purchases. Their merchandise goes the test of time and a enjoy to use.