A local company has once again received national recognition for being one of the fastest-growing inner city companies in the United States.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Bloomberg BusinessWeek named Panther Graphics to the 2010 Inner City 100 program.

After working for other people in printing over the years, Tony Jackson decided he wanted to go into business for himself. In 1993, he started Panther Graphics.

"You hear about when you start a business, the one-year hump, the three-year hump, five-year hump, but when I started my business I put myself in the position where failing was not an option," Jackson said.

Panther Graphics is a full-service print production company, turning out everything from bound books to lottery sheets.

It grew from four employees to 20 and also plans to expand from 14,000 square feet of space on Rochester's Cumberland Street to 23,000 square feet by the fall.

All that growth is why Panther Graphics made the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City's list of the country's fastest growing companies in America's inner cities.

"I think I have the same sense of urgency today as I did 17 years ago,” Jackson explained. “I don't feel that I've achieved something that's any different then any other small business owner even here in Rochester. We just come in and work hard and you get noticed for it."

Jackson hopes to make Panther Graphics more of a marketing solutions company for customers in the future. He says that future is also very much tied to this community.

Jackson doesn't like to talk about how much time and money he gives, but the company logo on the wall says it: “Panther Graphics is dedicated to delivering outstanding quality and service beyond our customer's expectations while being a leader in our community primarily making a positive difference in the lives of the youth in it."

Jackson said, “One of the biggest successes at this point in my career in business is helping others … impacting the lives not only of the youth in our community, but the employees here. I think that we'll achieve greater things for Panther Graphics by the more lives we impact."

Panther Graphics