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Clearwater-based FrankCrum had 3129 million in sales in 2OO5,compared with 515 million in 2d)1. lts 2OO5billing and
op€rations totaled Sf.z billion. Florida Trend ranked it l5th in size among Florida's privatG businesses in 2006"
\(/hat And Sfho Is
ThisRankcrum?
A staffing company
begun by Crum Sr.
and Ir. in 19Bl now
ranks among state's
largest businesses.
BY
MARYSHEDDEN
'l'he
TbmpaTlibune
FrankCrum
C L E A R W A T E Rmight be the best-known unknown in town.
After all, the Crum name soelled out in 4-foot-tall silver
metal letters - commands attention from drivers passing the rnassive downtor.rrn Clearwater headquarters. And it's the company
that has signed hundreds of thousands of temporary wotker Paychecks durirrg the past 25 years.
Yet, many people have no idea
what the hundreds of workers inside the multioffice building complex on South Missouri Avenue
really do. Until now.
This temporary staffing and human resource administrator that
quietly developed a client base of
3,500 small businesses is raising its
profile in a booming professional
employer organization market.
The company has seen its sales
increase eightfold during the past
five years. It iust infused $3.5 million into new technology, rebranded its image and tlveaked its name
to stay cornpetitive.
That's why, after 25 years of
operating under the radar, FrankCrurn the cornpany and its president - Frank Crum the man are ready to formally introduce
themselves.
Frank Winston Crum Jr.
llibune photosbYMARK GUSS
"l'm a free-spirh kind of guy," Precident Frank Winiton Crum rr. said at the
Clearwat€r headquarters of the company he and his late father launched.
Page1 F
STAFFING,
SeeFRANKCRUM
It picked. up momentutn in l98os.
totalclientlistof apFriu*Crum's
prournatcly
49,000
ernployees
sard
heaimsto grorv
intoa
Crurn
Jr,
President
Frank
Winston
Crum
cornpany
aslargeasGevity,
butadtotakehiscommitsheisreluctant
Ave.,
Headquarters:
100S.Missouri
panvpublic.
growth
Heprefers
under
Clearwater
i
From
Page
Continued
notthose
ofshareholders.
iris
rules,
Human
resource
administraServices:
"l
toldI can'tdo
don'tlikebeing
workers'
tor,temporary
staffing,
it,"
he
said.
cottistafling
compensation
insurance
a
telnporan/
launched
clients,
who range
IrrankCrum
panylvithhisfatliet* i;Lanl\'Vinston Established:
198iinLargo
astheGreat
offices
ton u'lite-collar
acconttting
Crun Sr.- in i981.'Iltedriocalled American
Servlce
Temporary
blue-collar
contracro small-timr',
Ctt';tt
.\ttericutt
c0nrplnt'
theLargo
million,
upfrom
2005sales:
$129
roLs,
rniglrt
besurprised
to meetthe
Seruices,
btribr thccndof
Tentporan
in2001
$15nrillion
the
runconventional
leader
overseeing
optedto placcthetarnilv
thedecade
tmployees:260
execbillion
operatir:n.
Visit
the
masilreacl.
ill.2
moniketonthe
"Dad I lranledpeople
utiveoficeof tlis 127,000-squaretoknotv
and
foorfaciliry,
audyou'llfinda presi\vas0n theline.
thatour {eputation
filledwithhand-cawed
1980s,
dent's
office
in
the
midto
late
it
\'vas
at1
ego
lnenrum
...Weneverthought
giraffes
andexotic
artwork.
staffing
clientssuch wood
thing,'saidCmmJr.,whoadrnitshe \{'ientemp0rary
card,
GroupandFloddaPow- AskCrumfor hisbusiness
andhisfatherbothshiedalav fron aslnter-Rail
"Senior"
president
dressed
assistance
handling andthecasually
er Corp.needed
themedia.Hisfather,called
ponytail
scrambles
to
the patroll and otherhumanresourcervitha graying
rttnttittg
duringhisnvodecadcs
notonhis
suchitsslaving
on topof findone.Notinhispocket,
76.
asrisiance
diedin Ianuaq'at
company,
r,vhere
twoempty
card
cluttered
desk,
ernplovee
taxes.
staifingis one-thirdof paving
Temporarv
t h p f l r " r p n rF r r n k ( ' t ' i' n r r r n ' ' n i / . a0tn ,
buthe
otherstaffi
ngconpaniesholders
sit.It takesawhile,
Sinrilari_v,
credenza.
for acxlssthe countrysalvsmallbusi- findsa boxin a nearby
saidEiiseLynn,r,iccpreskient
remail,
hu- Most
allofthei,000
cards
fortrelpharrdling
nesres
looking
F,mplovee
affaiLs.
legalandbusiness
'['rnafrec-spirit
- inr,l'hich
kindofguy,'said
said Edie Clark,
servesman resources,
FtankCrun
leasing
who
student
Asso- theonetime
seminary
for theNational
health spokeswornan
of pa1,roll,
as administrator
out because
he felt too
Employet
0r- dropped
forProfessional
for a client ciation
andtaxes
carebenefits
- andgeneral
to
restricted
by organized
religion
human
re- ganizatious.
business
into the PEO Lu^g^L^U. -u^l c c^ P* -4^D+ r^u. r .
also "Frank,he emerged
management
consulting
source
in his
tothecomplex
2005 rnodelat the righttine and knelv Crumdrives
to the repotted
contributed
pickupwithcigarburn
said blackDodge
hourto providethat service,"
of$129
rnillion.
sales
to
in theupholstery.
Heloves
700 holes
thenation's
billing
andop- Clark,whoestimates
2005
FrankCrurn's
talkaboutspirituality
0r art 0r his
employcr
organizations
totaied$1,2billionand prolessional
erations
rvhere
heandhiswife,
lanch,
todaysen'eabout100,0000dessa
caughtthe attcntiotlof Floridain business
tobreed
alpacas.
Brenda,
arestarting
clientcotnpanies.
listingof thestate'ssmallandrnidsized
Trend's
annual
Crumthemanmight
Thecom- Oneof thekeysto thecontinuing Andalthough
businesses.
large$private
to Crumthe
is theit seern
anoddcontrast
ranking,gronrth0f thesecomparies
panyranked
15thinthc2006
conplex,
of
cos$lbrsmall office
therearesplashes
abilitytocutinsurance
uponespotfrom2005.
plansln hisout-of-the-box
sryle.Sculptures,
b,vpurchasing
tlte businesses
Lynnand CrLundor,r,nplay
postaffirmation
that con- arfwork
andframed
the$1.2biliionfigue bundies.Smallemployers
ranking,
saying
areeverywhere.
of its ciient tractrvitha PEOcangetmoreafford- ersaboutteamwork
includes
the payrolls
rvhichhasa cheiis
com- Thecafeteria,
ablehealthcaieandlvorkers'
anddoesnotaccurately
companies
forthe260employees,
perrtation
insurance
for ihcirem- subsidized
gtowtlt.
theinteLnal
reflect
helps
Crumsaidthisphilosophy
Ftank plovees,
Clarksard.
related
conpany,
A second,
butdoesn't
ahealthy
business,
wriies ThoughmostPEOsareprivately create
lVinstonCrumInsurance,
whathedoesforclient
policies
foL oured, sone are pubhclyttaded, comprornise
workers'
cotnpensation
"We
gooutside
the
Accord- companies, never
Gevity.
lt isa suchasBradenton's
clientcompanies.
FmnkCrum's
tothelawsand
fromtheem- ing to the company's
corporation
separate
htneinvestor boxasfarasit apphes
hesaid.
sales therules,"
them presentation,
the company's
ployer
andalloivs
organization
in 2005,
lvhether
or notto takeon tolveredovel FrankCrum
to decide
Gevity Reporter
millionin revenue.
suchas rvith$608.8
high-risk
clientcompanies
L{nry
Shedden
canhe
reached
lvith moreihan at mshedden@tampatrib.um
or (813)
Lirtnsaid. seles companies
root'ers
andcontraclors,
rvith 259-7365.
asconpared
gained
ernployees,
mostofitstno- 150,000
FrankCrun
FRANKCRUM
ABOUT
IRA}.||t[Rt|lti
STAffIilG
hbra M.Manw
F inkc.um. ft€
works in 6€ billinS deFnm.nt
for califohia cu$os€ri
Cl€arwatcr <ompan, offers a nrfrh.
ofseryi<*-
at