Four local companies have been named to the 50 Companies to Watch list by Michigan Celebrates Small Business, a group that honors the state's leading entrepreneurs and small business owners: Great Lakes Stainless, Comfort Keepers, Higher Grounds Trading Co., and Plascon Group, all from Traverse City.

The Ticker checked in with each honoree from Up North to get their take on how they stood out among the hundreds of other entries:

Great Lakes Stainless Inc., which launched in 1995 as a company focused on the food service industry, diversified in 2007 to design and build products for hospitals, hotels, schools, airports and commercial businesses. Ever innovative, the company found even more promise – and notoriety – in 2010, thanks to its development of Aristotle Air, an energy-saving, germ-killing heat exchange unit brought to them by a local inventor and currently in a pilot project at Immaculate Conception School in TC. Last year the fabricating company topped a field of 200 to be named the Small Business of the Year by the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce.

A provider of in-home care, Comfort Keepers helps seniors and other adults maintain an independent lifestyle. One of its innovative approaches: Web-based scheduling and telephone systems to monitor caregivers’ arrival and departure from assignments and alert personnel of any change in visits. “We communicate with caregivers and clients 24 hours a day through e-mail newsletters, an internal messaging system, text messaging and voice – customizing the method to the preferences of each individual,” says President Leslie Knopp.

Blending java and global economic justice, Higher Grounds Trading Co. is Michigan’s only 100-percent fair trade and organic coffee roastery. Launched in 2002, Higher Grounds opened a retail space within its roastery at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons in 2007 and, in 2009, formed its own nonprofit, On The Ground, which oversees projects such as access to potable water and education.. In January, Higher Grounds hosted Run Across Ethiopia, a 410-kilometer marathon that raised more than $175,000 to build three schools in the country. “We've created a unique business model that incorporates gourmet coffee, social justice and environmental sustainability at its core,” says President/CEO Chris Treter.

Plascon Group is comprised of several companies that manufacture specialty plastic packaging for the food service, institutional, pharmaceutical and bulk packaging industries. Strategic partnerships have been key in Plascon’s success. For example, it’s the only company in North America that can produce bags for the patented Niverplast system (a widely used system that lines boxes with bags and is used for packaging frozen poultry and other foodservice applications). Plascon recently added 18,000 square feet to its TC facility, enabling the company to double its manufacturing capacity.

The companies will be honored at a formal dinner and awards ceremony (open to the public) on April 28 in Lansing. Tickets are $135 per person or $850.00 for a table of eight. Learn more or register here.