Mashburn Outdoors' ATMedia Outdoor specializes in airport signage and vehicle wraps, such as on this double-decker bus in Los Angeles.Chances are, you've seen the work of Mashburn Outdoors. The Atlanta-based signage firm works with some of the biggest names in American enterprise: Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Samsung, Heineken and Exxon Mobil among others.
Mashburn is the parent company of ATMedia Outdoor, which specializes in airport signage and vehicle wraps.
The company's founder and current CEO, Richard Mashburn, is from here. He graduated from Ooltewah High School in 1985 and from East Tennessee State University in 1990.
And he just landed on a pretty prestigious list.
Mashburn Outdoors was named one of Inc. magazine's top fastest-growing private companies in America. Mashburn was named number 467 out of 5,000.
According to Inc., Mashburn Outdoors grew 1,010 percent between its founding in 2009 and last year. The company's 2010 revenue was $513,810.
And its 2013 revenue was $5.7 million.
Mashburn Outdoors maintains an office in Chattanooga. For years, the firm accrued a collection of billboards in the greater-Chattanooga area.
It started with six in Ooltewah and Cleveland.
Mashburn added 20 billboards in East Brainerd and near Hamilton Place when it purchased the billboard assets of Dupont Outdoor.
The acquisitions continued, and in 2011 Mashburn bought Hall Outdoor's 85 billboards located across the metro Chattanooga area.
The company added to its total again when it built 11 digital, LED billboards around the metro area. That put Mashburn Outdoors' billboard total at 122.
And earlier this year, Mashburn flipped the script and sold all of its billboard assets to Georgia-based Fairway Outdoor. Mashburn officials say the sale doesn't mean the closing of the Chattanooga office, though. Mashburn is currently looking at other ventures in the Chattanooga and Johnson City, Tenn. markets.
Richard Mashburn's family still lives in Chattanooga.
Airport Target Media
In 2010, Mashburn started a subsidiary company called Airport Target Media, or ATMedia Outdoor, to "provide national advertisers with large scale advertising programs at affordable rates," said Chelsea Weddle, spokeswoman for the firm.
"These programs target and reach a very desirable audience," said Weddle.
Since 2010, ATMedia has grown into one of the largest exterior airport advertising firms in the country, with products at 42 U.S. airports.
ATMedia does airport shuttle wraps and elevator wraps among a myriad of other things. ATMedia also put the wraps on double decker buses for the City of Los Angeles and many fleet vehicles for companies like Heineken.
"I never thought we would be in the business of wrapping double decker buses in Los Angeles or implementing huge event wrap programs for advertisers such as [jobs] at the last three Super Bowls," said Richard Mashburn. "But, when exciting and new opportunities present themselves, [Mashburn Outdoors] has been at the right place and time to partner with fitting advertisers and property partners."
He said Mashburn's landing on the top 500 list justifies the work he and others in the company have done since 2009 and 2010, when he set out with $900,000 to found Mashburn Outdoors and ATMedia.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.