Inventor, entrepreneur and microbiologist are but a few of the titles that apply to the man who guides one of the fastest growing and most innovative companies in America.
Curt Jones was raised on a farm near Grand Chain, Illinois. He started fairly early with various business projects including radio repair, broom making (using his grandfather's equipment), raising livestock and baling and hauling hay and straw.
Curt attended Shawnee Community College and received a BA and MA in Microbiology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. It was during 1987, while researching various freezing techniques for the large scale commercial preservation of bacteria and enzymes that Curt developed the idea behind Dippin' DotsĀ Ice Cream. By utilizing liquid nitrogen in a quick-freeze process, a unique, high quality ice cream novelty was born that has proven to be very popular in a competitive marketplace.
Dippin' DotsĀ products are now distributed throughout the United States and in international markets in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. In October of 2002, the company's first overseas manufacturing facility was opened in South Korea through a contract manufacturing relationship. In 1994 Curt was selected Entrepreneur of the Year for the Kentucky/Southern Indiana Region in the retail/wholesale category, and that same year was inducted as a Lifetime Member into the Entrepreneur of the Year Society. In 1996, Dippin' Dots, Inc. was named #171 of the top 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States, by Inc. Magazine. The company again achieved this honor in 1997, named #331 on the Inc. 500 list; an honor rarely received two years in succession. With the establishment of Dippin' Dots Franchising, Inc. in 2000, this company has also risen to fame, named the top new franchising opportunity of 2002 by Entrepreneur Magazine.
A Master's Degree in Microbiology, college teaching experience, and former research and managerial experience all combine to create in Curt a belief in himself and his companies. With a unique approach to business management he is able to obtain a level of employee commitment and empowerment not commonly found in business today.
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Last updated: 20-Oct-03 / lsm