A legend below the radar: What began as a fishing lure company is now Lake Region Medical, one of the world's biggest contract manufacturers in the medical technology industry. [Star Tribune, Minneapolis]

maker of pacemakers, with $14.6 billion in annual revenue, Lake Region decided to narrow its focus to medical products. By 1974, Joe Sr. retired from Honeywell and signed on to head his growing company, enlisting the support of his four children, and...