Curt (top left) and Christopher Collar have worked for two firms in their careers: Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Apex Energy Solutions of Minnesota, which they founded in June, 2008.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, the brothers went to separate Wisconsin colleges — Curt graduated with a degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Chris got his business administration degree at St. Norbert College in De Pere — but they both followed in their dad's footsteps to work at Kimberly-Clark. Curt was with the firm for 30 years and Chris for 23 before they left to start up the Minneapolis/St. Paul Apex operation. (Even there, they have family-professional ties: their nephew, J.D. Collar, is a National Area Developer working for Apex Energy Group in Indianapolis.) Curt and Chris credit some of their firm's fast start to a recruiting relationship with the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota, but also to the ways the market connects with Apex: Twin City residents especially seem to appreciate the low-pressure, consultation-based approach used by Apex, and the climate is perfect for the energy-efficient 8000 Signature Series replacement window.

*Siding products are not offered for sale in the Minneapolis market.