"As the leader of a company you have to be optimistic," explains Steve Kircher, CEO of Solar Power Inc. It helps to have a strong sales trajectory. His three-year-old Roseville, Calif.-based company, which manufactures solar panels and also designs and installs solar systems, saw a 13% year-over-year sales increase in November. Sales for all of 2009 should hit $65 million, and for 2010 analysts forecast bullish sales of $120 million. Part of the reason that 2010 will shine is that the system side of the business will ramp up as projects come back online. "The U.S. market is growing as stimulus money kicks in," explains Kircher.

"The U.S. market is growing as stimulus money kicks in." -- Steve Kircher, CEO, Solar Power Inc.

To serve the growing product side of his business, Kircher expects to open a plant in the United States within the next two years. Currently his manufacturing plant is located in Shenzhen, China.

What's the secret to his success? Kircher points to his business model of vertical integration, which allows for rapid revenue growth. Additionally he has received favorable financial arrangements from solar cell manufacturers as his business ramps up.

It's not just newer industries such as solar that are looking to 2010 with optimism. One-hundred-year-old C/G Electrodes LLC sees a bright future as well. Based in St. Mary's, Pa., it is the only U.S.-owned and operated global manufacturer of large-diameter UHP graphite electrodes used in the electric-arc furnace steel-making process.

While 2009 provided reasonably good pricing for C/G Electrodes, demand was low as steel companies used up their inventory of electrodes. "But 2010 looks to be 40% better than last year," says CEO David Jardini.

"2010 looks to be 40% better than last year." -- David Jardini, CEO, C/G Electrodes LLC

Navigating through 2009 was a challenge, but due to a very flexible labor compensation program, C/G Electrodes did not have to cut jobs. "We have a program where we take 8% of pretax income and distribute this back to employees. In a good year we can add 75% to regular compensation, which places our workforce off the charts when it comes to industry pay rates. But in a difficult year this allows us wage flexibility," explains Jardini.

For Emerson Process Management, a division of Emerson that manufactures products and provides technology for a variety of process industries, the recession hasn't lasted quite as long compared with other manufacturers. "The process industry came into the downturn at a later stage and for us it has only lasted 10 months. It has bottomed out and I see improvement in the second half of 2010," says President Steve Sonnenberg.

Looking at 2010, Sonnenberg sees larger projects moving once again, particularly in the oil sector, as a few factors converge simultaneously: increasing oil prices, decreasing steel prices and increasing labor availability.

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