After retiring from a 30-year career as a US Navy officer, Johnny Walker was ready to apply his expertise in the private sector and start his own business.

Founded a little over 12 years ago, Illinois-based Kranze Technology Solutions designs and builds high-tech digital equipment, primarily for use by the U.S. military. For the first couple of years, the company operated using a fairly modest line of credit extended to it by the major national bank with which it was then working.

Before choosing Sandy Spring Bank a little over five years ago, Quadrant Inc. had worked with “about six different banks,” says Quadrant CEO and founder Cait Vargas-Cissel. “We tried lots of different banks and, lots of different kinds of banks, but we never found one that felt like a partner until we came to Sandy Spring Bank.”

In the nine years ATSI Corp. has done its banking with Sandy Spring Bank, its business has grown exponentially — from three employees, to 10, to 50 to currently near 100 — with ATSI’s revenue growth on an even higher trajectory.