text: In recent years, the economic climate has presented significant 
  challenges to growth—and, in some cases, survival—for American 
  businesses. The companies that have fared well are those with solid 
  financial foundations and sound growth strategies that provide a 
  measure of protection against the changing winds of the economy. 
  Atrion is one of those companies. For the past five years, we have 
  produced earnings per share growth of more than 15 percent each 
  year. Despite fluctuations in our markets and product demand, we 
  have continued to return value to our stockholders through strong 
  earnings growth, year after year. As a leading provider of medical 
  devices and components to niche markets in the health care 
  industry, we are committed to doing everything we can to continue 
  that level of performance. 