ynk Systems Inc. just turned 10 years old in July, and if you have not read much about this company over the years, it is by design.

For 10 years, Lynk has been quietly growing in Atlanta, and everywhere else for that matter. Ed Uzialko, Lynk's president and CEO, is an enigmatic kind of technical genius who doesn't have much use for publicity and might not be too pleased that we are even doing this story. But, nonetheless, we want to acknowledge this milestone.

Founded in 1991, Lynk has earned recognition as one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Deloitte & Touche and Inc. magazine, which amazes me when you realize how little is actually known about Lynk.

While Lynk has chosen not to share much with the outside world about its activities or even its processing volume, this wall has been slowly coming down. Today, a fair amount of information about the company exists on www.lynksystems.com.

Lynk is a proven leader in electronic payment, cash dispensing and e- commerce services. Lynk processes transactions initiated by credit and debit cards, checks and other access cards from merchant point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and Web sites. Lynk also provides related payment services such as the issuance of stored-value cards that facilitate electronic funds distribution.

Lynk controls the entire processing sequence, including sales, merchant payment equipment, design and hosting of Internet storefronts, transaction authorization, capture, settlement and customer service. This "in-sourced" model facilitates a truly integrated single-source service that gives Lynk customers one-call support for all their processing needs. Lynk's proprietary technology and comprehensive network connectivity offer customers of all sizes exceptional processing performance.

Lynk provides payment services to more than 65,000 merchant POS terminals and cash advance services at 11,000 locations nationwide, representing more than 17 million transactions a month. Lynk employs more than 450 management and technical personnel at its headquarters in Atlanta and more than 435 sales associates who market products and services across the U.S.

But to talk about Lynk's technical prowess, or even their sales growth, for that matter, would be to miss the entire point of why Lynk was built. So we will close this story with Uzialko's own words to the company on July 13:

"In July 1991, Chuck Mann, Norma Wayco and, later that year, David Howe helped me start Lynk. At the time, my plan was to focus on a market niche called 'scrip' with a broader agenda of building a transaction processing company in stages. It was their expertise, dedication and support that got us through the first year.

"Three years later, Wayne Damron came aboard with the mission to bring credit card processing experience into the company. Lynk has grown significantly since those early years, a result of the contributions made by all employees. Together, we built a business from scratch. Today, Lynk is a market leader within our industry.

"As we move forward, no doubt there will be change, but one thing will stay constant - we will remain committed to a goal I've had since I started this company: to provide an employee-centric work environment enabling career opportunities for every Lynk employee. Lynk's success depends on the success of its employees."

Happy birthday, Lynk!