Oregon’s Private 150

Revenue and Oregon jobs increase for the state’s biggest private companies.

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BY BRANDON SAWYER

Oregon Business’ Private 150 turns 30 this year. The list continues to evolve from being dominated by forest products and other heavy industries to one with more service-sector companies. Construction giant Hoffman Corp. jumped from No. 10 to No. 2 this year, passing up Knowledge Universe, No. 3, but otherwise the top 10 remain largely the same as in 2011.

Portland’s Erickson Air-Crane (No. 51 last year) is no longer on the list because its long-anticipated IPO took place in April, when it became Oregon’s fist new public company in several years.

Two companies fell off the list because of bankruptcy: Tualatin-based Lumber Products Co. (No. 32 last year) filed Chapter 11 reorganization, and Portland-based United Pipe & Supply Co. (No. 71 last year) is liquidating assets after 60 years in business.

Twenty-one companies were not on the list last year, and most of them have never been listed, including Albany-based Oregon Freeze Dry (No. 62), Portland’s Rodda Paint Co. (No. 84), TraneOregon (No. 105) of Tigard, Directors Mortgage (No. 108) in Lake Oswego, Bend Research (No. 116) and all of the final eight companies that are listed.

As always, a number of privately held companies that should be on our list declined to reveal their annual revenue this year. Eighteen companies from last year’s list chose not to participate, including Prineville’s Les Schwab Tire Centers, which ranked No. 3 in 2011.

This makes comparing the list year to year a little problematic but still worthwhile. In 2011, for instance, total annual revenue of all 150 companies was $32.0 billion. This year it’s $32.7 billion. Average revenue inched up 2.2% to $218.1 million.

Of the 132 companies for which we have 2011 and 2012 revenue figures, 94 or 71% had higher revenue this year, showing continued recovery among Oregon’s private companies. Eleven had no change in revenue and 27 saw declines. Average revenue growth was 13.4% for these companies.

Most of the Private 150 are very well established. The average year they were founded is 1965. The youngest company is Portland’s Langley Investment Properties, formed in 2011 when Ashforth Pacific’s local management bought out its assets from a parent company in Connecticut. Wood-products manufacturer Collins Companies, formed in 1855, is still the oldest company on the list.

The Private 150 carry huge weight in terms of jobs. They employ 50,407 in Oregon and 134,569 total, averaging 336 Oregon workers and 897 companywide. Last year they employed an average of 330 in Oregon and 912 companywide. The biggest employer on the list is No. 3 Knowledge Universe in Portland, with 30,930 employees worldwide. But the company with the most employees in Oregon is No. 12 Bi-Mart Corp., based in Eugene, with 3,300 workers statewide.

Recent statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis indicate Oregon had the second-fastest-growing state economy in the nation during 2011. As its economy advances or sputters in 2012, the Private 150 and others will continue to drive any job growth and new prosperity in Oregon.

Brandon Sawyer is the research editor for Oregon Business. He can be reached at [email protected].

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*Does not disclose revenue; rank based on revenue estimated by Ad Age in Agency Family Trees 2012 DataCenter.

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