Oregon’s Private 150

Total revenue increases but employment declines slightly as the state’s largest privately held firms mirror the cautious economy nationwide.

Share this article!

BY BRANDON SAWYER

This year’s Private 150 experienced steady growth overall, with few big changes in the roster. The same 10 companies remained at the top of the list, but Portland-based mining parts maker ESCO Corp. advanced past Salem’s EPIC Aviation from sixth to fifth place. Portland-based timber company Hampton Affiliates and Beaverton-based Reser’s Fine Foods were tied again, moving from ninth to seventh place ahead of Roseburg Forest Products (No. 9) and McMinnville-based Evergreen Holdings (No. 10), an aviation company. Window and door manufacturer JELD-WEN has been in the No. 1 spot of the Private 150 since 1996. Rumors that its headquarters are moving to Charlotte, N.C. have swirled in the media since it leased space there early this year, but the company claims to be firmly rooted in Klamath Falls.

The construction industry dominates the Private 150 with 20 companies, followed by professional services at 18, auto dealers at 15 and forest products at 14. Eighteen companies were not on the list last year, and most had not been listed in any prior year, including Wentworth Auto Group (No. 60) of Portland, equipment transporter Omega Morgan (No. 87) of Hillsboro, and textbook dealer Bookbyte (No. 115) of Salem.

The biggest change within the list was from workplace compliance software maker NAVEX Global (formerly EthicsPoint), which rocketed from No. 131 to No. 71 this year. EthicsPoint was merged with three similar software companies in June 2012 to form the new, larger company still headquartered in Lake Oswego. Portland-based Leatherman Tool Group zoomed to No. 51 from No. 70 last year after acquiring German flashlight maker LED Lenser in 2011.

Total revenue for this year’s 150 companies was $34.1 billion, a 4.3% increase over last year’s group, which pulled in $32.7 billion. Average revenue was $227.2 million versus $218.1 million last year. Among the 142 companies for which we have revenue figures from the last two years, average revenue growth was 7.0%. Ninety-two of them grew revenue last year, 22 were flat and 28 saw a decline in sales.

The Private 150 provide a lot of jobs: 47,969 in Oregon and 130,044 total. But those numbers are both down, 5% and 3%, respectively, as companies produced more with fewer employees. As the economy continues to expand, Oregon’s largest private companies may find the confidence to enlarge their workforces and further ramp up operations.

The Private 150 is compiled based on a confidential survey of annual revenue Oregon Business sends out to hundreds of private for-profit companies headquartered in Oregon. Those that respond are ranked by annual revenue without revealing actual figures. Go to www.oregonbusiness.com/p150_update to submit your company for the list.

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current.html]}

*Ranking based on data submitted last year.

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current.html]}

*Ranking based on data submitted last year.

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current.html]}

*Ranking based on data submitted last year.
**Formerly Ethicspoint

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current.html]}

*Ranking based on data submitted last year.
***Formerly North Pacific Management
†Wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Yamamotoyama.

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current.html]}

*Ranking based on data submitted last year.

{jumi [/includes-for-articles/150-Private-Companies-current-wide.html]}