Revenue growth headlines our annual list of privately held Oregon-based companies.
The billion-dollar club just got bigger
The Oregon Business Private 150 welcomes two new billion-dollar babies this year as the number of companies reporting annual revenues of more than $1 billion expanded.
Window and door-maker Jeld-Wen once again leads the pack and forest products company Hampton Affiliates moves up a notch from last year to No. 2. Two new companies, jet fuel distributor EPIC Aviation and retirement community developer Colson & Colson Holiday Retirement Corp., both based in Salem, join the billion-dollar club.
That club now has seven companies compared to five billion-plus companies on last year’s list. Revenue growth is the other big headline in this year’s list, which was researched and compiled by Oregon Business research editor Brandon Sawyer. The 2006 total revenues are at almost $37 billion compared to about $34 billion last year, a whopping $3 billion increase. The average revenue growth for the 137 companies that are on both this and last year’s lists is 17.4%.
The forest products sector continues to dominate with 27 companies on the list, followed by construction with 18, automotive sales with 14, food processing/distribution with 13, professional services with 12 and equipment manufacturing with 10. There are 10 new companies on the list, including TEC Equipment at No. 44, Blue Heron Paper Co. at No. 47, and Avamere Health Services at No. 56.
The number of employees in The Private 150 remained almost unchanged from last year. This year, the total number of Oregon employees in The Private 150 is 61,967 versus 57,964 in 2005. The number of worldwide employees is 135,740 for 2006 compared to 130,869 last year. That mirrors the nationwide climate of slow job creation across all sectors of employment, private and public, in what has widely been labeled a jobless recovery. This year’s Private 150 companies account for about 4% of Oregon’s jobs.
Gary Homsley, office managing partner for Portland accounting firm Grant Thornton, sponsor of The Private 150 list, last year noted Oregon businesses seemed cautious because of the fragility of the economy in 2005. This year is different. “Business owners have a fairly optimistic view of the future,” he notes. “There’s always a sense of measured risk, but I think there appears to be a sense of optimism.”
— The editors
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The Private 150 by sector
Total revenue reported by the Private 150: $37.0 billion
Average revenue reported by the Private 150: $246.4 million
Of the 137 companies also ranked last year, 99 companies showed revenue growth.
10 of this year’s companies have never appeared in the Private 150 list before.
Average revenue growth reported by the Private 150: 17.4%
Youngest company: #76, Buena Vista Custom Homes, established 2002
Oldest company: #41, Collins Companies, established 1855
The Private 150 by region
Grant Thornton is research adviser and sponsor of Oregon Business’ Private 150 list.
