Business North Carolina's TOP 125 PRIVATE COMPANIES.

$2 billion or more in revenue

(latest fiscal year)

  1. Hendrick Motorsports

    Charlotte

    Automotive dealerships

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Ed Brown III

    Employees: 10,700

    Rick Hendrick, who turned 70 in July, can celebrate a career creating the state's largest privately held company based on revenue. He broke into the auto industry at 23 as general manager of a used car lot in Raleigh owned by one of the Triangle's largest car dealers, Mike Leith. He purchased his first dealership, a Chevrolet franchise in Bennettsville, S.C., in 1976, then expanded rapidly in the '80s and '90s, aided from 1993-99 by a now-dissolved partnership with New York-based private equity group Warburg Pincus LR Today, his Hendrick Automotive Group operates more than 140 retail franchises and collision centers across 14 states and is the nation's largest privately held dealership group, according to Automotive News. Hendrick is probably better known for his motorsports business, which ranks second on NASCAR's all-time top-level victories list behind Richard Petty Motorsports. Former senior Bank of America executive Ed Brown has been Hendrick Automotive's CEO since 2011.

    2 American Tire Distributors

    Huntersville

    Tire distribution service

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Stuart Schuette

    Employees: 4,500 *

  2. Belk Inc.

    Charlotte

    Department store chain

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Lisa Harper

    Employees: 25,000

  3. SAS Institute Inc.

    Cary

    Software developer

    2018 rank: 1

    CEO: Jim Goodnight

    Employees: 13,946

  4. Transportation Insight LLC

    Hickory

    Logistics consultant

    2018 rank: 2

    CEO: Rennie Faulkner

    Employees: 500

  5. Alex Lee Inc.

    Hickory

    Wholesale and retail grocer

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Brian George

    Employees: 9,460

    $1 billion to $2 billion

    (latest fiscal year)

  6. Parkdale Inc.

    Gastonia

    Textile company

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Anderson Warlick

    Employees: 5,000

  7. Flow Automotive Cos.

    Winston-Salem

    Automotive dealerships

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Don Flow

    Employees: 1,800 *

  8. National Gypsum Co.

    Charlotte

    Manufacturer of wallboard products

    2018 rank: 3

    CEO: Tom Nelson

    Employees: 2,500 *

  9. Pike Corp.

    Mount Airy

    Construction and engineering services for electric utilities

    2018 rank: 4

    CEO: J. Eric Pike

    Employees: 1,300 *

    11 AmWINS Group Inc.

    Charlotte

    Wholesale insurance distributor

    2018 rank: 5

    CEO: Scott Purviance

    Employees: 5,000

    12 Farm Technologies Inc.

    Charlotte

    Manufacturer of metal components

    2018 rank: 6

    CEO: Simon Newman

    Employees: 9,500

  10. LORD Corp.

    Cary

    Manufacturer of adhesives, coatings and motion controls

    2018 rank: NA

    CEO: Ed Auslander

    Employees: 3,100

  11. Leith Inc.

    Raleigh

    Car dealerships

    2018 rank: N/A

    COO: Danny Williams

    Employees: 1,800

    15 Goldsboro Milling Co.

    Goldsboro

    Grain, poultry and pork production

    2018 Rank: N/A

    CEO: H.G. Maxwell III

    Employees: 1,000 *

    The Maxwells have been among eastern North Carolina's most influential farming families since Hugh Gillespie Maxwell Jr. started selling livestock feed in 1916. The family-owned company still sells lots of feed, but Goldsboro Milling's key business now is a 50% stake in the Butterball turkey brand, which posted annual sales of $1.6 billion in 2018. Garner-based Butterball LLC has a complex corporate history, but the 5,500-employee business is now a joint venture between the Maxwells and Merriam, Kan.-based Seaboard Corp., a public company. (Butterball has posted net losses of $38 million over the last two years, Seaboard filings show.) Goldsboro Milling is also one of the nation's 10 biggest pork producers, raises blueberries on 700 acres in Bladen County and owns farmland.

    $500 million to $999 million

    (latest fiscal year)

  12. Market America Inc.

    Greensboro

    Product brokerage and digital marketer

    2018 rank: 8

    CEO: JR Ridinger

    Employees: 832

  13. Steelfab Inc.

    Charlotte

    Dealer of construction and industrial equipment

    2018 rank: 9

    CEO: Ed Weisiger Jr.

    Employees: 1,549

  14. Steelfab Inc.

    Charlotte

    Steel fabricator

    2018 rank: 12

    CEO: Glenn Sherrill

    Employees: 1,24

  15. Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co.

    Raleigh

    Hotel management and development

    2018 rank: 14

    CEO: Mark G. Laport

    Employees: 4,578

  16. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp.

    Winston-Salem

    Doughnut shop chain

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Michael J. Tattersfield

    Employees: 5,200 *

  17. ACN Opportunity LLC

    Concord

    Telecommunications service provider

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Greg Provenzano

    Employees: 350 *

  18. Variety Wholesalers Inc.

    Henderson

    Discount retailer

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Art Pope

    Employees: 6,000 *

  19. Glen Raven Inc.

    Glen Raven

    Specialty fabric maker

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Leib Oehmig

    Employees: 3,000 *

  20. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co.

    Charlotte

    Pipe manufacturer and supplier

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Roddey Dowd

    Employees: 750 *

  21. Prestage Farms Inc.

    Clinton

    Pork and poultry production

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Bill Prestage

    Employees: 2,000 *

  22. Barnhill Contracting Co.

    Rocky Mount

    General contractor

    2018 rank: 11

    CEO: Robert E. Barnhill

    Employees: 1,150

  23. Gregory Poole Equipment Co.

    Raleigh

    Dealer of construction and other equipment

    2018 rank: 15

    CEO: J. Gregory Poole III

    Employees: 1,305

  24. Sampson-Bladen Oil Co.

    Clinton

    Wholesaler, retailer and distributor of petroleum products

    2018 rank: 21

    CEO: Haddon M. Clark III

    Employees: 1,083

  25. Window World of Northwestern North Carolina

    Wilkesboro

    Window installation service

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Tammy Whitworth

    Employees: 750 *

  26. Shurtape Technologies LLC

    Hickory

    Manufacturer of adhesive tape, consumer goods and office supplies

    2018 rank: NA

    CEO: Stephen Shuford

    Employees: 1,000 *

  27. Ennis-Flint Inc.

    Greensboro

    Manufacturer of pavement markings and traffic products

    2018 rank: 13

    CEO: Matt Soule

    Employees: 1,500

  28. Adams Beverages of NC LLC

    Charlotte

    Beer distributor

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Clay Adams

    Employees: 700 *

    33 Southco Distributing Co.

    Goldsboro

    Convenience-store supplier

    2018 rank: 16

    CEO: Sherwin Herring

    Employees: 205

  29. Atlantic Packaging Co.

    Wilmington

    Distributor of industrial packaging materials and paper converter

    2018 rank: 20

    CEO: Russell "Rusty" M. Carter

    Employees: 1,260

  30. National Coatings & Supplies Inc.

    Raleigh

    Paint distributor for collision-repair shops

    2018 rank: 17

    CEO: H. Dean Worley

    Employees: 1,524

  31. Clancy & Theys Construction Co.

    Raleigh

    General contractor

    2018 rank: 19

    CEO: Tim Clancy

    Employees: 335

  32. Renfro Corp.

    Mount Airy

    Sock manufacturer

    2018 rank: 22

    CEO: Stan Jewell

    Employees: 4,000

  33. The Cook 8 Boardman Group LLC

    Winston-Salem

    Distributor of architectural doors, frames, door hardware and related building products

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Darrin Anderson

    Employees: 1,300

  34. CaptiveAire Systems Inc.

    Raleigh

    Manufacturer of kitchen-ventilation equipment

    2018 rank: 24

    CEO: Robert L. Luddy

    Employees: 1,340

    $250 million to $499 million

    (latest fiscal year)

  35. Flexential Corp.

    Charlotte

    Data-center operator

    2018 rank: 31

    CEO: Chris Downie

    Employees: 930

  36. Snider Fleet Solutions

    Greensboro

    Tire distributor and service provider

    2018 rank: 28

    CEO: John K. Snider

    Employees: 1,397

  37. ECMD Inc.

    North Wilkesboro

    Manufacturer and distributor of millwork products

    2018 rank: 36

    CEO: Todd Meade

    Employees: 875

  38. Rodgers Builders Inc.

    Charlotte

    General contractor

    2018 rank: 25

    CEO: Patricia Rodgers

    Employees: 309

  39. Strata Solar LLC

    Chapel Hill

    Solar developer

    2018 rank: 27

    CEO: Markus Wilhelm

    Employees: 393

  40. James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Co.

    Jefferson

    General contractor

    2018 rank: 18

    CEO: Eddie Vannoy

    Employees: 320

  41. Boddie-Noell Enterprises Inc.

    Rocky Mount

    Hardee's franchise operator

    2018 rank: N/A

    CEO: Bill Boddie

    Carleton Noell and his two nephews. Mayo and Nick Boddie, opened one of the nation's first Hardee's franchises in 1962, two years after Wilber Hardee started his hamburger business in Greenville. By 1974, the family had 100 units of the fast-food chain and it now has more than 340, making it the largest franchisee of Hardee's, which is a unit of Franklin, Tenn.-based CKE Restaurants Inc. The family diversified into other businesses over the years, including the BNE Land & Development unit that specializes in commercial land ventures and resort property development. The group also owns Rose Hill, the Boddie family manor for weddings and other events; a cattle farm; and The Highway Diner, a 1950s-themed restaurant in Rocky Mount.

  42. Pharr Yarns LLC

    McAdenville

    Yarn and carpet manufacturer

    2018 rank: 26

    ...

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