PRIME PLAYERS: SAS stays atop the annual ranking as contractors show the strongest gains.
Author | Thornton, Grant |
Position | NORTH CAROLINAS TOP 100: PRIVATE COMPANIES |
Prospects that Amazon and Apple will expand their strong N.C. presences with major new investments dominated the state's business news coverage this year. But it's the locally based, middle-market operators included in this year's list of the state's 100 largest private companies that drive North Carolina's impressive growth. They collectively employ more than 107,000 people in a wide variety of industries.
An example is National Coatings & Supplies Inc., which distributes paint to more than 15,000 body shops, aircraft-maintenance companies, boat manufacturers and others. The under-the-radar Raleigh-based firm is controlled by O. Temple Sloan Jr.'s investment group. Sloan's General Parts Co. appeared on the NC100 list for many years until its $2 billion sale to Advance Auto Parts in 2014, National Coatings, which has more than 200 offices in 38 states, nearly doubled its revenue in the last two years after acquiring a competitor, Roswell, Ga.-based Single Source Inc.
"Companies on the North Carolina 100 list are the backbone of our local economy," says Dave Wedding, Charlotte-based managing partner for the Southeast region at Grant Thornton LLP, which compiles the list. "They are North Carolina's top builders, innovators and creators." Ownership ranges from families that have operated the companies for generations to private equity-controlled enterprises. Participation is voluntary.
The state's boom in apartment complexes, distribution centers and university buildings is also evident, with general contractors including James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Inc., Samet Corp., T.A. Loving Co. and Edifice Inc. moving up sharply. Charlotte-based Edifice has nearly doubled its payroll in the last three years and ranked No. 41 this year, compared with 54th in 2017 and 69th in 2016. Jefferson-based Vannoy & Sons has jumped from 28th to 18th in that period, posting more than $550 million in revenue.
SAS Institute topped the list, reporting 2017 revenue of $3.2 billion, a 1.25% increase from 2016, according to company reports. SAS employs about 7,500 people at its Cary headquarters. No. 2 Transportation Insight LLC, a Hickory-based logistics company, reported 2017 revenue of about $1.9 billion, a company spokeswoman confirmed. It has boosted its staff by 20% to 510.
$1 BILLION OR MORE IN REVENUE
(LATEST FISCAL YEAR)
1 SAS Institute Inc., Cary
Software developer
2017 Rank: 1
CEO: Jim Goodnight
Employees: 14, 116
2 Transportation Insight LLC, Hickory
Logistics consultant
2017 Rank: 2
CEO: Chris Baltz
Employees: 51 0
3 NATIONAL GYPSUM CO. (1), Charlotte Manufacturer of wallboard products
2017 Rank: 3
CEO: Thomas C. Nelson
Employees: 2,200
The strong housing market is prompting the company to reopen its Wilmington plant, which had closed during the 2009 housing recession. CEO Tom Nelson says the plant will reopen later this year, joining about 40 facilities operated by the second-largest U.S. gypsum board manufacturer. Nelson's father-in-law, C.D. Spangler Jr., who bought the company for $1.2 billion in 1995, died in July.
4 Pike Corp., Mount Airy Construction and engineering services for electric utilities
2017 Rank: 4
CEO: J. Eric Pike
Employees: 7,500
$500 MILLION TO $999 MILLION (LATEST FISCAL YEAR)
5 AmWINS Croup Inc., Charlotte
Wholesale insurance distributor
2017 Rank: 5
CEO: Scott Purviance
Employees: 4,200
6 Form Technologies Inc. (2), Charlotte
Manufacturer of metal components
2017 Rank: 8
CEO: Simon James Newman
Employees: 9, 300
7 LORD Corp., Cary
Manufacturer of adhesives, coatings and motion controls
2017 Rank: 6
CEO: Edward L. Auslander
Employees: 3,000
8 Market America Inc., Greensboro Product brokerage and internet marketer
2017 Rank: 26
CEO: JR Ridinger
Employees: 1,188
9 Carolina Tractor & Equipment Co., Charlotte
Dealer of construction and industrial equipment
2017 Rank: 7
CEO: Ed Weisiger Jr.
Employees: 1,552
10 WASTE INDUSTRIES USA INC., Raleigh
Provider of waste-collection and recycling services
2017 Rank: 10
CEO: Lonnie C. Poole III
Employees: 2,400
The 48-year-old company bought Denver-based Alpine Waste & Recycling in May, making Colorado the eighth state in which it operates and marking its first expansion west of Tennessee. The founding Poole family joined with two large private-equity groups to buy the business in 2017 from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners Inc., which had helped the company go private in 2008.
11 Barnhill Contracting Co., Rocky Mount
General contractor
2017 Rank: 13
CEO: Robert E. Barnhill Jr.
Employees: 1,099
12 Steel Fab Inc., Charlotte Steel fabricator
2017 Rank: 12
CEO: Glenn Sherrill
Employees: 1,077
13 Ennis-Flint Inc., Greensboro
Manufacturer of pavement markings and traffic products
2017 Rank: 14
CEO: Matt Soule
Employees: 1,500
14 Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co., Raleigh
Hotel management and development
2017 Rank: 15
CEO: Mark G. Laport
Employees: 4,232
15 Gregory Poole Equipment, Raleigh
Dealer of construction and other equipment
2017 Rank: 9
CEO: 1 Gregory Poole III
Employees: 1,285
16 Southco Distributing Co., Goldsboro
Convenience-store supplier
2017 Rank: 11
CEO: Sherwin Herring
Employees: 205
17 National Coatings & Supplies Inc., Raleigh Paint distributor for collision-repair shops
2017 Rank: 21
CEO: Dean Worley
Employees: 1,640
18 James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Co., Jefferson
General contractor
2017 Rank: 23
CEO: Eddie Vannoy
Employees: 311
19 Clancy &Theys Construction Co., Raleigh
General contractor
2017 Rank: 19
CEO: Tim Clancy
Employees: 344
20 Atlantic Packaging (3), Wilmington
Distributor of industrial packaging materials; paper converter
2017 Rank: 16
CEO: Russell "Rusty" Carter
Employees: 1.040
21 Sampson-Bladen Oil Co., Clinton
Wholesaler, retailer and distributor of petroleum products
2017 Rank: 20
CEO: Haddon M. Clark III
Employees: 797
22 Renfro Corp., Mount Airy Sock manufacturer
2017 Rank: 17
CEO: Stan Jewell
Employees: 4,500
$250 MILLION TO $499 MILLION (LATEST FISCAL YEAR)
23 Crescent Communities LLC (4), Charlotte
Real-estate developer
2017 Rank: 24
CEO: Todd Mansfield
Employees: 176
24 CAPTIVEAIRE SYSTEMS INC., Raleigh
Manufacturer of kitchen-ventilation equipment
2017...
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