In the family way: our annual ranking grows more diverse each year, but for most companies in it, ownership remains a relative term.

• Author: Brown, Kathryn
• Position: North Carolina's 100 largest private companies

It's all in the family. At least that's the case for the majority of the North Carolina 100, the annual ranking of the state's largest private companies. Fifty-six percent are family-owned. Murphy Family Farms, the Rose Hill pork producer that's No. 7 this year, even boasts its family nature in its name.

That the list leans toward family ownership is no surprise to J. Michael McGuire, a partner in the Charlotte office of Arthur Andersen LLP, the international accounting firm that compiles the ranking for BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA. McGuire, who has been involved with the ranking since its debut in 1984, says the North Carolina 100 originally was intended to recognize private, family-owned businesses across the state. "The companies then were very heavily family-owned and family-oriented," he recalls.

Family ownership has its benefits. "In a family, you tend to share the same goals and visions. You have the same foundation," says Pat Rodgers, president of Charlotte-based contractor Rodgers Builders Inc. (No. 38), founded by her husband, B.D., in 1963. And the privileges? "Control, obviously."

But just as the list's composition over the years has shifted from a heavy textiles and furniture base to one representing a more diverse state economy, company ownership has begun to change. "As a percentage, that 56% is quite a bit lower than where it was when we started," McGuire says. "It will probably be lower in the future." These days, many families are choosing to trade control for cash. "In order to grow through acquisition, companies are bringing in additional outside capital."

That was the case this year for Charlotte-based tire distributor Heafner Tire Group Inc. Its aggressive growth strategy helped it crack the North Carolina 100's top 10 for the first time. It lands at No. 6, up eight spots from last year. Owned by the Gaither family since 1935, Heafner has made four major acquisitions in the last three years, including the May 1998 purchase of its biggest competitor, Wilson-based ITCO. "To extend the growth you need an equity infusion," Chairman Bill Gaither says. "You can't grow on debt alone."

So in May, the Gaithers sold controlling interest to Boston-based Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC. Heafner's top three executives and division heads also bought in. The growth spurt has helped Heafner average sales increases of more than 80% in each of the last two years, and Gaither estimates 1999 revenues will be north of $1.1 billion. Six other...