100 Top of the heap Utah's 100 private companies.

• Author: Mischel, Marie
• Position: Company rankings

While Utah Business' annual list of Top 100 Private Companies is ranked by number of full-time employees, those business do mush more than simply provide jobs to Utahns. These companies construct your communities, educate your children, secure your finances, keep you healthy and provide you with a good meal, all while staying on top of their respective industries. This year, we've included an inside view of three of Utah's enduring names which maintain spots on the list year after year. Take a look at why they are successful and why they will continue to thrive.

18. Deer Valley Resort

P.O. Box 889 Park City, UT 84060 * www.deervalley.com * (435) 645-6512 * Bob Wheaton (General Manager) * FTE 1,975 * UT FTE 1,975

A seemly permanent place in SKI magazine's ranking of top North American ski resorts and the Zagat Restaurant Guide have perched Deer Valley Resort on a pinnacle of success, but company officials continue to look for new performance peaks to scale.

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"There are a lot of things we try to do differently every year to improve," says Deer Valley Resort President/General Manager Bob Wheaton. He points to additions such as hosting an FIS ski cross event for the first time, and changing the schedule for the three-event World Cup "so that when people came up, there was always something going on. If there was a down time between a competition, then another one of the venues was training."

Even away from the snow, changes occur. Resort staff is constantly testing new recipes for restaurants or innovative ways to present dishes, Wheaton says.

One thing that doesn't change, however, is the desire to keep upping the service a notch each year," he adds. One of the pieces of our business is providing an elevated level of guest service, and it's our opinion - and it has proven true in the last 27 years we've been operating - that if we can do that, and still pay attention to the business issues, then we will have a viable, ongoing business."

Wheaton attributes the resort's success to the staff members who "understand what Deer Valley is all about. We have a nice mountain and we have nice buildings and nice facilities, but it's really the people on staff that make a difference. There is a true desire by everyone to provide a quality guest experiences."

This focus is a key to success, he adds. "One of our best methods of marketing is word of mouth. Typically, when people come here for the first time, we will see them back. And they tell their friends about their experience."

Deer Valley reaps top rankings during the ski season, but the resort strives to provide equal offerings in the spring, summer and fall, Wheaton says. "The off-season activities fit into our business model. It's the same philosophy, it's just a different offering we have for the guests. So whether we're talking about summer dining or a mountain biking experience or a symphony experience or a jazz festival experience, what we hope to do is to provide great guest services throughout those experiences."

24. Associated Foods

1850 W. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84119 * www.afstores.com * (801) 973-4400 * Richard Parkinson (President). FTE 1,500 * UT FTE 1,300

The friendly neighborhood grocer who stocks your favorite brands and sponsors the local soccer team is backed by a powerful partner, Associated Foods (AF), a billion-dollar business dedicated to helping local, independent retail grocery stores.

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AF, established in 1940, is a retailer-owned cooperative, so "not only do we serve our customers, but our customers are actually our owners," says President and CEO Richard A. Parkinson.

That business model is an advantage, he says, "We don't have that conflict between shareholders and customers. Everything in our system goes to the benefit of the independent grocer. People that have ownership in something tend to be a little more vested ... I think they are much more engaged in helping us to improve the quality of our operations, as an owner and also as a customer."

With about 600 grocers in an eight-state Intermountain West region, AF's mission is to serve those independent retailers, "to make sure they have an opportunity to survive and thrive into the future," Parkinson says.

The company has taken several steps recently to direct that future. Last year, it purchased Gonzales & Sons, LLC, a Hispanic food distributor that has been in Utah for about 10 years.

"With the influx of Hispanics coming into our market, we felt that it would be a great blend of putting our capital and our distribution behind somebody who had a local product and knowledge as well as the relationships, and also provide our retail stores with authentic Hispanic groceries that Hispanics relate to," Parkinson says. "It's just done great for us. We've doubled the sales of that facility in just a year."

AF also has undertaken an effort to identify demographics so each grocer can stock items that appeal to age groups and ethnicities in specific areas, he says. "It's nothing more than giving the customers what they want. It's a huge initiative for us, and we're putting multi-millions of dollars behind that."

In addition, AF has used the Internet and its own company internet to replace its yearly trade show with a monthly...