JULY 2006: THE PRIVATE 150
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
Skip to ranks 51-100...
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101-150...
Go to alphabetical index and
footnotes...
The Private 150 by sector
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Average revenue reported by the Private 150: $246.4 million
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Of the 137 companies also
ranked last year, 99 companies showed revenue
growth.
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10 of this year's companies have never appeared in the
Private 150 list before.
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Average revenue growth
reported by the Private 150: 17.4%
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Youngest company:
#76, Buena Vista Custom Homes, established 2002
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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.
