Uncle Sam helps fuel growth
Related
link:
 The 2004
Fantastic 50 list
Fantastic
50 Profiles:
Government
construction pays off for THR Enterprises
PSS reinvents
itself and taps into government IT market
At AeroAstro,
smaller is better
Apollo
Press: Big future in small customers
With
Bob Vila on board, Lumber Liquidators focuses on hardwood
floors
Virginia Business
May
2004
The
power of federal spending in Virginia is evident in
this year’s Fantastic 50. Norfolk-based THR
Enterprises, for example, the fastest-growing company
in the contest, does construction work for the federal
government. The top firm in the service category, Fairfax-based
Preferred Systems Solutions Inc.,
began its remarkable growth by switching several years
ago from commercial clients to government IT contracts.
The
Fantastic 50 contest was begun by the Virginia Chamber
of Commerce and is now in its ninth year. To be eligible,
companies must be privately owned and headquartered
in Virginia. They needed revenues of at least $200,000
in 1999, the base year used to establish the company’s
growth over a four-year period. Plus, by 2002 companies
had to have a net positive income, and have revenues
in their most recent year of less than $100 million.
The top companies in four categories —service,
technology, retail/wholesale and manufacturing —
are profiled on the following pages, along with the
company with the biggest revenue increase overall. But
there are other good business stories beyond these five,
such as Reston-based National Corporate Housing, founded
in 1999, which offers extended-stay housing in major
markets around the U.S. It finished third on the list
with 2,264 percent revenue growth. There’s also
Spectrum Comm Inc., a Hampton-based computer security
firm, which recorded revenue growth of 1,214 percent
over four years.
Firms in the service and technology categories dominated
the contest, taking 28 and 16 spots, respectively. Most
companies are clustered in Northern Virginia and Hampton
Roads. Martinsville-based Commonwealth Laminating and
Coating is one exception. That firm increased revenue
194 percent in four years to more than $9.1 million
in 2002.
The accounting firm of Goodman & Company handled
the review of company financial records. Contest sponsors
include SunTrust Bank, Westfields Marriott, Goodman
& Company, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, the
Virginia Department of Business Assistance and Virginia
Business magazine. The winners were honored at
an awards banquet in April at the Westfields Marriott
in Chantilly.
— The Editors
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