Introduction
The latest list of the Fantastic 50 could mark the end of a boom-time era for Virginia’s fast-growing firms. Companies on the list ramped up their revenue before the recession took hold.
But if the history of Fantastic 50 is any predictor of the future, the momentum of fast-growth firms might not slacken, even in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The Fantastic 50, now in its 14th year, annually recognizes companies with the highest revenue growth over a four-year period. For the 2009 Class, that stretch was 2004 through 2007, a prosperous time in Virginia before the start of the 17-month-old recession. The company at the top of the list, ProLog Inc., grew 2,603 percent over the four-year period while the firm ranked 50th, Modern Technology Solutions Inc., saw its revenue rise 98 percent.
The recession would appear to be a significant speed bump for the next Fantastic 50 group. Nonetheless, several companies on the 2009 list report that their revenues continued to climb sharply last year despite the recession.
In fact, previous Fantastic 50 lists indicate that the last recession, in 2001, didn’t present much of a barrier. On the four lists that included 2001 revenues, the average growth of the top company was 4,214 percent.
The 2009 list includes 20 companies that started in 2000 or later. The oldest, Chase Investment Counsel Corp., was founded in 1957. Thirty-six of the 50 companies are based in Northern Virginia, and 28 are newcomers to the list.
The following pages offer details about the Fantastic 50 honorees, plus profiles of Prolog and award winners for high growth in four categories: manufacturing, retail/wholesale, service and technology.
The Fantastic 50 is coordinated by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Goodman & Co. handled the review of company records to determine the winners.
Fantastic 50 Chart
HIGHEST REVENUE GROWTH: Prolog Inc.
SERVICE: Bosh Global Services
MANUFACTURING: MTC Transformers
TECHNOLOGY: Ideal Innovations Inc.
RETAIL/WHOLESALE: Auto Recyclers LLC
Nice article and it’s nice to see some businesses doing well for a change. I have been researching several Online Business Marketing tools recently to find out exactly how company revenues have been affected by the economic slump in the last 18 months and found that some companies have not been affected. It seems like only the big corporations have had significant losses.
A 2000% rise in four years is a fantastic achievement that deserves the top spot so well done ProLog Inc.
--Henal Patel Carmine of NYC
Jan. 29, 2010 at 03:17 AM
I’m especially impressed by Capterra, who has made this list for three consecutive years. I’d certainly recommend them to anyone looking for “project management software”:http://www.capterra.com/project-management-software, “construction management software”:http://www.capterra.com/construction-management-software, or any of the hundreds of business software directories they offer! Great job!
--Brett of Philadelphia
Apr. 30, 2010 at 05:02 PM
Seems that my former comment didn’t include the helpful links, I’m so sorry!
As I mentioned before, Capterra is great for project management software, construction management software, or any of the hundreds of business software directories they offer! Great job folks!
--Brett of Philadelphia
May. 4, 2010 at 04:49 PM
It’s great to know that among all the doom and gloom that we hear of daily in the news, at least some companies are actually making it in leaps and bounds. A huge congrats to Prolog, Inc.
In recent times we have come to realize that one of the best ways of increasing productivity is using Job Scheduling Software to help manage staff output more effectively.
This is one of the ways that small and big companies alike have boosted productivity in their businesses.
Again well done Prolog, Inc. for being a positive here Virginia. It serves as a huge encouragement all of business owners.
--Mike Samuels of Fairfax, Virginia
Jun. 29, 2010 at 07:56 AM
It is great to see that there are firms that got out of the recent recession with getting hurt and is certainly worth mentioning how they kept themselves out of danger when big corporate firms, organizations and banks were torn apart in front of our very eyes!! An increase of over 2000% over a period of 4 years is just mind boggling and Prolong Inc. should really be proud of themselves!
--wendy's hours
Jul. 16, 2010 at 10:52 AM