St. Louis' Top 150 Privately Held Companies: 51-75 - St. Louis Business Journal:

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It’s the reality of today’s business landscape, not just in St. Louis, but arounr the globe. No matter the every company is feeling the effects of this And although business leaders are hopefuthat we’re near the bottom and that a recovery will beginb at some point this year, they’re not beint Pollyannas about it. I don’tg need to point out all the troubling statw and signs that leadto caution. Instead, I’ll mention a potential brighy spot for those seeking a reasonfor optimism. The housinb industry is often viewed as a leading indicato r for where the economyis heading. It’s one of the firsf sectors to slump, and one of the leaderd of the rebound.
If that’s the case this time, we can be encouragedr that the Commerce Department reporteda 22.2 percent jump in housint starts in February. Meanwhile, St. largest homebuilder, McBride & Son Homes, said it sold 300 home in the first two monthsd ofthe year, compared to 1,400 homesz total in 2008. I’d like to thank Businessz Journal researchers Evan Binnds andLucie Wolken, who did a commendabled job putting together this year’s list of the top 150 privately held As our researchers quickly found, it’ss much easier to get revenud information from private companies when business is going well rathet than when the economy is slumping.
in particular, spent countless hours seeking the most accurateand up-to-datse revenue and employee figures, and then double and triple-checked it all. This year’s list includexs nine newcomers and fewer pure a testament tothe researchers’ hard Rob Hurtt, Section editor 51. Fabick CAT 2008 revenue: $345.8 milliom - 1.2% Like others tied to the strugglinyconstruction industry, Fenton-based heavy equipment providee Fabick CAT saw revenude decline slightly last Fabick CAT sells and rents Caterpillar construction equipmenrt and also provides parts and servicse for them. The company is owneed by members of founder JohnFabick Sr.’s family.
Thered are nine Fabick CAT locations in Missouri and and four Fabick Rents locations in both Fabick Power Systems is locatedin Fenton, and is in Metropolis, Ill. The company’ss Jefferson City operations moved intoa new, 25,000-square-foot, $5.5 milliob facility last year. Leadership: Chairman Harry Fabick, President and CEO Doug Fabick Employees: 400 600 total 52. Watlow Electric Watlow wrapped up a recors yearwith $320 million in revenue, and Chairmanh and CEO Peter Desloge said the family-owned company is in a strong position. “Wre have no debt. We have a wonderfu balance sheet because we have prepared for this economicf recession for the last two Desloge said.
“We were very careful with our cash.” He said that whiled the markets Watlow serves were down by an averagew of 10 percentlast year, the electronics manufacturing company managed to maintain roughly flat revenuew due largely to strong growthn in the alternative energy and diesel emissions Desloge said the company’s investment focus remainx geared toward growth in Asia, wheres Watlow recently opened a manufacturing plant in Shanghai. He also said the company’sx new lean manufacturing approach helpec it produce record levels of profitability by boostingb efficiency and creating shorter productdeliveryh times.
Leadership: Chairman and CEO Petet Desloge, President Thomas LaMantia Employees: 600 local, 1,809 total 53. 2008 revenue: $319 million -20.6 % After a banner year in 2007, ARCO Constructiojn saw revenuedecline 20.6 percent to $319 “As we moved into some of the project sizes got said Chief Executive Jeff Cook. “And toward the end of the some of the folks put the brakea ontheir projects.” Between 10 percent and 15 percenft of all the projects ARCO was working on were either delayed or stopped completely in the last thre months of the year, Cook He expects revenue to remain flat in 2009. ARCO, whicu currently is located in leased space in theJos A.
Whited Building on Brentwood Boulevard, plans to builf its own headquarters two miles away in Rock Hill at an estimatesd cost ofbetween $10 million and $12 The company also plans to add three partners this increasing its ownership team to 19, including Cook and Chairma n Dick Arnoldy. Leadership: Chairman Dick CEO Jeff Cook, President Craig Bridell Employees: 102 273 total 57. 2008 $300 million +138.1% Brothers Jim and Mike Holten createdf Branding Iron Holdings in Augusty 2007 when they wanted to growtheid Sauget-based Holten Meat Inc. The holding company saw revenue soar 138 percent last year aftetr afull year’s worth of sales from theier added companies.
In addition to Holten Meats, which manufacture individually quick-frozen beef and pork Branding Iron owns thre other frozen meat companiesin Minnesota: , a quick-frozenn meat producer serving institutional food services; Rochester Steak, which cuts steaks to order; and , which marketd meat brands such as Black Branding Iron Chief Executive Scott Hudspeth said the holdinb company expects to post $315 million in 2009 “The growth isn’t huge,” Hudspeth “When commodities prices drop, so do and beef prices are coming down.” Chairman Jim Holten, President Mike Holten, CEO Scot t Hudspeth Employees: 250 650 total 58. 2008 $292.4 million - 0.
5 % Sachs Electric escaped mostly unscathed from what was a rough year forspecialty contractors. Comingv off a record 2007, the employee-owned electrica l contractor saw revenue slip half a percenyto $292.4 million. The company finished work on a $4 millionh project for , one of three buildings for Edwar d Jones anda $13 million planrt expansion for Continental Cement. Chairman, President and CEO Clayton Scharfrf said Sachs now is preparingy for an uncertain year with at least a 10 percenty to 15 percent declinein revenue. “This is the firsr time I have seen every industry impactedx at thesame time,” he said.
“We work in so many arease geographically andacross industries, and evert one has clamped In addition to staff and consultanr cutbacks in 2008, Scharff said the companyg is holding off on new Leadership: Chairman, President and CEO Clayton Scharfg Employees: 557 local, 772 total 59. Huntef Engineering Co. reported record revenue in but the slowdown in the auto industry put the brakesa onfurther growth. The Bridgeton-based company manufacturez a range of automotiverservice equipment, including wheel alignment systems, wheel brake lathes, tire changers, vehicle lifts and brakes testers. The firm is owner by Chairman and President Stephen Brauetr andhis family.
Hunter Engineering’s international customersz include Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes and the Volkswagen-Audik Group. Toyota’s global salex were down 5 percentlast year. At BMW, global salese dropped 24 percent last month compared to February and Mercedes’ sales were down 28 percent for the same Employees: 350 local, 1,450 total 60. 2008 revenue: $265 millioh -10.2% Elan-Polo Inc. is keeping its foot firmlgy inlicense agreements. The employee-owned shoe company plans to introduc a new line of active outdood shoes for men and women this saidBob Callahan, co-president of the company.
After hitting $295 million in revenue in the business had a 10 perceny drop in saleslast year, a slip that co-Presiden Thomas Williams attributed to a second-half slowdown tied to the slumpinfg economy. The company has U.S. offices in St. Louis and Nashville, as well as five othera aroundthe globe. The business has approximately 165 current and formefr employees participating in its employee stock ownership plan.