05.02.08

Local firms among fastest-growing

Va. Chamber's Fantastic 50 honors privately held firms with most growth

By Gregory J. Gilligan, Times Dispatch Deputy Business Editor

Scott Kelley and his two business partners took a gamble in August 2003.

They opened an aluminum extrusion plant in Prince George County. The trio didn't even take a salary that first year.

"We've really come a long way and more so than we ever imagined, particularly in a very tough economic climate," said Kelley, president and chief executive Service Center Metals.

The company posted $140 million in revenue last year, up from $99 million in 2006. That's a lot of aluminum extrusions being made, Kelley said, considering there was no factory in the SouthPoint Business Park at all nearly five years ago.

Service Center Metals' rapid sales growth landed it as No. 4 on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce's Fantastic 50 list of the 50 fastest-growing privately held companies in the state. The awards banquet was held last night in Northern Virginia.

The aluminum extrusion plant operator also was named the top winner in the manufacturing category, earning a Vanguard Award.

Dominion Equipment Parts LLC, a distributor of mini-excavators based in Ashland, also earned a Vanguard Award. It had the fastest growth in the retail/wholesale sector.

Dominion Equipment, which was founded in 1998, was No. 31 on the Fantastic 50 list.

Three other central Virginia firms were recognized:
Ironworks Consulting LLC, an information-technology consulting-services company based in Henrico County, ranked No. 20.
AdvanceTec LLC, a Chesterfield County-based builder of clean rooms and labs for high-tech companies, came in at No. 38.
RightMinds Inc., the marketing and advertising firm in downtown Richmond, was No. 45.

The state's fastest growing firm was Oberon Associates Inc. of Manassas. The company, which provides engineering and IT services to the U.S. military, had a 4,731 percent growth rate from 2003 through 2006.

Companies are judged on a four-year sales history. To be considered, they must show sales between $200,000 and $100 million and demonstrate positive revenue growth and positive net income in their most recent fiscal year compared with the previous year.