AS APPEARED IN THE PBT 100 SUPPLEMENT TO THE FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005 EDITION OF THE PITTSBURGH BUSINESS TIMES.

RECOGNIZING REMARKABLE GROWTH

BY ALAN ROBERTSON

Each year we seek out the 100 fastest-growing privately owned companies in the region, as ranked by percentage growth in revenue in the past three years.

To qualify as one of the fastest-growing companies in the region, a firm must:

• Be a privately held, independent corporation, proprietary or partnership (not a subsidary or division)
• Have 2002 sales of at least $500,000 with 2004 sales that are higher than those recorded in 2003
• Be a for-profit enterprise
• Be willing to allow publication of certain financial and other information in the Pittsburgh 100 supplement to the Pittsburgh Business Times

You might not have heard of companies such as UniScripts, American Road Lines, Quantapoint or P.F Cook Brick.  Yet they each have seen growth in excess of 30 percent since 2002.  The names of other fast growing companies are more recognizable - Reed Smith, Medrad and SUPERCUTS are all on the list - and their growth is even more remarkable.

The companies included in this year's Pittsburgh 100 are a diverse group.  They range from the smallest - Performance Plus Professional Development, a four employee firm that provides strategic marketing - to the largest - 84 Lumber, with 7,929 workers.

The combined revenue of the 2005 Pittsburgh 100 is almost $7 billion and they employ nearly 30,000 people.  The 2005 ranking included:  40 companies in the $1million to $5 million revenue range; 23 companies in the $5 million to $10 million range; 14 companies in the $10 million to $20 million range; 11 companies in the $20 million to $50 million range; four companies in the $50 million to $100 million range; seven companies in the $100 million to $1 billion range; and one company with more than $1 billion in sales.

The Business Times would like to thank the sponsors of the 2005 Pittsburgh 100:  Lee Hecht Harrison;  Parker/Hunter, a division of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC;  Rothman Gordon;  Schneider Downs;  and Slippery Rock University School of Business.  This program would not have been possible without their generous support.

We are proud to announce that the top 25 overall companies from the 2005 Pittsburgh 100 includes:

• WOW Corporation, LLC
• Ad-Base Systems Inc.
• UniScripts LTC
• LogicLibrary Inc.
• Vivisimo Inc.
• Callos Companies
• Webster Properties Inc.
• Vocollect
• Ebony Development
• TallySoft
• Sci-Tek Environmental Services Co. Inc.
• Victory Media Inc.
• Direct Advantage Marketing (Outreach Associates Inc.)
• Tower Orthopedic Designs Inc.
• Litigation Solutions Inc.
• J.  Francis Co.
• Hartz Consulting Group LLC
• The Paper Exchange Inc.
• Muhlenkamp & Company Inc.
• Duggan & Rhodes LLC
• Giant Ideas
• Creehan & Co
• Vista Resources Inc.
• Pyramid Consulting Group Inc.
• American Road Lines Inc.