75-Largest Private Firms Total $14 B in Revenue

Truman Arnold Cos., Anthony Forest Products Among Companies Added to List

Arkansas Business’ annual look at the largest private companies in the state shows the economic presence of this sector of the economy.

Collectively, the top 75 private companies in the state accounted for some $14.25 billion in revenue during 1996 and employed about 70,000 Arkansans.

Of course, private companies don’t have the same reporting requirements as public companies. For most of the companies listed, the annual revenue numbers used were released by the company for publication in this list. However, numbers for several companies were not available. In these cases, the revenue has been estimated using various sources. Those estimates are indicated with asterisks and have not been confirmed by the companies.

The largest newcomer to the list is Truman Arnold Cos. of Texarkana, which is located on the Texas side of the state line and has been excluded in previous years on that basis. Since the two Texarkanas have a common economy, the company has been included among Arkansas firms for purposes of this list.

Truman Arnold is the founder and chief executive of the company, a wholesale petroleum distributor that also has construction, banking, and cattle interests. Arnold’s largest division is TAC Air, which operates plane fueling stations at airports.

Arnold is also former owner of the Roadrunner convenience store chain, which he sold several years ago to Total Petroleum.

Orbit Valve is another sizable newcomer to the list.

The company is a Little Rock-based manufacturer of industrial oil and gas valves that has seen its international sales soar. The sales jump has put the company among Arkansas’ largest with an estimated $92 million in revenue.

Anthony Forest Products in El Dorado is another debut at $80 million. Beryl Anthony, former congressman from the 4th District of Arkansas, is chairman.

Northwest Arkansas Truck and Equipment, a Springdale-based truck dealer, is another company with a bullet at an estimated $72 million.

Air Systems Inc. of Fort Smith, a manufacturer of commercial fixtures and cabinets, enters the list at No. 74 with an estimated $56 million in sales.

Off the List

Several companies fell off the list for various reasons, most notable was the now defunct Harvest Foods, previously ranked at No. 7 with 1995 revenue of about $410 million.

Another sizable dropoff was Pace Industries of Fayetteville, which merged with out-of-state Leggett & Platt Inc. in May of last year.

Baldwin & Shell, the Little Rock-based contractor and construction company, ranked last year at No. 73, would have been No. 76 this year with $53 million in revenue. Also, SSI Inc. of Fort Smith, another contractor that was ranked 75th last year, indicated its income fell below $50 million in 1996. Service Chevrolet in Little Rock also fell off the list.

On the Radar

Here are a few companies Arkansas Business is keeping an eye on for future lists.

Parker Cadillac in Little Rock, the nationally renowned “Cadillac of Cadillac Dealers,” is a near miss with an estimated $34 million in annual sales. That number doesn’t include about $20 million combined revenue for its subsidiaries: two Saturn dealerships in Little Rock and Fayetteville and a Lexus dealership in Little Rock.

Winrock Enterprises of Little Rock is a 42-year-old company no longer owned by the Winthrop Rockefeller family. It is involved in manufacturing, wholesale and real estate development and is the parent of Jet Stream Pipe Co. in Siloam Springs. The company has estimated 1996 revenue of about $50 million.

Ritter and Co. Inc. of Marked Tree is another company to watch. With an estimated company-wide revenue of $45 million, the company is deeply entrenched in the east Arkansas cotton farming, radio and telephone industries.

Klipsch Inc. in Hope, the audio-technology innovator, narrowly missed the list at about $50 million in estimated sales. Bell International, a truck wholesaler in Springdale, had estimated annual sales of about $40 million. Roach Manufacturing Corp. in Trumann, another northeast Arkansas conveyor manufacturer, also had an estimated $40 million in sales.