Poultry, Agriculture Account for Largest Hunk of Revenue Pie

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Thirty local firms that participated in this year’s annual largest private companies list account for about $4.3 billion in annual revenue. The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal annually compiles the list.

Of that revenue, 46.7 percent or $2.04 billion came from companies in poultry and other agriculture industries. The next largest industry is health care at $539 million or 12.3 percent of the largest local private companies.

Fort Smith and Fayetteville are home to a combined 50.5 percent of that money. The largest single revenue producer, O.K. Industries Inc. ($560 million) is in Fort Smith. But the biggest year-over-year revenue gain among the Top 10 came from Peterson Industries Inc. in Decatur. The poultry and breeding-stock producer increased its revenue 33 percent from $113 million in 2000 to $150 million in 2001.

Riverside Furniture Corp. in Fort Smith showed the largest year-over-year loss, a 22 percent dip from $103 million in 2000 to $80 million last year.

Six additional companies — Hanna’s Candle Co. and BudgeText Corp. of Fayetteville; Perry Butcher & Associates and Benchmark Group of Rogers and Basic Block Group Inc. and DMD Industries Inc. of Springdale — almost certainly would have made the list cutoff of $10 million in annual revenue.

But those companies either declined to participate or didn’t return repeated phone calls requesting information. Had they participated, their numbers would have increased the totals for engineering and architecture and manufacturing. Hanna’s and BudgeText would have comprised their own segment — retail.

Private Companies
Largest private company revenue by city
(Dollar figures in millions)

City — Amount — Percent

Fort Smith — $1,185.3 — 27.1
Fayetteville — $1,024.1 — 23.4
Springdale — $858.3 — 19.7
Siloam Springs — $763 — 17.4
Decatur — $150 — 3.4
Bella Vista — $149.1 — 3.4
Lincoln — $80 — 1.8
Berryville — $79.2 — 1.8
Rogers — $61.5 — 1.4
Bentonville — $18.5 — 0.4
Gravette — $10 — 0.2
Total — $4.379 — 100

Source: the companies, industry reports

Largest private company revenue by industry
(Dollar figures in millions)

Industry — Amount — Percent

Poultry-Agriculture — $2,044.3 — 46.7
Health care — $539 — 12.3
Retail food sales — $446 — 10.2
Auto sales — $351.1 — 8
Real Estate-Construction — $300.1 — 6.8
Manufacturing — $245 — 5.6
Utilities — $191.2 — 4.4
Trucking-Transportation — $135.9 — 3.1
Engineering — $18.5 — 0.4

Total — $4.379 — 100

Source: the companies, industry reports