Vermont Business Magazine If Vermont development officials are looking to grow the economy, they might want to look at a relatively small segment that produces big results. Vermont has an estimated 439 middle market companies ($10 million-$1 billion in annual revenues), which make up 0.93 percent of all firms in the state according to the latest Middle Market Power Index from American Express and Dun & Bradstreet. The newest report in the series finds that the middle market is an increasingly important sector as it has accounted for more than half (53 percent) of total job growth nationally since 2011. Additionally, while middle market firms make up less than 1 percent of all US businesses (0.96 percent), they contribute one in four dollars (26 percent) and employ one in four workers (27 percent) in the private sector. Vermont ranks 45 out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia for growth in number of middle market firms from 2011-2016. But since 2011, Vermont’s change in the number of mid-sized firms has increased 66.9 percent (US 86.8 percent)—an important and growing segment of the business community.
SEE VERMONT FIRMS & STATE RANK BELOW
Despite comprising only 1 percent of the total number of commercially active firms1 in the country, middle market companies have led national job growth over the past five years, employing nearly 53 million workers – more than double the number employed by this segment in 2011. Middle market firms are also contributing $9.3 trillion to the US economy, according to the Middle Market Power Index from American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB).
The below table outlines how the number of Vermont’s middle market firms compares to national data as well as to large and small companies:
|
|
Number of Firms |
Share of Firms |
% Chg in # MM Firms, 2011-2016 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Small (<$10M) |
Middle Market ($10M-$999M) |
Large ($1B+) |
Total |
Small (<$10M) |
Middle Market ($10M-$999M) |
Large ($1B+) |
||
| Vermont |
46,624 |
439 |
3 |
47,066 |
99.1% |
0.93% |
0.01% |
66.9% |
| Total U.S. |
18,910,859 |
182,578 |
3,025 |
19,096,462 |
99.1% |
0.96% |
0.02% |
86.8% |
Using Dun & Bradstreet's proprietary database of commercially active U.S. firms, the latest report in the Middle Market Power Index series analyzes the characteristics and economic impact of middle market enterprises—defined as businesses generating between $10 million and $1 billion in revenues—focusing on growth trends over the past five years.
According to the report, while the total number of all commercially active firms declined between 2011 and 2016, the number of middle market firms nearly doubled, with an increase of 87%. Middle market firms generate just over one in four dollars (26%) of U.S. business revenues and employ more than one in four workers (27%) in the private sector. Since 2011, middle market companies have outpaced both smaller businesses (less than $10 million in revenues) and the largest companies (more than $1 billion in revenues) in both employment and revenue growth.
"Over the last five years, middle market companies have led the way in economic growth," said Brendan Walsh, Executive Vice President, U.S., American Express Global Commercial Payments. "This report highlights the often overlooked economic might of these companies, which contribute over $9.3 trillion to the U.S. economy and are growing faster than any other sector."
"Middle market firms continue to have an outsized influence on the U.S. economy," said Jeff Stibel, Vice Chairman of Dun & Bradstreet. "These firms have led the charge hiring Americans and now employ nearly 53 million people. The middle market plays a pivotal role in our rapidly changing economy."
Middle Market Geographic Concentration
Middle market companies are headquartered across the country. However, the ten states in which middle market firms comprise a greater than average share of companies include: Illinois (1.5%), Wisconsin (1.5%), Michigan (1.3%), New Jersey (1.3%), Indiana (1.2%), Kansas (1.2%), Massachusetts (1.2%), North Dakota (1.2%), New York (1.2%) and Ohio (1.2%).
In addition to these ten states, higher than average percentages of middle market firms are also found in Washington, D.C. (2.1%), Puerto Rico (5.8%), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (3.6%).
While there's been an 87% increase in the number of middle market firms nationally over the past five years, four states saw the number of middle market enterprises more than double during that timeframe:
- Ohio (+106%)
- Texas (+106%)
- Michigan (+103%)
- Indiana (+102%)
According to the report, there are seven states in which middle market companies are under-represented compared to the national average:
- Florida (0.5%)
- Colorado (0.6%)
- Louisiana (0.6%)
- Montana (0.6%)
- Arizona (0.7%)
- New Mexico (0.7%)
- Oregon (0.7%)
Middle Market Firms Owned by Women and Minorities
Roughly 6% of all commercially active firms are majority women-owned, compared with 7% of middle market firms that have majority women -ownership. Looking at minority ownership across all commercially active firms, only 2% are minority-owned, compared with 5% among middle market firms. Thus, in terms of gender and ethnic diversity, firms that are women-owned are just as likely to be found in the middle market as in other business size groups, and minority business owners are more likely than average to be found in the middle market (revenues of $10 million to $1 billion).
Potential for Further Growth in the Middle Market
Among the 18.9 million firms with less than $10 million in annual revenue, there are roughly one million that generate revenues between $1 million and $9.9 million, signifying the greatest potential to approach the middle market. These firms make up 5% of the population of commercially active small businesses, generate $2.8 million in revenues and employ 28 workers on average. These small businesses that have reached $1 million or more in revenue are more likely to be women- or minority-owned (10% and 6%, respectively) and also more likely retail trade or construction businesses than any other business size group.
Vermont-based Middle Market Firms (2015 Revenues in Millions)
Source: Vermont Business Magazine, Vermont 100+ January 2016
| Company | City | Product Description | 2015 Sales |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont | Montpelier | Health Insurance | $875.0 |
| Green Mountain Power Corp | Colchester | Electric Utility | $669.0 |
| University of Vermont | Burlington | Higher Education | $615.0 |
| Casella Waste Systems Inc | Rutland | Waste and Recycling Services for Homes, Businesses and Communities. | $525.0 |
| PC Construction | South Burlington | General contracting, construction management, and design-build services | $504.0 |
| Vermont Mutual Insurance Group | Montpelier | Property & Casualty Insurance | $399.0 |
| St Albans Cooperative Creamery Inc | Saint Albans | Dairy cooperative and retail farm store | $377.0 |
| Mack Group | Arlington | Molded plastic products and assemblies | $335.0 |
| Heritage Automotive Group | Burlington | Car sales & service | $263.0 |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury | College | $258.8 |
| Champlain Oil Co, Inc | South Burlington | Wholesale gas and oil distribution | $230.0 |
| Rutland Regional Medical Center | Rutland | Rutland Regional Medical Center provides excellence in medical care for the Rutland Region. | $224.1 |
| Vermont Electric Power Company | Rutland | Power transmission | $173.0 |
| Brattleboro Retreat | Brattleboro | Psychiatric and addictions treatment, skills training | $168.7 |
| Union Mutual of Vermont Companies | Montpelier | Insurance | $166.3 |
| Central Vermont Medical Center | Barre | Community hospital, rehabilitation and nursing home, physician practices, & cancer treatment center. | $166.2 |
| GW Plastics Inc | Bethel | Thermoplastic & silicone precision molded components and assemblies | $142.0 |
| Southwestern Vermont Health Care | Bennington | Healthcare | $139.0 |
| King Arthur Flour Company | Norwich | High-quality flour, baking ingredients & tools; mail-order catalogs; retail store & baking classes. |
$130.0 |
| Weidmann Electrical Technology Inc | Saint Johnsbury | Products and services for the electrical power transformer market. | $119.0 |
| Poulin Grain, Inc | Newport | Animal Feed | $112.5 |
| Vermont Gas Systems Inc | Burlington | Natural gas, sales & service | $112.4 |
| BioTek Instruments | Winooski | Bioanalytical Instrumentation & software | $110.0 |
| Champlain Cable Corp | Colchester | High temperature wire and cable products for industrial, datacom and automotive industries | $110.0 |
| Carris Reels, Inc | Proctor | Wooden, plastic & metal reels | $105.0 |
| Norwich University | Northfield | Higher education, military college | $101.2 |
| Vermont Country Store | Manchester Center | Catalog, internet and retail sales | $100.0 |
| Engelberth Construction Inc | Colchester | Construction Management, Design-Build and General Contracting. | $92.0 |
| The Vermont Agency | Burlington | Insurance and investment firm | $91.0 |
| Northwestern Medical Center, Inc | Saint Albans | Health care | $90.8 |
| Howard Center | Burlington | Mental health, substance abuse, and developmental services in 49 programs, 60 sites, 5 counties. | $85.8 |
| Vermont Energy Investment Corporation | Burlington | Sustainable energy planning, evaluation and program design; energy & regulatory policy consulting; financing and performance contract management services; delivery of Efficiency Vermont. Vermont's energy efficiency utility. | $84.6 |
| SD Ireland Concrete Construction Corp | South Burlington | Concrete construction, site work, excavation, pipework, manufacture and delivery of concrete, precast, real estate development | $83.4 |
| DEW Construction Corp | Williston | Construction, construction management, design/build, general contracting | $81.0 |
| Saint Michael's College | Colchester | Catholic residential liberal arts college. | $80.1 |
| Land Air Express of New England LTD | Williston | Trucking Services, "LTL Transportation Services" | $76.8 |
| Black River Produce | North Springfield | Fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, dairy, floral, locally produced products & logistics. |
$75.3 |
| Bond Auto Parts Inc. | Barre | Auto parts supply | $74.9 |
| Midway Oil Corp & Affiliates | Rutland | Petroleum-conv. Store-Dunkin Donuts | $74.0 |
| North Country Hospital | Newport | Healthcare | $73.6 |
| Brattleboro Memorial Hospital | Brattleboro | Healthcare | $71.3 |
| Porter Medical Center, Inc | Middlebury | Hospital, healthcare, nursing home, dementia and rehabilitation | $71.0 |
| Patrons Co-operative Fire Insurance Company | Middlebury | Property and casualty insurance | $69.0 |
| iTech US Inc | South Burlington | iTech provides full range of IT solutions from IT consulting, software development to data management | $66.0 |
| GS Precision, Inc | Brattleboro | High Precision machined parts and assemblies for industries including aircraft engines, aerospace, optic systems and defense | $65.6 |
| Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital | Saint Johnsbury | Health care | $65.3 |
| Burlington Electric Department | Burlington | Municipal owned electric department | $62.8 |
| Sonnax Industries | Bellows Falls | Automotive transmission parts and torque converter parts for the aftermarket | $60.2 |
| Cersosimo Lumber Company | Brattelboro | Lumber manufacturing, custom kiln drying, chip mill, and premium bark mulch producer | $60.1 |
| Jay Peak Resort | Jay | 4 season ski resort and conference center | $60.0 |
| Copley Health Systems | Morrisville | Community hospital serving greater Lamoille County birthing center; emergency care, general surgery, orthopedics and outpatient services. | $59.6 |
| Gifford Medical Center | Randolph | Health care system | $57.8 |
| Food Science Corporation | Essex Junction | Nutritional supplements for humans and animals | $56.0 |
| Springfield Medical Care Systems, Inc. | Springfield | Community hospital with 25 beds plus 10 beds for adult psychiatric ward | $54.4 |
| Castleton University | Castleton | Higher education | $49.0 |
| Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center | Windsor | Healthcare and hospital | $48.2 |
| Marathon Health Inc | Winooski | Integrated health services in the workplace: Onsite primary care, heath assessment, risk reduction coaching, disease management, wellness education, occupational health, and customized technology tools come together to keep healthy employees healthy and target medium- and high-risk individuals for early intervention, clients throughout US. | $48.0 |
| Champlain Valley Equipment Inc | Middlebury | Farm equipment sales & service | $47.6 |
| Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) | Springfield | Mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disability services covering Windham and Windsor counties. | $46.1 |
| PeakCM, LLC | Winooski | General Contractor & Construction Management. | $45.0 |
| SymQuest Group, Inc | South Burlington | Office equipment & computer networking | $38.5 |
| Britton Lumber Company Inc | Fairlee | Wholesale building materials; EW pine boards | $38.1 |
| VHV Company | Winooski | Full service mechanical contractor; design, installation and service; HVAC, plumbing, refrigeration, controls, and energy solutions | $38.0 |
| Bread Loaf Corporation | Middlebury | Integrated project management, architecture, specialty construction, general contractor, construction management |
$37.5 |
| Hallam Associates, Inc | South Burlington | Engineering service firm, control system integration and commissioning. | $36.0 |
| Lyndon State College | Lyndonville | Higher education | $35.4 |
| New England Woodcraft, Inc | Forest Dale | Manufacturing furniture | $35.0 |
| VNA of Chittenden & Grand Isle Counties | Colchester | Hospice and nursing services for individuals and families; short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, end-of-life care, adult day services; and maternal and child health services. | $31.2 |
| Naylor & Breen Builders Inc | Brandon | General contracting, construction management | $31.0 |
| Twincraft, Inc | Winooski | Contract manufacture of personal care products including bar soap, liquid cleansers, lotions, creams and oils. | $31.0 |
| Select Design | Burlington | Brand Marketing/Product Development | $30.9 |
| Community Care Network | Rutland | An array of health, human service, vocational programs serving the greater Rutland region | $30.2 |
| Vermont State Employees Credit Union | Montpelier | Credit union and financial services. Branches in Berlin , Waterbury, Williston, Burlington, Rutland, Montpelier, Brattleboro, Bennington | $30.0 |
| People's United Insurance Agency | Burlington | Commercial property and casualty insurance; life and health/personal lines/wholesale products. | $28.5 |
| Wright & Morrissey Inc | Burlington | General contractor | $28.0 |
| Sugarbush Resort | Warren | Four season mountain resort | $27.4 |
| Foster Motors | Middlebury | New car dealership | $25.9 |
| Mount Family Group, LTD | Williston | Full service employment agency offering direct hire and temporary services throughout the northeast. | $25.5 |
| Neagley and Chase Construction Co | South Burlington | Construction Services, Design/Build | $25.5 |
| Chroma Technology Corp | Bellows Falls | Chroma Technology Corp. is an employee-owned company that specializes in the design and manufacture of precision optical filters and coatings. | $25.1 |
| Vermont Law School | South Royalton | Law School and Environmental Law Center | $25.0 |
| Ibex Outdoor Clothing | White River Jct | Merino wool apparel company | $24.8 |
| EF Wall and Associates | Barre | Construction services including general contracting, design-build, and construction management | $23.5 |
| Vermont Mechanical, Inc | Williston |
Commercial, Industrial, Institutional Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, service, Maintenance contracts, Engineering pipe and duct fabrication.
|
$22.5 |
| Small Dog Electronics | Waitsfield | Apple Computer, iPod and iPhone sales, configuration and Apple training and seminars. | $22.0 |
| SunCommon | Waterbury Center | Solar energy developer | $22.0 |
| Stewart Construction Inc | Essex Junction | General contracting, general contractor, construction, commercial, medical, educational, religious, historic restoration, renovation, retrofitting, new construction, sustainable materials. | $21.8 |
| Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty | South Burlington | Real estate brokerage | $21.5 |
| Woodstock Inn & Resort | Woodstock | The Woodstock Inn & Resort is a AAA Four Diamond full service resort including golf, spa, skiing, multiple restaurants, and spacious conference facilities. | $20.7 |
| ASIC North, Inc. | Williston | Semiconductor design service provider | $20.3 |
| Grace Cottage Hospital | Townshend | Hospital, Family Health Center, Pharmacy | $20.1 |
| Resource Systems Group, Inc. | White River Jct | Advanced data modeling and analyties applied to transportation planning, market strategy, environmental management and software deveoment | $20.1 |
| Hub International Transportation Insurance Services | So Burlington | Transportation insurance | $20.0 |
| New England Air Systems LLC | Williston | HVACR, plumbing, sheetmetal fabrication, design/build, insulation, mechanical duct cleaning and service | $20.0 |
| Kalow Technologies, LLC | North Clarendon | Industrial control systems, automated machines, industrial balers | $19.6 |
| Logic Supply, Inc. | South Burlington | Logic Supply provides small, specialized computer systems for business customers working with industrial and embedded applications. | $19.5 |
| Flex-A-Seal Inc. | Essex Junction | Mechanical seals and nonmetallic products | $18.5 |
| Holstein Association USA | Brattleboro | Breed registry and genetic services | $18.5 |
| Hayes Ford Lincoln | Newport | New and used cars and trucks | $17.5 |
| Pizzagalli Properties LLC | Burlington | Real estate development | $17.5 |
| Competitive Computing, Inc | Colchester | Technology services firm specializing in Digital Commerce, Infrastructure and Managed Services. | $17.0 |
| Whitney Blake Company | Bellows Falls | Custom cable, cable assemblies, koiled kords | $16.7 |
| Granite Industries of Vermont, Inc | Barre | Granite and marble products | $15.3 |
| Catamount Color | Essex | Leader in offset printing, digital and large format printing designed to fit the needs associated with business, personal, and community use. Let us be your full service printer | $15.0 |
| North Hartland Tool Corp | North Hartland | Tooling and gaging; special precision parts; engineering and procurement services. |
$15.0 |
| Dore & Whittier Architects | Burlington | Professional architectural, project managers and engineering service/construction management | $14.4 |
| Against The Grain Gourmet | Brattleboro | Wholesale gluten-free bread & pizza products. | $14.0 |
| ReArch Company, LLC | South Burlington | Estimating, Preconstruction Services, Construction Management and Property Management Services. | $14.0 |
| Vermont Store Fixture Corporation | Danby | Manufacture, design and installation of custom store fixtures | $14.0 |
| TS Peck Insurance | South Burlington | Independent Insurance Agency | $13.7 |
| Allard Lumber Company | Brattleboro | Hardwood lumber sawmill and dry kiln facility | $13.5 |
| Champlain Housing Trust | Burlington | Development, management and stewardship of affordable housing; financial education and counseling; affordable homeowner lending . | $13.3 |
| Lyndon Woodworking Inc | Lyndon | Hard wood furniture, beds, cases, tables, chairs in oak, cherry, maple and walnut | $12.9 |
| AllEarth Renewables, Inc. | Williston | Grid-connected, dual-axis solar system | $12.8 |
| Connor Contracting, Inc | Berlin | General contractor | $12.6 |
| Rice Lumber | Shelburne | Retail lumber & custom millwork | $12.5 |
| Stowe Electric Dept | Stowe | Electric company | $12.5 |
| Alliance Mechanical Inc. | Essex Junction | HVAC, Building Automation, Mechanical Service and Installation | $12.2 |
| Donald P Blake Jr Inc | Morrisville | General building construction | $12.0 |
| Heritage Aviation, Inc. | South Burlington | FAA certified maintenance and avionics repair station, fueling and ramp services. 24/7 FBO services. | $12.0 |
| ARC Mechanical Contractors | Bradford | Mechanical contractors - HVAC-R sales, service, installation, design-build | $11.6 |
| Vermont Smoke & Cure | Hinesburg | Manufacture and sale of smoked meats/processed meats. Wholesale sales and processing services for farmers. | $11.6 |
| Windjammer Hospitality Group | South Burlington | Hotel, Restaurant and Conference Center | $11.5 |
| Farm-Way | Bradford | Retail footwear, clothing, furniture, gifts, hunting, camping, jewelry |
$11.3 |
| Patterson & Smith Construction, Inc | Stowe | General contractor | $10.5 |
| Winooski Insurance Agency, Inc | Winooski | Property/Casualty Insurance Sales | $10.5 |
| DuBois & King, Inc | Randolph | Multidisciplinary engineering services; cost estimating and value engineering; environmental permitting; landscape architecture, surveying | $10.4 |
| Manufacturing Solutions Inc | Morrisville | Contract Manufacturing, Warehouse & Logistics, Commercial/Industrial Leasing | $10.4 |
| Southern Vermont College | Bennington | Four-year college, private, liberal arts, career focused | $10.2 |
| VHB | North Ferrisburgh | Transportation engineering, land development, energy and environmental consulting |
$10.0 |
About Dun & Bradstreet
Industry Trends among the Middle Market
Middle market firms span all industries, but are more likely to be found in the manufacturing sector (18% vs. 3% overall), followed closely by wholesale trade (17% vs. 4% overall). Twelve percent of middle market firms are found in retail trade, compared to 11% of all commercially active businesses in the country. Within the services sector, both educational services and health services are home to 6% of middle market firms, respectively. Altogether, nearly 60% of middle market firms are found in these five industries.
Click here to read the full Middle Market Power Index.
American Express and Dun & Bradstreet will release subsequent Middle Market Power Index reports, which will explore other areas of opportunity unique to middle market firms.
Study Methodology
This report is based on an analysis of all of the U.S. firms in Dun & Bradstreet's commercial databases of over 19 million (19,096,462) businesses between March 2011 and March 2016: (1) a virtual census of all of the commercially active businesses in the United States (defined as firms that have obtained a D-U-N-S® Number and that sell and receive goods and services and utilize credit transactions in their business); (2) their credit scoring archive database, which collects and models business commercial activity and business financial strength. All subsidiary and business establishment data are combined; only enterprise-level data (top of the business family tree, or Ultimate D-U-N-S® Number firms) are reported. Additionally, public sector entities are excluded.
Among the 19 million commercially active U.S. businesses in 2016, 182,578 firms have between $10 million and $999 million in revenue and are thus defined as middle market enterprises. Additionally, 17.9 million commercially active firms in the D&B database have less than $1 million in revenues, and in this analysis are referred to as small firms; just under 1 million (964,600) have between $1 million and $9.9 million in revenues, and are referred to as “nearing the middle market;” and 3,025 firms generate $1 billion or more in revenues.
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