The Vermont 100+ from VermontBiz | Vermont Business Magazine

Sun, 02/05/2023 - 00:00 -- tim

by Timothy McQuiston, Editor, VermontBiz/Vermont Business Magazine Our January 2023 issue marks the final installment in our 50th anniversary retrospective series. Before anyone had heard of the Internet or email — and long before Facebook, the iPhone or Google — there was the Vermont 100.

Vermont Business was born in 1972 and first published as a stand-alone monthly in February 1973. Our first Vermont 100 ranking of businesses by annual revenue was featured in the publication's January 1987 issue, based on 1986 revenues. At that time we also asked for prior year’s revenues, which is how several companies have numbers going back to 1985.

Since then there have been only four companies that have been Number One: National Life Group, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Fletcher Allen Health Care (now The University of Vermont Medical Center) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (now Keurig Dr Pepper and based in Plano, TX).

Toward the end of its time as a Vermont-based corporation, Keurig had pulled away from the field with over $4 billion in revenues, but in 2016 it was bought by a European firm that gobbled up coffee and sandwich chains from coast to coast.

C&S Wholesale Grocers also boasted meteoric growth as it bought the distribution businesses from supermarket chains. It then moved its headquarters from Brattleboro to across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. C&S was owned by one family, and moving the HQ saved much on personal state income taxes.

Consequently C&S, like Keurig, is no longer part of the Vermont 100.

Keurig joins the likes of Ben & Jerry’s and Seventh Generation, Bond Auto and IDX Systems, many of the ski resorts and fuel companies, Biotek, GW Plastics and several other fine companies, who also have been sold to outside entities and no longer provide revenue numbers for the Vermont 100.

Consolidation has been the biggest disruptor in the nearly four decades we’ve been publishing these rankings.

In 2020, another seismic shift in the economy brought a different kind of change to the business landscape that had nothing to do with consolidation or VCs or Bitcoin or billionaires flying off into space.

Its long-term implications might not be known for many years. We’re talking about, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some companies chose to sit out the Vermont 100 in 2020 after what was a rough year for most, but not all, Vermont businesses.

You’ll see that several have come back, while others are still taking a breather. Some subsequently had a fabulous 2021 as federal money poured into the economy. Many of those have returned to baseline.

Leading the way for those still on the list is our first and current top firm, National Life, which is not only the largest Vermont-based firm but one that also consistently boasts strong growth. Congratulations to them. (See List Below)

Here are a few newer firms to keep your eye on for their growth and innovation: OnLogic (South Burlington); Mamava (Burlington); Ivy Computer Inc (Waterbury Center); ReArch (South Burlington) and MSI (Morrisville).

Also, check out our Growth Charts in our January issue.

We’ve also seen tremendous growth as we look back now 36 years. Some of Vermont’s stalwart companies from across the state continue to lead the way in both growth and innovation.

The 35-year growth chart reads like a who's who of historically great Vermont companies, from Cabot to Orvis to Mack Molding to Rice Lumber to three stalwart insurance firms: Vermont Mutual, Patron’s Co-operative and Union Mutual.

The vast majority of the companies participate voluntarily every year. Other revenue information is gathered from public sources like the SEC, IRS and the Green Mountain Care Board. We at VermontBiz are grateful to all the companies on this year’s list that sent us their revenue data.

Already we’re seeing many of the firms that struggled in 2020 returning to form in 2022, even as COVID refuses to go away.

Just as our name has evolved over the years (Vermont Business, Vermont Business World, Vermont Business Magazine, VBM and VermontBiz), the economic landscape has changed vastly, and we, of course, have had to change with it.

We’re persevering, thriving and looking forward to an even better New Year. And we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Vermont 100+ Ranking

(In Millions of $)

Rank	Company, Location	Category	2022 REVENUE IN MILLIONS
1	National Life Group, Montpelier	Financial	$2,890
2	The University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington	Service	$1500.6
3	Cabot Creamery Cooperative Inc, Waitsfield	Manufacturing	$1,200
4	Casella Waste Systems Inc, Rutland	Service	$1,080
5	University of Vermont, Burlington	Service	$736
6	Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, Montpelier	Service	$736
7	Green Mountain Power Corp, Colchester	Service	$709
8	Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, Montpelier	Financial	$565
9	Mack Group, Arlington	Manufacturing	$507
10	PC Construction, South Burlington	Construction	$440
11	Orvis Company Inc, Sunderland	Retail	$380
12	Middlebury College, Middlebury	Service	$286
13	Rutland Regional Medical Center, Rutland	Service	$270.3
14	Central Vermont Medical Center, Barre	Service	$251.5
15	Vermont Electric Power Company (Velco), Rutland	Service	$222
16	Carris Reels, Inc, Proctor	Manufacturing	$220
17	Union Mutual Insurance, Montpelier	Financial	$214
18	Momentum Manufacturing Group, LLC, Saint Johnsbury	Manufacturing	$212
19	Southwestern Vermont Health Care, Bennington	Service	$177.6
20	OnLogic, South Burlington	Technology	$138
21	Champlain Cable Corp, Colchester	Manufacturing	$135
22	DEW Construction Corp, Williston	Construction	$131
23	Howard Center, Burlington	Service	$129.4
24	Engelberth Construction Inc, Colchester	Construction	$122
25	Norwich University, Northfield	Service	$118.8
26	Northwestern Medical Center, Inc, Saint Albans	Service	$115.9
27	Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, Saint Johnsbury	Service	$113.3
28	SD Ireland Concrete Construction Corp, South Burlington	Construction	$110
29	Saint Michael’s College, Colchester	Service	$106
30	Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro	Service	$104.9
31	Patrons Co-operative Insurance Company, Middlebury	Financial	$100
32	Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Brattleboro	Service	$95.6
33	Copley Health Systems, Morrisville	Service	$94.7
34	Porter Medical Center, Inc, Middlebury	Service	$94.2
35	North Country Hospital, Newport	Service	$88.8
36	Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc, Johnson	Service	$82
37	Twincraft, Inc, Winooski	Manufacturing	$80.5
38	New England Federal Credit Union, Williston	Financial	$64.3
39	ReArch Company, INC, South Burlington	Construction	$63.2
40	Instrumart, South Burlington	Technology	$63
41	Washington County Mental Health Services Inc, Montpelier	Service	$62
42	Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, Windsor	Service	$59.6
43	Burlington Electric Department, Burlington	Service	$59.5
44	Chroma Technology Corp, Bellows Falls	Manufacturing	$56.5
45	Britton Lumber Company LLC, Fairlee	Retail	$56
46	Springfield Hospital, Springfield	Service	$54.7
47	Gifford Healthcare, Randolph	Service	$54.2
48	Union Bank, Morrisville	Financial	$52.8
49	Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), Springfield	Service	$51.5
50	iSun Inc, Williston	Service	$50.6
51	Burlington International Airport (BTV), South Burlington	Service	$50.5
51	Naylor & Breen Builders Inc, Brandon	Construction	$50.5
53	Northfield Savings Bank, Barre	Financial	$48
54	Community College of Vermont, Montpelier	Service	$47.7
55	Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington	Service	$47.5
56	Vermont State Employees Credit Union, Montpelier	Financial	$47
57	Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, South Burlington	Service	$46
58	Jay Peak Resort, Jay	Service	$45.6
59	Poulin Lumber - USLBM, LLC, Derby	Retail	$44
60	Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Smugglers Notch	Service	$43
60	Wright & Morrissey Inc, Burlington	Construction	$43
62	Hallam-ICS, South Burlington	Service	$40
63	Vermont Federal Credit Union, Burlington	Financial	$39.3
64	Vermont Precision Tools, Inc., Swanton	Manufacturing	$38.4
65	Rice Lumber, Shelburne	Retail	$36.1
66	Bread Loaf Corporation, Middlebury	Construction	$35
66	Neagley and Chase Construction Co, S Burlington	Construction	$35
68	Vermont Law and Graduate School, South Royalton	Service	$33
69	Community Care Network, Rutland	Service	$32.7
70	KW Vermont, South Burlington	Service	$32.1
71	Alliance Group Inc, Essex Junction	Construction	$32
72	MSI, Morrisville	Manufacturing	$31.1
73	Passumpsic Savings Bank, Saint Johnsbury	Financial	$31
74	Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital, Townshend	Service	$30.1
75	Landmark College, Putney	Service	$29
75	New England Air Systems LLC, Williston	Construction	$29
75	Vermont Mechanical, Inc, Williston	Construction	$29
78	KALOW Technologies, LLC, Rutland	Manufacturing	$28
79	Mamava, Burlington	Service	$27
80	The University of Vermont Health Network - Home Health & Hospice, Colchester	Service	$25.3
81	Hayes Ford, Inc, Newport	Retail	$22
82	Washington Electric Cooperative Inc, East Montpelier	Service	$20.1
82	Allard Lumber Company, Brattleboro	Manufacturing	$20
84	C2-Competitive Computing, Inc, Colchester	Technology	$20
85	Whitney Blake Company, Bellows Falls	Manufacturing	$19
86	North Hartland Tool Corp, North Hartland	Manufacturing	$18.5
86	Holstein Association USA, Brattleboro	Service	$18.3
88	Vermont Public, Colchester	Service	$18.3
88	Lyndon Furniture, Saint Johnsbury	Manufacturing	$18
90	Manchester Capital Management LLC, Manchester	Financial	$18
91	DuBois & King, Inc, Randolph	Service	$17.8
92	Donald P Blake Jr Inc, Morrisville	Construction	$17.5
92	Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LLP, South Burlington	Financial	$16.3
94	Ivy Computer Inc, Waterbury Center	Technology	$16.3
95	Dore & Whittier Architects, Burlington	Service	$15.9
96	KMC Construction, Colchester	Construction	$15
97	Mount Family Group, LTD, Williston	Service	$14.98
98	VHB , South Burlington	Service	$14.5
99	ASIC North, Inc., Williston	Technology	$14.2
100	The McKernon Group, Inc, Brandon	Construction	$12.5
101	Brattleboro Savings and Loan Association , Brattleboro	Financial	$12.4
102	John Turner Consulting, Inc., Hartland	Construction	$12.2
103	Windjammer Hospitality Group, South Burlington	Service	$12
104	Jamaica Cottage Shop Inc, South Londonderry	Manufacturing	$11.3
104	Pizzagalli Properties LLC, Burlington	Service	$11
106	Vermont Store Fixture Corporation, Danby	Manufacturing	$11
107	The Dock Doctors, Ferrisburgh	Manufacturing	$10.9
107	Dirt Tech Company, LLC, Colchester	Construction	$10
107	Office Environments, Inc, South Burlington	Retail	$10
110	Walker Construction, Inc, Stowe	Construction	$10
111	Connor Contracting, Inc, Berlin	Construction	$9.7
112	Fluency Inc, Burlington	Technology	$9.1
113	The Hilb Group New England, LLC, Waitsfield	Service	$9
114	89 North, Williston	Manufacturing	$8.8
115	CCS Constructors INC, Morrisville	Construction	$8.7
116	Housewright Construction, Inc, Newbury	Construction	$8.1
117	Dupuis Construction, Brattleboro	Construction	$8
118	Twinstate/Voice.Data.Video.Inc., Colchester	Technology	$7.6
118	Bradford Machine Company, Brattleboro	Manufacturing	$7
120	JA Morrissey, Inc, Burlington	Construction	$7
121	CSE, Inc, Williston	Construction	$6.2
122	Stantec Consulting Services Inc., South Burlington	Service	$6.2
123	AM Peisch & Company LLP, Colchester	Financial	$6.1
124	McSoley, McCoy & Co., South Burlington	Financial	$6
125	Kittell, Branagan & Sargent, Saint Albans	Service	$5.9
126	Denis White Interior Contractors, Inc, Williston	Construction	$5.4
127	DominionTech Computer Services, Williston	Technology	$5.3
128	Hall Communications Radio Group, South Burlington	Service	$5.2
128	Engineering Ventures PC, Burlington	Service	$5
130	Seven Days, Burlington	Service	$5
131	Spates Construction, Inc, Derby	Construction	$4.9
132	Lewis Creek Company, INC, Essex Junction	Construction	$4.7
133	Leonine Public Affairs, Montpelier	Technology	$4.6
134	Sweeney Designbuild , Shelburne	Construction	$4.2
135	Lovejoy Tool Co, Inc, Springfield	Manufacturing	$4
136	Hayden Plumbing & Heating Inc, Bennington	Construction	$3.8
137	Eight Oh Two Marketing, Bennington	Service	$3.7
137	Aldrich + Elliott, P.C., Essex Junction	Service	$3.5
139	KAS Inc., Williston	Service	$3.5
140	M & M Excavating Inc, Proctorsville	Construction	$3.1
Source: VermontBiz 2023