Finding Success in Southwest Florida

L ook no more to agriculture and tourism as drivers of business

in Southwest Florida. Tourism remains the No. 1 industry, but the area is

becoming more diverse and sophisticated, attracting company headquarters and

major corporations. “The business environment is changing,” says Robin Doyle,

chairman of the Collier County Economic Development Council.

That’s why our 2002 list of top companies—comprised of

Gulfshore-based corporations boasting annual revenue of more than $10

million—includes several companies new to the area and notes major milestones

for organizations that have called Lee and Collier counties home for decades.

Homebuilding and construction, health care, retail, manufacturing, hospitality,

technology and agriculture are all represented among the 74 companies. Many

have relocated corporate headquarters here in the past decade, citing quality

of life plus financial incentives from economic development groups in Lee and

Collier.

Among those are F.N.B. Corp. (ranked 8), which moved its

headquarters from Hermitage, Penn., to Naples last June, becoming the largest

bank-holding company in Florida. Further proving its commitment to the region,

F.N.B. plans to build a state-of-the-art facil-ity to house all its technology

and back-office operations, creating 75 new jobs.

Arthrex (ranked 11), a developer and manufacturer of

surgical medical supplies, also plans to boost its operations in Naples by

building a new world headquarters and manufacturing facility in Creekside

Commerce Park and adding 136 jobs. Southwest Florida’s quality of life was

founder Reinhold Schmieding’s primary reason for moving his small company to

Naples in 1991; and since then, he has found a fertile environment to grow his

business from two to 250 employees worldwide.

Although giant companies aren’t expected to relocate their

entire operations to Southwest Florida, there is a trend to relocate and expand

corporate headquarters here. “When companies find that they can have their

headquarters anywhere, they look to Southwest Florida because of the quality of

life,” says Doyle, an attorney with Quarles & Brady in Naples.

Both companies, plus Source Interlink, which plans to move

its world headquarters from St. Louis to Bonita Springs next year, are helping

boost the average wage here—another sign of a diverse local economy.

Homebuilders, construction companies and businesses that

serve the development industry have flourished. Specializing in custom estate

homes, villas and condominiums, Collier-based Premier Builders (ranked 26) saw

its revenue jump from $20 million in 2000 to $46 million in 2001. As one of the

largest employers in the region, The Bonita Bay Group (ranked 5) more than

doubled its annual sales from $165 million to $405 million. Lee County’s Beazer

Homes (ranked 19) also enjoyed a dramatic revenue increase, from $68.3 million

to $81.2 million.

Last year also was good to women’s clothing retailer Chico’s

FAS (ranked 6), which was named No. 1 on Forbes’ 2001 list of the 200 “Best

Small Businesses in America.” The year also brought gains to software solutions

provider ASG (ranked 12), Raymond Building Supply (ranked 14), boat dealer Marinemax-Gulfwind Naples (ranked 23)

and Internet search engine company FindWhat.com (ranked 49). All saw

significant increases in revenue.

Some companies suffered from declining revenues, however,

including Fox Electronics (ranked 33) and Keystone Custom Homes (ranked 39).

SmartDisk Corp. (ranked 20) chief executive officer Michael S. Battaglia calls

this his toughest year ever in the high-tech business. Revenues at Florida

Aluminum and Steel Fabricators and Neomedia Technologies dropped far enough to

bump them off the list.

Despite growth at the top of the list, companies with $50

million and less in revenues still make up the majority, proving that the

region remains a hotspot for small businesses. Says Dennis Gilkey, president

and chief executive officer of The Bonita Bay Group, who believes that

Southwest Florida must market itself as a region to attract more businesses:

“The area is maturing. It’s growing up.”

TOP COMPANIES

1. Health Management Associates (Collier)

Largest operator of non-urban, acute-care hospitals

primarily in the Southeast and Southwest.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Joseph V. Vumbacco

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $1.9 billion

2000: $1.6 billion

EMPLOYEES: 22,000 nationwide; 80 in Naples

FOUNDED: 1977

WEB SITE: www.hma-corp.com

2. WCI Communities (Lee)

Creates amenity-rich, leisure-oriented, master-planned

communities.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Al Hoffman Jr.

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $1.1 billion

EMPLOYEES: 2,810

FOUNDED: 1946

WEB SITE: www.wcicommunities.com

3. NCH Healthcare System (Collier)

Hospitals and health-care affiliates.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Edward Morton

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $756 million

2000: $213 million

EMPLOYEES: 3,700

FOUNDED: 1956

WEB SITE: www.nchmd.org

4. Lee Memorial Health System (Lee)

Comprises Cape Coral Hospital, HealthPark Medical Center,

The Children’s Hospital, Lee Memorial Hospital, The Rehabilitation Hospital,

Lee Physician Group, Lee Convenient Care, Lee Memorial Home Health and

HealthPark Care Center.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: James R. Nathan

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $428.9 million

EMPLOYEES: 5,400 employees, 2,500 auxilians and 730

physicians on staff

FOUNDED: 1916

WEB SITE: www.leememorial.org

5. The Bonita Bay Group (Lee)

Real estate development company involved with master-planned

communities and recreational facilities.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Dennis Gilkey

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $405 million

2000: $165 million

EMPLOYEES: 1,300

FOUNDED: 1979

WEB SITE: www.thebonitabaygroup.com

6. Chico’s FAS (Lee)

Women’s clothing.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Marvin Gralnick

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $370 million

2000: $259.4 million

EMPLOYEES: 3,500 nationwide; 400 in Fort Myers

FOUNDED: 1983

WEB SITE: www.chicos.com

7. Boca Resorts (Collier)

Luxury resorts, golf clubs and hotels.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: David Feder

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $289 million

2000: $267 million

EMPLOYEES: 3,741

FOUNDED: 1999

WEB SITE: www.bocaresortsinc.com

8. F.N.B. Corp. (Collier)

Diversified financial services company.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Gary L. Tice

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $253.8 million

EMPLOYEES: 3,000

FOUNDED: 1974

WEB SITE: www.fnbcorporation.com

9. Robb & Stucky (Lee)

Retailer of fine home furnishings and interior design.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Clive Lubner

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $235 million nationwide

2000: $235 million nationwide

EMPLOYEES: 1,000 nationwide; estimated 750 in Southwest

Florida

FOUNDED: 1915

WEB SITE: www.robbstucky.com

10. Kraft Construction Co. (Collier)

Construction/general contractors.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: F. Fred Pezeshkan

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $213 million

2000: $191 million

EMPLOYEES: 245

FOUNDED: 1968

WEB SITE: www.kraftconstruction.com

11. Arthrex (Collier)

Designer and manufacturer of surgical devices for

arthroscopic surgery and sports medicine.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Reinhold Schmieding

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $130 million-plus

2000: $100 million-plus

EMPLOYEES: 105

FOUNDED: 1981

WEB SITE: www.arthrex.com

12. ASG (Collier)

Provider of software solutions in applications, operations,

performance and information management services.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Arthur L. Allen

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $128 million

2000: $114.6 million

EMPLOYEES: 764

FOUNDED: 1986

WEB SITE: www.asg.com

13. Beasley Broadcast Group (Collier)

Seventeenth largest radio broadcasting com-pany in America.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: George G. Beasley

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $115 million-plus nationwide

2000: $106.2 million nationwide

EMPLOYEES: 660 nationwide

FOUNDED: 1961

WEB SITE: www.bbgi.com

14. Raymond Building Supply Corp. (Lee)

Full-service building material supplier for contractors.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Charlie Babb

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $109.4 million

2000: $93.5 million

EMPLOYEES: 490

FOUNDED: 1957

WEB SITE: www.rbsc.net

15. Barron Collier Cos. (Collier)

Diversified real estate development and agribusiness.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Paul Marinelli

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $100 million-plus

2000: $100 million-plus

EMPLOYEES: Estimated, 1,000

FOUNDED: 1926

WEB SITE: www.barroncollier.com

16. Grosse Pointe Development Co. (Lee)

Real estate developer.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Robert D. Hensley

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $100 million-plus

EMPLOYEES: 24

FOUNDED: 1996

WEB SITE: www.gpd.com

17. Krehling Industries (Collier)

Ready-mixed concrete, blocks and interlocking pavers.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Hank Krehling

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $100 million-plus

2000: $96 million

EMPLOYEES: 400

FOUNDED: 1967

18. J.J. Taylor Distributing Company (Lee)

Beer distributor.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Houston E. Ball

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $84 million

EMPLOYEES: 184

FOUNDED: 2001

19. Beazer Homes (Lee)

Homebuilder.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Christin Copp

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $81.2 million

2000: $68.3 million

EMPLOYEES: 86

FOUNDED: 1952

WEB SITE: www.beazer.com

20. SmartDisk Corp. (Collier)

Developer, manufacturer and marketer

of consumer electronics products and software.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Michael S. Battaglia

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $70.2 million

2000: $96.7 million

EMPLOYEES: 90

FOUNDED: 1997

WEB SITE: www.smartdisk.com

21. Causeway Lumber Co. (Lee)

Manufacturer and supplier of building materials and

components to the professional contractor.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: M. Scott Whiddon

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $65 million

2000: $66 million

EMPLOYEES: 350

FOUNDED: 1939

22. Hardy Development Group (Collier)

Golf course communities.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Paul Hardy

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $61 million

EMPLOYEES: 285

FOUNDED: 1996

WEB SITE: www.hardydevelopment.com

23. Marinemax-Gulfwind Naples (Collier)

SeaRay boats, Sea Hunt fishing boats, Hatteras yacht sales,

service and parts.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Jerry Marshall

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $55 million

2000: $34 million

EMPLOYEES: 26

FOUNDED: 1983

WEB SITE: www.marinemax.com

24. Rinker Materials, Southwest Region (Lee)

Concrete, block, rebar and building

materials.

REGIONAL DIRECTOR: Darryl Fales

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $50 million

2000: $50 million

EMPLOYEES: 200

FOUNDED: 1988

WEB SITE: www.rinker.com

25. Worthington Communities

(Lee)

Real estate developer and builder.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Jeff Darragh

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $47.7 million

2000: $48 million-plus

EMPLOYEES: 45

FOUNDED: 1989

WEB SITE:

www.worthingtoncommunities.com

26. Premier Builders

(Collier)

Custom estate homes, villas and condominiums.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Michel Saadeh

ANNUAL SALES 2001: $46 million

2000: $20 million

EMPLOYEES: 48

FOUNDED: 1996

WEB SITE: www.vineyardsrealty.com