Whatcom County Business Pulse

Back to Content Page

Whatcom County’s Top Private 50 Top 50 Firms Make Major Impact in County, Combined 2000 Revenues Total $2.5 Billion by Dave Brumbaugh Most of Whatcom County’s businesses are considered small, but the biggest ones compile some big numbers. The members of Business Pulse’s Whatcom County Private Top 50 combined to record revenues of $2.5 billion last year. They also employed more than 17,100 people. The Whatcom County Private Top 50 consists of privately owned, for-profit companies with headquarters in the county. These requirements eliminate some of the county’s largest employers, such as the BP Cherry Point and Tosco refineries, Georgia-Pacific, Alcoa Intalco Works, St. Joseph Hospital and Western Washington University. The list also omits companies such as banks, financial-services businesses, insurance firms and real-estate agencies with gross sales/revenue figures that don’t compare accurately to other businesses. Revenue figures were provided by the businesses and compiled from respected business directories. Haggen Inc., owned by brothers Don and Rick Haggen, remains No. 1 with 2000 sales of $665.6 million. After adding stores in Marysville and Oregon City, Ore., last year, Haggen now operates 26 supermarkets in Washington and Oregon under the Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug names. Haggen has three stores in Bellingham and one in Ferndale. Haggen is the largest independent grocer and the sixth-largest private company based in the state and also is listed in the Forbes Private 500 of the largest privately owned companies in the country. Another retail food company, Brown & Cole Stores, ranks second with $390 million in sales. Under the direction of Craig Cole, the company’s revenues have increased 500 percent since 1991. Brown & Cole operates stores concentrated in northwest, central and eastern Washington, along with a few in Oregon and Montana. It has three stores in Bellingham, two in Lynden and one apiece in Blaine, Everson and Ferndale. Its primary store names are Cost Cutter and Food Pavilion. Cars, buildings and boats The Private Top 50 has several business sectors prominently represented. Eight vehicle dealerships are on the list, led by Jerry Chambers Chevrolet-Olds-mobile-Cadillac, fourth at $52.6 million. The others are Diehl Ford (8), Roger Jobs Motors (14), Wilson Motors (18), Bellingham Chrysler Center (19), Pioneer Ford (20), Import Motors (26) and Dewey Griffin (27). The Private Top 50 also includes seven construction companies, topped by Exxel Pacific, fifth at $50 million. Dawson Construction (7), Impero Contracting (12), Diamond B Constructing (17), Haskell Corp. (22), Ebenal General (33) and IMCO General Construction (45) also made the list. Given the county’s location on Puget Sound, it’s not surprising that marine-related companies occupy six spots. Bellingham Marine Industries, specializing in marine and dock construction in the United States and overseas, is sixth at $42 million. Other companies with strong ties to saltwater are Bornstein Seafoods (11), Seafood Producers Cooperative (20), Redden Marine Supply (39), Sea K Fish (40) and Bellingham Bay Shipyards (50). Phenomenal growth The most amazing growth story may belong to Stargate Telecom (46). Owned by Shaun Liu, the company has seen revenues soar at a clip of 300 percent annually since it was founded in 1995. Its revenues in 2000 totaled $12.5 million, up from $3.6 million in 1999. Stargate Telecom is a broadband company that provides fiber and coaxial splicing, aerial and underground construction and residential cable installation. It has 200 employees. Stargate Telecom, like most of the companies in the Private Top 50, has headquarters in Bellingham. Five members in the list call Lynden home, four are in Ferndale, two in Blaine and one apiece in Everson and Sumas. 2001 Private Top 50 Private Top 50 companies are ranked by their sales/revenue in 2000 and must have headquarters in Whatcom County. The list excludes banks, insurance companies, other financial institutions, real estate, governments and other nonprofit organizations 1 Haggen Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $665,584,565 Primary products/services — Supermarkets Employees — 4,000 Principal owner(s) — Don and Rick Haggen Founded — 1933 2 Brown & Cole Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $390 million Primary products/services — Supermarkets Employees — 2,000-2,500 Principal owner(s) — Craig Cole Founded — 1909 3 Trillium Corp. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $79.9 million Primary products/services — Property developer Employees — 587 Principal owner(s) — David Syre Founded — 1973 4 Jerry Chambers Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $52.6 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 102 Principal owner(s) — Jerry Chambers Founded — 1973 5 Exxel Pacific Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $50 million Primary products/services — Construction Employees — 50+ Principal owner(s) — Sid Baron, Kevin DeVries, Tim Spink Founded — 1980 6 Bellingham Marine Industries Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $42 million Primary products/services — Marine and dock construction Employees — 200 Principal owner(s) — Not disclosed Founded — 1928 7 Ryzex Group Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $37 million Primary products/services — Barcode and data-collection equipment Employees — 200 Principal owner(s) — Rud Browne Founded — 1989 8 Dawson Construction Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $36 million Primary products/services — Construction Employees — 50-100 Principal owner(s) — Jack Dawson Founded — NA 9 Diehl Ford Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $35 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees —95 Principal owner(s) — R.C. Diehl Founded — 1970 10 Yorkston Oil Co. Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $28 million Primary products/services — Wholesale petroleum brokers Employees — NA Principal owner(s) — Barney Jr., Matt and David Yorkston Founded — 1962 11 Homestead Northwest Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $28 million (1999 revenues; 2000 revenues NA) Primary products/services — Residential developer/golf resort Employees — 156 Principal owner(s) — Jim and Carolyn Wynstra Founded — 1991 12 Bornstein Seafoods Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $25 million Primary products/services — Seafood processor/wholesaler Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — M. Jay Bornstein Founded — 1927 13 Impero Contracting Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $25 million Primary products/services — Contractor Employees — 70 Principal owner(s) — Dave Huber and Mike Impero Jr. Founded — 1972 14 Whatcom Farmers Co-op Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $24.8 million Primary products/services — Agronomy supplies and services, retail stores Employees — 100 Principal owner(s) — Cooperative with more than 6,000 shareholders Founded — 1982 15 Roger Jobs Motors Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $24.5 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 36 Principal owner(s) — Roger Jobs Founded — 1985 16 Exports of Washington Inc. Headquarters — Blaine Sales — $24.3 million Primary products/services — Investment company; casino operator Employees — 260 Principal owner(s) — Kenneth Kellar Founded — 1965 17 Keith Oil Co. Headquarters — Ferndale Sales — $24.3 million Primary products/services — Wholesale petroleum bulk station Employees — 10 Principal owner(s) — Mahmoud “Sam” Boulos Founded — 1980 18 Diamond B 4 Constructors Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $24.1 million Primary products/services — Construction Employees — 75 Principal owner(s) — Paul Johansen Founded — 1977 19 Wilson Motors Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $24 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 45 Principal owner(s) — Rick and Bob Wilson Founded — 1960 20 Bellingham Chrysler Center Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $23.7 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 51 Principal owner(s) — Mark Vermeulen Founded — 1961 21 Pioneer Ford Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $23 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 34 Principal owner(s) — Dave Peterson Founded — 1978 22 Seafood Producers Cooperative Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $22.9 million Primary products/services — Wholesale seafoods Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — Cooperative Founded — 1944 23 Haskell Corp. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $22 million Primary products/services — Industrial/mechanical construction Employees — 200 Principal owner(s) — Fred Haskell Founded — 1890 24 American Cordage Group Headquarters — Ferndale Sales — $21.8 million Primary products/services — Marine cordage, industrial rope Employees — 300 Principal owner(s) — NA Founded — 1997 25 Dealer Information Systems Corp. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $21.5 million Primary products/services — Computer software development, sale and service Employees — 140 Principal owner(s) — Bob Brim Founded — 1980 26 Barleans Organic Oils Co. LLC Headquarters — Ferndale Sales — $21 million Primary products/services — Edible fats and oils Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — Bruce Barlean Founded — 1989 27 Import Motors Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $20.5 million Primary products/services — New and used cars Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — Craig Terry, Frank King Founded — 1996 28 RHLI Inc. (Dewey Griffin) Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $20 million Primary products/services — Car dealer Employees — 52 Principal owner(s) — Leroy Johnson Founded — 1967 29 Alpha Technologies Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $19.4 million Primary products/services — Management consulting and engineering Employees — 275 Principal owner(s) —Fred Kaiser Founded — 1980 30 Farmers Equipment Co. Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $18.9 million Primary products/services — Agricultural and construction machinery, parts and service Employees — 60 Principal owner(s) — Ken Stremler, Leo Beld, Eldon Vander Ploeg, Kevin Pawlowski, Doug Seto Founded — 1935 31 Allsop Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $18.8 million Primary products/services — Personal computer accessories, audio/video cleaning cassettes Employees — 150 Principal owner(s) — Michael and James Allsop Founded — 1964 32 Madrona Medical Group P.S. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $18.8 million Primary products/services — Medical practitioners Employees — 281 Principal owner(s) — NA Founded — 1995 33 Ebenal General Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $18 million Primary products/services — Construction Employees — 60 Principal owner(s) — David Ebenal Founded — 1994 34 Yamato Engine Specialists Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $18 million (1999 revenues; 2000 revenues NA) Primary products/services — Remanufactured engines Employees — 110 Principal owner(s) — Amir Dhanani Founded — 1990 35 Nielsen Brothers Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $17.5 million Primary products/services — Timber harvesting/road construction Employees — 75 Principal owner(s) — Robert Nielsen Founded — 1979 36 Sound Beverage Distributors Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $17 million Primary products/services — Wholesale beer, wine and soft drinks Employees — 65 Principal owner(s) — Dean Shintaffer Founded — 1950 38 ALRT Corp. Headquarters — Everson Sales — $16 million Primary products/services — Timber, logging, road construction Employees — 71 Principal owner(s) — Jerry Hammer Founded — 1995 39 Hoksbergen Hay 1999 LLC Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $15.6 million Primary products/services — Wholesaler of hay, straw Employees — 40 Principal owner(s) — John Hoksbergen Founded — 1948 40 Redden Marine Supply Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $15 million Primary products/services — Retail/wholesale commercial fishing gear Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — Alan Chiabai Founded — 1979 41 Sea K Fish Co. Inc. Headquarters — Blaine Sales — $15 million Primary products/services — Seafood processor Employees — 75 Principal owner(s) — Martin Kuljis Founded — 1957 42 TranSmart Petroleum LLC Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $15 million Primary products/services — Wholesale petroleum products Employees — 24 Principal owner(s) — Ed Lowery Founded — 2000 43 Edaleen Dairy Products LLC Headquarters — Lynden Sales — $14 million Primary products/services — Wholesale dairy products, retail store Employees — 56 Principal owner(s) — Ed and Aileen Brandsma Founded — 1975 44 Sauder Mouldings Inc. Headquarters — Ferndale Sales — $13.9 million Primary products/services — Manufactured wood moldings Employees — 120 Principal owner(s) — William Sauder Founded — NA 45 IMCO General Construction Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $13 million Primary products/services — Construction Employees — 60 Principal owner(s) — Frank and Patty Imhof Founded — 1979 46 Elenbaas Co. Inc. Headquarters — Sumas Sales — $12.7 million Primary products/services — Farm feed manufacturer; retail stores Employees — 50 Principal owner(s) — NA Founded — 1990 47 Stargate Telecommunications Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $12.5 million Primary products/services — Commun-ication utility installation contractor Employees — 200 Principal owner(s) — Shaun Liu Founded — 1995 48 Rain Cap Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $12.5 million Primary products/services — Retailer/installer of truck canopies Employees — 8 Principal owner(s) — Gary Jorissen Founded — 1982 49 Apache Aerospace Inc. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $12.4 million Primary products/services — Wholesale distributor of precision tools, measuring devices Employees — 5 Principal owner(s) — Surinda Lamba Founded — 1987 50 Walton Beverage Co. Headquarters — Bellingham Sales — $12.2 million Primary products/services — Soft-drink manufacturer Employees — 80 Principal owner(s) — John Walton Founded — 1941


Back to Content Page