by Sharon Purvis
In October, a luncheon in Columbia, hosted by South Carolina Business Awards and presented by The Capital Corporation, celebrated the top 25 fastest-growing companies in South Carolina—and twelve of those companies are here in the Upstate.
The qualifications for the awards are that the company must be headquartered in South Carolina, have been in operation for at least 3 fiscal years, and have reported revenues of at least $3 million in the most recent year; judging is based on financial and employee growth over a 3-year period.
Those Upstate companies that were honored at the luncheon reflect the larger trend of growth in our area. The companies include:
- a financial services firm: WCM Global Wealth (Greenville), a diversified financial services firm specialized in providing exclusive financial products and services
- two staffing firms that cater to technology groups: The Hiring Group (Greer), a technical staffing and recruiting firm, and Intellectual Capitol (Greenville), a staffing and technology services company that provides technology assessment and consulting, strategic staffing, and application development
- three companies in the technical/engineering/manufacturing sector: Clear Touch Interactive (Greenville),a leading provider of multi-touch interactive flat panels for education,government, and businesses; NextGen Supply Chain (Greenville), providing consulting, engineering support, andsupply chain management services to advanced manufacturing industries such as aerospace, automotive, and medical devices; and Thomas Mechanical (Laurens), a mechanical contractor specializing in commercial/industrial HVAC services, fabrication, process piping, engineering, and maintenance services.
- two contracting and construction companies: Harper General Contractors (Greenville), a full service general contracting and construction management firm offering preconstruction, building information modeling, design-build, construction management at risk, LEED construction, and design-assist services; and Clayton Construction Company (Spartanburg), a general contractor that will provide preconstruction planning, project coordination, post-construction follow-up, and a range of other services based on the project.
- two real estate companies: RealOp Investments (Greenville), a commercial real estate investment company; and National Land Realty (Greenville), a full-service real estate brokerage company specializing in farm, ranch, recreational, plantation, timber, equestrian, waterfront, and commercial land across the country.
- a fitness company: 9Round (Simpsonville), specialized fitness centers that bring kickboxing fitness training to the average person in a convenient, affordable, 30-minute, full-body circuit format.
- and a food company: Duke Brands (Greenville), the holding company for Duke Foods, a manufacturer of ready-to-eat dips, spreads (most notably Duke’s Mayonnaise), and bakery items, as well as the Duke Sandwich Company restaurants.
Additionally, the following awards were handed out: Harper General Contractors, headquartered in Greenville, was presented with the South Carolina Economic Impact Award. The Rising Star was awarded to Global Sales Group (Easley). South Carolina Excellence in Business Awards went to A3 Communications (Irmo), Duke Brands (Greenville), PCI Group (Fort Mill), and Quality Business Solutions (Travelers Rest). Congratulations to all of these companies for their growth and for their contribution to the grown of the Upstate and of South Carolina.