October 2015 | view this story as a .pdf

Commentary by Evan Livada

Data provided by Hoover’s/Dun & Bradstreet

Welcome to The Maine 100, our trademarked list of the top 100 businesses headquartered in Maine, according to Hoover’s/Dun & Bradstreet. Presented in descending order of total gross revenues for the most recent calendar year. Evan Livada of Livada Securities provides the color commentary as follows:

The Maine 100 is a microcosm of the businesses in Maine. It mirrors national trends. When you look at the list, you see drivers like energy, retail, health care, and lumber on the rise–what’s nice to see in Maine is, a lot of these leaders are still family-based businesses, and they’re thriving.

Be A Sport

Look at the jump that Olympia Sports is making. How can we call it a little niche when they’ve just opened their 233rd store? It goes to show, people are really into the Nike and Under Armour stuff as well as the yoga styles, and this fits right into Olympia Sports. The principals are local guys. But now their dominion goes south as far as West Virginia. They’re famous for marketing slogans ike, ‘Buy one shoe and get the other one for half-price.’ Obviously, their model is working.

Local Hero

It’s fun to see a classic business like E.S. Boulos, founded in 1920, sneaking up to No. 18. This electrical contractor does a lot of big utility stuff and solar installations. They’ve found a way to make themselves new.

A Catchy Tune

Not all Maine 100 businesses have a theme jingle. No. 21 is R.H. Reny, “a Maine adventure.” They’ve always been in the right place, but now it’s the right time. They’ve doubled in one year. This is a true Maine company. The first store was in Damariscotta, in 1949. The founder had the moxie to sell inventory door to door when necessary, in his old Hudson car. Now they employ over 500 in 16 locations in Maine. R.H.’s sons began their careers with the firm at age 5 and 7. Everybody’s still in the family, running it. Mainers love that Reny’s buyers will travel all over the country to find bargains.

Looking For The Sweet Spot

If you’re looking for the Maine mystique, try Labrie’s Bakery. They’re family-owned, too, and employ over 200 in Old Town. The original Labrie’s Bakery was on French Island, in the middle of the Penobscot River. Now they have a new banana whoopee pie. They have an 84,000-square-foot facility in Old Town. When I was researching Labrie’s, I couldn’t resist checking into Old Town Canoes. Old Town Canoes is no longer Maine-owned. They were bought by Johnson Wax in 2004. Names can be deceptive: They make more kayaks than canoes.

Crafty Craft Beers

No. 76 is Seadog Brewers in Kennebunk, established by Fred Forsley. If they’re doing 26.7M at Seadog, I can’t imagine what Shipyard is doing. I can tell you this. Just days ago, Heinekin bought Lagunitas, a legendary craft beer in California, for $800 million for a 50-percent stake. Keep your eye on Shipyard. It may not be long before something like that happens to them.

The Mouse That Roared

In particular, the companies that have gone crazy this year are in health care and biotech. Up here, you can’t help but be astonished by Jackson Labs. It’s the story of mice and men. Founded in 1929 by the Universities of Maine and Michigan, they’ve been on the Maine 100 for years, but they had a 92 percent increase this year. They distribute over three million mice to over 20,000 scientists and investigators in over 50 countries. They have over 7,000 strains of genetically developed mice. They’re involved in every disease there ever was. It’s crazy. You can get a genetically tuned mouse to help you work on whatever you’re working on. What tickles me is their increasing sense of sales. They’ll have a Monday special, 500 mice for a certain price. Other specials are humanized mice models injected in such and such a way. Their mice are part of breakthrough studies in diabetes, female fertility, glaucoma, spinal and muscular affliction, bone-marrow issues. They’re receiving multimillion-dollar grants from all over the country, all the time. They’re getting the best and brightest researchers to come to Bar Harbor and be part of the Maine event.

Jackson Labs is durable, too. Years ago, they had a whistleblower lawsuit–mistreatment and cutting feet off to identify mice. The judge threw the case out. They’ve expanded, too, to facilities in Sacramento, California and Connecticut.

By the way, the IRS considers it
a nonprofit.

[Which is why Jackson Laboratory and its $257 million figure provided by Hoover’s does not appear on The Maine 100 list.]

1. L.L. Bean, Freeport, $1.56B

2. IDEXX LABORATORIES, INC.,
Westbrook, $1.49B

3. WEX INC., South Portland, $817.65M

4. The Cianbro Companies,
Pittsfield, $601.41M

5. OLYMPIA SPORT CENTER, INC.,
Westbrook, $239.94M

6. Woodard & Curran, Inc.,
Portland, $147M

7. Bowdoin College,
Brunswick, $144M

8. BANGOR savings Bank, Bangor, $140.72M

9. MAINE EMPLOYERS’
MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY, Portland, $139.42M

10. GREENPAGES, INC.,
Kittery, $130M

11. Colby College,
Waterville, $120.66M

12. Camden National Corporation,
Camden, $112.76M

13. BATES COLLEGE,
Lewiston, $101.35M

14. TWIN RIVERS PAPER COMPANY LLC,
Madawaska, $90.9M

15. C.n. Brown Company, South Paris, $87.7M

16. Fabian Oil Inc., Oakland, $86.15M

17. E.S. Boulos., Westbrook, $78.75M

18. HANCOCK LUMBER COMPANY, INC.,
Casco, $76.5M

19. EVERETT J. PRESCOTT, INC.,
Gardiner, $68.5M

20. R. H. RENY, INC., Newcastle, $66.37M

21. BUTLER BROTHERS SUPPLY DIVISION, Lewiston, $66.22M

22. The First Bancorp Inc.,
Damariscotta, $62.07M

23. Bar Harbor Bankshares,
Bar Harbor, $61.48M

24. HUTCHINS MOTORS INC.,
Augusta, $58.9M

25. Shaw Brothers Construction, Inc., Gorham, $58M

26. Machias Savings Bank,
Machias, $57.9M

27. husson University, Bangor, $57.01M

28. M. W. Sewall & Co., inc., Bath, $56.8M

29. lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC, Lincoln, $54.7M

30. Bank of Maine, Gardiner, $52.8M

31. INGREDIENTS SOLUTIONS, INC.,
Waldo, $50M

32. MARDEN’S INC., Waterville, $49.8M

33. Hammond Lumber Company,
Belgrade, $49.5M

34. JOHN LUCAS TREE EXPERT CO.,
Falmouth, $48.53M

35. Southworth International Group, Inc., Falmouth, $46.9M

36. Kennebunk Savings Bank,
Kennebunk, $45.73M

37. STONEWALL KITCHEN, LLC,
York, $44.1M

38. Norway Bancorp, Mhc,
Norway, $43.5M

39. Northeast Bancorp,
       Lewiston, $43.24M

40. SACO AUTO HOLDINGS, LLC,
Saco, $42.3M

41. Daigle Oil Co., Fort Kent, $41.3M

42. Elmet Holdings LLC,
Lewiston, $41.2M

43. Pine State Trading Co., Gardiner, $40.6M

44. ANDROSCOGGIN BANCORP MHC,
Lewiston, $40.2M

45. REED & REED, INC., Woolwich, $39.3M

46. Johnny’s Selected Seeds,
Winslow, $39M

47. Gorham Savings Bank,
Gorham, $37.91M

48. Nappi Distributors,
Gorham, $37.6M

49. Dennis Beverage Company,
Bangor, $37.3M

50. Saco and Biddeford Savings
Institution, Saco, $37.27M

51. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, INC., South Portland, $37.1M

52. RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC., South Portland, $36.7M

53. HARDWOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY LP, Guilford, $35.4M

54. Patriot Mutual Insurance
Company, Brunswick, $35M

55. Kennebec Savings Bank,
Augusta, $34.95M

56. The VIA Group LLC, Portland, $34.8M

57. Moose River Lumber Company, Inc., Moose River, $34.66M

58. Sargent Co., Stillwater, $34.2M

59. John F. Murphy Homes, Inc.,
Auburn, $34.12M

60. BERRY, DUNN, MCNEIL & PARKER, LLC, Portland, $33.9M

61. MAINE OXY-ACETYLENE SUPPLY COMPANY, Auburn, $33.7M

62. Melton Sales & Service Inc.,
Milford, $33.5M

63. Johnson & Jordan, Inc.,
Scarborough, $33M

64. MAINETODAY MEDIA, INC.,
Portland, $32.7M

65. Hammond tractor company,

        Fairfield, $32M

66. J & S Oil Co., Manchester, $31.6M

67. Katahdin Trust Company,
Patten, $30.58M

68. Bath Savings Institution,
Bath, $30.16M

69. Paris Farmers’ Union,
Oxford, $30M

70. PM Construction Co., Inc.,
Saco, $29.99M

71. SULLIVAN AND MERRITT CONSTRUCTORS, INC., Hermon, $29.8M

72. HARRIMAN ASSOCIATES, Auburn, $29.3M

73. Sigco, Inc., Westbrook, $29.153M

74. Pierce Atwood, LLP, Portland, $29M

75. PRIDE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LLC, Burnham, $27.5M

76. THE BAKER COMPANY INC.,
Sanford, $26.7M

(TIE) Seadog Brewing Co.,
Bangor, $26.7M

78. Bancroft Contracting Corporation, South Paris, $26.5M

79. Wadleigh’s, Inc., Hallowell, $26.1M

80. KBS BUILDING SYSTEMS, INC.,
South Paris, $26M

81. KRIS WAY TRUCK LEASING, INC.,
South Portland, $25.4M

82. W. D. Matthews Machinery Co.,

        Auburn, $25M

(Tie) County Super Spuds, Inc.,
Mars Hill, $25M

84. MARITIME ENERGY, Rockland, $24.7M

85. OXFORD COUNTY TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO., Lewiston, $24.3M

86. Maine Drilling and Blasting, Inc., Gardiner, $23.6M

87. The Wolfington Group Inc.,
Hallowell, $23.2M

88. Wright-Pierce, Topsham, $23.1M

89. MILLER INDUSTRIES, INC.,
Lisbon Falls, $23M

90. PAUL G. WHITE TILE CO., INC.,
Portland, $22.95M

91. Jsi Store Fixtures Inc., Milo, $22.8M

92. ROUSSEAU ENTERPRISES INC.,
Brunswick, $22.6M

93. LABREE’S, INC., Old Town, $22.1M

94. SANFORD INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS, Sanford, $22.02M

95. Sure Winner Foods Inc.,
Saco, $21.9M

(Tie) CCB, INC., Westbrook, $21.9M

97. Northeast Air, Portland, $21.8M

98. Excel Homes of Maine,
Oxford, $21.2M

99. HUSSEY CORPORATION,
North Berwick, $20.7M

100. Cozy Harbor Seafood,
Portland, $20.6M

Filter Key

These for-profit firms are headquartered in Maine. Non-profits, governmental agencies, and companies funded in part with public money do not appear. Figures provided by Dun & Bradstreet (Hoover’s) and represent calendar year 2014 gross revenues. Please contact Hoover’s/D&B, not Portland Magazine, for number corrections.

This list might be more entertaining if Portland Magazine were to compile it, but it would not be nearly as consequential. If D&B reports a business’s revenues in a certain way, that’s news in itself worthy of reporting. Financial institutions base critical decisions on D&B numbers. Four American presidents worked for Dunn & Bradstreet early in their careers (Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, and Cleveland). Note to businesses: If your Maine firm disagrees with the numbers you see in this report, you have no issue with Portland Magazine–there’s more at stake. It means that like it or not, the world sees your business this way via Dun & Bradstreet. Please contact them directly with corrections. Even then, a business is subject to the dispassionate financial models that develop D&B’s estimates. In this case, being dispassionate is a good thing.

Note: Woodard & Curran is listed at $147M for CY 2014 by D&B, while locally the firm says “our 2014 revenues were $165.9M. Which was a strong year for us with around 15-percent growth.” The engineering financial magazine Engineering News-Record carries Woodard & Curran’s 2014 earnings as $165M.  –Ed.