Fast Five

First the good news: Three of the five fastest growing companies on the Private 100 list are related to the construction industry-one of the hardest hit sectors in the recession. Now the bad news: While sales have been red hot for them during the past couple of years, they report sales are slowing down in 2012 as the federal funds that were fanning those flames evaporate.

The private sector is not exactly pouring buckets of money into infrastructure right now, says Kenneth Holmes, president of North Branch Construction in Concord, the fastest growing company on the Private 100. Most firms are trying to take a wait-and-see attitude, Holmes says. I don't see much improvement until after the election.

Wakefield-Vette Thermal Solutions in Pelham, the third fastest growing company on the Private 100, grew its workforce by 15 percent in the past year to keep up with demand, says President and CEO Kevin Kreger, but he anticipates only another 3 to 4 percent increase in the coming year. Kreger expects the thermal management side of the business to grow by 3 percent in 2012, but aluminum extrusion to end the year flat.  We're concerned about the market becoming stagnant, Kreger says. Things have softened up. There's a lack of construction projects out there.

Nannu Nobis, CEO of Nobis Engineering in Concord, the fifth fastest growing company, says it still feels like a recession. It's been bumpy. We've experienced our share of challenges and expect we will for the rest of this year. We don't feel we're on a safe upward glide, he says. We've been able to grow though the recession, though not as much as we'd hope.

Holmes of North Branch says the weak economy and the increased competition have forced many companies to reevaluate how they do business. It forces us to improve our effectiveness and productivity, and that's a good thing. Bars get raised when there's increased competition and that's not all bad, Holmes says.

We will feature the five fastest growing companies of the top 100 private companies, and those 10 companies that did not make the list who are experiencing growth.

To meet the leaders at the Fast Five companies, join us October 15 at the Capital Center in Concord for a two-hour extravaganza. Vists EventsNH.com for details.