THE 50 FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES IN THE AREA
Construction firms have bigger presence on this year’s regional list
Mike Moore’s construction company is just trying to keep up with all the building in southeastern Wisconsin.
Moore Construction Services added five new employees, taking its total up to 19, and is on track to more than double revenue this year. Moore predicts revenues will exceed $40 million this year.
The commercial construction management company is so busy it has even more than a year’s worth of revenues in backlogs.
As Milwaukee’s building boom continues, construction companies are reaping the benefits, with 14 firms recognized as part of the Future 50 list of fastest-growing companies in the region.
“Businesses are in a growth mode, and we’re helping them grow,” Moore said.
Moore Construction will break ground on a new office in July to double its space to 13,000 square feet in Menomonee Falls.
“We’re almost too busy to build our own,” he said.
Construction dominates fast-growing companies
The Future 50, determined by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and its Council of Small Business Executives, recognizes the fastest-growing companies in the seven-county Milwaukee region.
The listing features companies that experience strong growth in both revenue and employment.
Moore Construction has built new spaces for Five Star Fabricating Inc., Metal-Era Inc., a controlled storage facility, multifamily housing units and new chapels at schools.
Construction-related companies have grown to represent a larger share of the Future 50 in recent years. In 2016, just nine of the 50 companies were in construction. That rose to 12 in 2017 and then 14 this year.
More than 50 projects are currently under construction in the metro area, including the new $524 million arena for the Milwaukee Bucks scheduled to host its first event in September. Dozens more projects have been proposed and approved.
“From the downtown arena and high rises to suburban mixed-use projects, these companies are riding the wave of new development,” said Stephanie Hall, COSBE’s executive director. “And with construction on Foxconn and the Haribo plants beginning soon, this trend shows no signs of slowing down in the near future.”
For the new arena, Milwaukeebased JCP Construction has performed carpentry and concrete work. President James Phelps said JCP also is bidding on subcontracts for work at
the Foxconn Technology Group factory in Mount Pleasant.
“They’re going to need everybody they can get,” Phelps said.
The Taiwanese technology company Foxconn has begun work on its planned $10 billion manufacturing complex in Racine County. The 22-million-squarefoot campus will employ as many as 13,000 people, company and government officials have said. The project’s general contractor has named 27 Wisconsin companies as subcontractors for site-preparation work.
Work on the Haribo gummy bear factory is expected to begin this year in Kenosha County. The candy maker could employ up to 1,450 people.
Fortune 50 companies took in $724 million
Other sectors with companies on the Future 50 list include business services (18), technology (7), manufacturing (7), wholesale trade (3) and finance/insurance real estate (1). The majority of companies — 56% — are based in Milwaukee County.
Outside sales firm Business Development Pros in Bay View is fueled by the growth in manufacturing and business services in southeastern Wisconsin. President and CEO Marc Case said the company has grown 20 to 30 percent in both clients and revenues over the past few years.
“We’re helping them maximize their growth opportunity,” Case said.
While Business Development Pros started with traditional sales support — sending out emails and making phone calls — it now also helps clients with customer relationship management, project management and business forecasting.
Business Development Pros has 15 employees and will hire a few more this year, Case said.
The Future 50 companies generated revenues totaling $724 million in 2017, a 19 percent increase from the previous year, according to the MMAC. Combined, the companies predict 28 percent growth in 2018, MMAC said.
Most business done by the fastgrowing companies is done within the Milwaukee region. Still, 38 percent of the companies in the Future 50 do more than half their business outside the region.
In all, the 50 companies employed 2,741 people last year and are predicting a 15 percent increase in 2019. The companies range in size from fewer than 10 employees to more than 200.
The Future 50 winners will be recognized at an awards luncheon Sept. 21 at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.