March 29, 2024

Celebrating 50 Years

Fla. Companies With Promise

These, all founded within the past 10 years, have experienced growth that has brought them to prominence. Vote for the most promising. Also, read other success stories of older companies.

Amy Keller | 9/1/2008

St. Joe Co., Jacksonville
Founded: 1930s
2007 Revenue: $377 million
Growth: While St. Joe’s predecessor, the St. Joe Paper Co., shuttered its operations in the late 1990s, the company has become the state’s largest private landowner, with more than 600,000 acres in its portfolio. The company has developed residential resorts, commerce parks and rural recreational properties.

ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, Orlando
Founded: 1936
2007 Revenue: $128 million
Growth: ABC’s roots were planted at the end of the Prohibition era, when Jack Holloway, a cigar store manager, opened Jack’s Friendly Neighborhood Bar in downtown Orlando. Seventy-two years of growth and expansion gave rise to ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, with 150 stores from Tallahassee to Miami. It is the country’s largest privately owned fine wine and spirits merchant.

Brown & Brown Inc., Daytona Beach
Founded: 1939
2007 Revenue: $959 million
Growth: Over 69 years, Brown & Brown, which sells property/casualty insurance and employee benefits products and services, has grown and expanded to the point that it is currently ranked as the sixth-largest independent insurance broker in the U.S.

Reynolds Smith and Hills Inc., Jacksonville
Founded: 1941
2007 Revenue: $147 million
Growth: Over the past 67 years, RS&H has grown into one of the nation’s leading facilities and infrastructure consulting firms. The architectural service company has offices in 13 states. It has developed special service areas in aerospace and defense, aviation, commercial, institutional, and transportation and infrastructure.

Tupperware Brands Corp., Orlando
Founded: 1946 in Detroit; moved to Florida in 1952
2007 Revenue: $1.9 billion
Growth: Earl Tupper’s invention of a special “burping seal” for closing plastic containers became a household phenomenon thanks in large part to the efforts of Brownie Wise, who successfully marketed his plastic container products through Tupperware parties.

Walter Industries Inc., Tampa
Founded: 1946
2007 Revenue: $1.2 billion
Growth: Founded as an affordable home builder for first-time home buyers, Walter Industries has become a billion-dollar conglomerate with interests in home building, home financing, mineral and industrial products.

NASCAR, Daytona Beach
Founded: 1947
2007 Revenue: $3 billion
Growth: NASCAR, which sanctions more than 1,200 stock car races at 100 tracks in more than 30 states, has grown over the past 60 years to become the No. 1 spectator sport in the U.S., holding 17 of the top 20 highest-rated sporting events in the U.S. It ranks second, after NFL football, in terms of TV viewers.

Arthur Rutenberg Homes Inc., Clearwater
Founded: 1953
2007 Revenue: $385 million
Growth: Fifty-five years after Arthur Rutenberg began building homes, Arthur Rutenberg is one of the country’s largest franchise systems of independently owned and operated home builders.

International Speedway Corp., Daytona Beach
Founded: 1953
2007 Revenue: $816 million
Growth: Founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. for the construction of Daytona International Speedway, the company has become a promoter of motor sports activities, promoting more than 100 events annually.

FCCI Insurance Group, Sarasota
Founded: 1959
2007 Revenue: $559 million
Growth: Founded by the Sarasota general Contractors Association as a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund, FCCI has evolved into a multimillion-dollar property and casualty insurer that operates in 13 contiguous states.

Alico Inc., LaBelle
Founded: 1960
2007 Revenue: $134 million
Growth: Formed as a spinoff of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co., Alico is a land-management company that owns approximately 135,500 acres in central and southwest Florida and is involved in various agricultural operations and real estate activities. Alico’s revenue has climbed from $247,000 in 1960 to $134 million last year.

Flo-Sun Inc., West Palm Beach
Founded: 1960
2007 Revenue: $3 billion
Growth: Founded 47 years ago by brothers Alfy and Pepe Fanjul, who came to the U.S. a year after Fidel Castro’s revolution, Flo-Sun is the largest sugar producer in the U.S. today. Flo-Sun’s holdings include 180,000 acres in Florida and nearly 250,000 in the Dominican Republic.

Gate Petroleum Co., Jacksonville
Founded: 1960
2007 Revenue: $1.3 billion
Growth: Started by Herbert Hill Peyton with a single gas station, the company today operates more than 225 service stations with convenience stores in the Southeast and has diversified into concrete production, resorts and real estate development.

PBS&J, Tampa
Founded: 1960
2007 Revenue: $581 million
Growth: Since its first assignment 48 years ago managing the design and construction of Miami Lakes, PBS&J has become a national leader in engineering, architecture and consulting with more than 80 offices in 26 states.

Tags: Florida Small Business, Entrepreneur

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