› Older Florida success stories

(Note: These companies are sorted by date founded.)

MarineMax, Clearwater

MarineMax CEO Bill McGill

Founded: 1998
2007 Revenue: $1.25 billion
Growth: The 1998 merger of six boat dealers with 28 stores in Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and Arizona made MarineMax the largest recreational boat retailer in the U.S. Since then, the company has more than quadrupled in size with more than 85 locations.

EverBank, Jacksonville
Founded: 1998
2007 Revenue: $467 million
Growth: EverBank has become one of the nation’s largest online banks, with approximately $6 billion in assets and more than 450,000 customers.

ZeroChaos, Orlando
Founded: 2000
2007 Revenue: $479 million
Growth: ZeroChaos has grown to be one of the top contract labor companies in the country. Focusing on the professional workforce, the company has grown nearly 400% since its inception and has offices in Denmark, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Dynetech Corp., Orlando
Founded: 2000
2007 Revenue: $167 million
Growth: Since its incorporation eight years ago, Dynetech has grown into a multimillion-dollar company with nearly 600 employees. The company acts as a direct-to-market distributor of partner client’s products and services through direct sales, advertising, direct mail, e-commerce and other channels.

PODS Inc., Clearwater
Founded: 1998

PODS Inc., Clearwater

2007 Revenue: $214 million
Growth: Founded 10 years ago, PODS originated the concept of transporting mobile storage containers with its patented hydraulic lift system. PODS, purchased in 2007 by Bahrain-based Arcapita, is available in 57 states and provinces, including Canada and Australia.

DayJet, Boca Raton
Founded: 2002
2007 Revenue: Unavailable
Growth: Ed Iacobucci, former chairman of Citrix Systems, and his wife, Nancy, founded this air taxi service under the research and development “code name” Jetson Systems. The company began shuttling passengers around the southeastern U.S. in its Eclipse 500 jets in the fall of 2007.

Moss & Associates, Fort Lauderdale
Founded: 2003
2007 Revenue: $649.7 million
Growth: Over the past five years, this Fort Lauderdale-based construction firm founded by Bob Moss, the former president and CEO of Centex, has become one of the largest general contractors in south Florida. The company’s repeat customers include Bass Pro Shops, Publix Super Markets and the Corrections Corporation of America.

Other Florida success stories:

(Note: These companies are sorted by date founded, oldest to newest.)

Times Publishing Co., St. Petersburg
Founded: 1884
2007 Revenue: $308 million
Growth: The St. Petersburg Times, the flagship publication of the Times Publishing, began in 1884 as a country weekly called the West Hillsborough Times. Today, the St. Petersburg Times is the largest daily newspaper in Florida. Times Publishing, which is owned by the non-profit Poynter Institute, also owns Florida Trend, the weekly newspaper tbt*, Congressional Quarterly and Governing magazine.

Florida East Coast Railway, Jacksonville
Founded: Incorporated in 1895
2007 Revenue: $238.4 million
Growth: Founded by Henry Flagler in the late 19th century to make traveling to Florida easier, the modern Florida East Coast Railway operates as a regional freight railroad with 351 miles of mainline track from Jacksonville to Miami and rail services at terminals in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fort Pierce, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. FEC and RailAmerica, one of the nation’s leading short-line and regional railroad operators, are being run as combined organizations from Jacksonville. Both RailAmerica and FEC are owned by private equity funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group.

Harris Corp., Melbourne
Founded: 1895 in Niles, Ohio; moved to Florida in 1978
2007 Revenue: $4.2 billion
Growth: Once a minor manufacturer of printing press machinery, Harris evolved during the 20th century into a major developer of electronics technology. Today, Harris is an international communications and information technology company with 16,000 employees and clients in more than 150 countries.

Stein Mart Inc., Jacksonville
Founded: 1902 in Greenville, Miss.; moved to Florida in 1984
2007 Revenue: $1.5 billion
Growth: Founded by the current chairman’s grandfather just after the turn of the century, Stein Mart has evolved into an upscale discount department store chain with 280 locations throughout the U.S.

W.S. Badcock Corp., Mulberry
Founded: 1904
2007 Revenue: $537 million
Growth: More than 100 years after Henry S. Badcock opened his first general mercantile store in Mulberry, Badcock is one of the largest privately owned home furniture retailers with more than 300 stores in eight states.

Beall’s Inc., Bradenton
Founded: 1915
2007 Revenue: $1.2 billion
Growth: Started 93 years ago by Robert M. Beall as a dry goods store in Bradenton, Beall’s is a major retailer with more than 560 stores, including Beall’s, Beall’s Outlet Stores and Burkes Outlet Stores across the Sun Belt.

Robb & Stucky Ltd., Fort Myers
Founded: 1915
2007 Revenue: $310 million
Growth: What began as a one-store general merchandise emporium has evolved into a full-service fine furnishings and interior design firm with more than 30 showrooms in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Costa Rica.

Suddath Cos., Jacksonville
Founded: 1919
2007 Revenue: $280 million
Growth: Over the past 80 years, Suddath has grown from a small northeast Florida moving and storage company into a multifaceted group of companies specializing in worldwide corporate employee relocations, household moving, warehouse and logistics management and specialized transportation services.

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Jacksonville<br /> Founded: 1925
2007 Revenue: $7.2 billion
Growth: Started by Idaho native W.M. Davis when he purchased the Rockmoor Grocery in Miami 83 years ago, Winn-Dixie one of the largest food retailers in the nation and number 305 on the Fortune 500 list. Winn-Dixie, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2006, currently operates 359 stores in Florida and 162 stores in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.

A. Duda & Sons Inc., Oviedo
Founded: 1926
2007 Revenue: $588 million
Growth: More than 80 years after Slovak immigrant Andrew Duda produced his first cash crop of celery on 40 acres in Oviedo, Duda has become a leading grower, shipper, marketer and exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables and diversified into sugar cane, sod, foliage, cattle and real estate development.

Rayonier Inc., Jacksonville
Founded: 1926 in Shelton, Wash.; moved to Florida in 2000
2007 Revenue: $1.2 billion
Growth: Rayonier has come a long way from its beginnings as the Rainier Pulp and Paper Co. in the Pacific Northwest, but timber remains the foundation of the company’s business. Today, Rayonier is a leading international forest products company with three core businesses: Timber, real estate and performance fibers.

Publix Super Markets Inc., Lakeland
Founded: 1930
2007 Revenue: $23 billion
Growth: Seventy-eight years after George W. Jenkins opened the first Publix market in Winter Haven, this employee-owned supermarket chain has grown into a Fortune 500 company with more than 900 stores in 5 states.

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.

Ron Jon Surf Shop, Cocoa Beach
Founded: 1961 in Long Island Beach, N.J.; moved to Florida in 1963
2007 Revenue: Not available
Growth: Forty-five years after New Jersey surfing enthusiast Ron DiMenna opened his second Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach, Ron Jon Surf Shop is a multimillion-dollar corporation with stores stretching from coast to coast.

Raymond James Financial, St. Petersburg
Founded: 1962
2007 Revenue: $3.1 billion
Growth: Starting with a single office and fiscal year revenue of less than $100,000, Raymond James Financial has grown into one of the largest financial services firm in the U.S. Its 4,750 financial advisers serve 1.6 million accounts from 2,200 locations.

Benihana Inc., Miami
Founded: 1964 in New York; headquartered in Miami since 1980
2007 Revenue: $272 million
Growth: Starting with one Japanese steakhouse in Manhattan, Japanese-born entrepreneur Rocky Aoki grew Benihana into the leading Asian restaurant chain in the U.S.

Haskell Co., Jacksonville
Founded: 1965
2007 Revenue: $714 million
Growth: Haskell Co. has completed more than 1,250 construction projects over the past 43 years, making it Florida’s largest privately held construction company and one of the top design/build firms in the country.

Jabil Circuit Inc., St. Petersburg
Founded: 1966 in Detroit; moved to Florida in 1982
2007 Revenue: $12.3 billion
Growth: Originally founded to repair and produce circuit board assemblies, Jabil has benefited from rapid growth of the electronic manufacturing services industry. Ranked 219 in the Fortune 500, Jabil has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 4.6% between 1997 and 2007.

Greenberg Traurig, Miami
Founded: 1967
2007 Revenue: $1.2 billion
Growth: Since its launch 41 years ago by three Miami lawyers, Greenberg Traurig has grown into an international law firm reaching across the world from Los Angeles to Dallas to New York, to Zurich, Amsterdam and Shanghai.

Perry Ellis International Inc., Miami
Founded: 1967
2007 Revenue: $863 million
Growth: Supreme International’s 1999 purchase of Perry Ellis International catapulted the Miami-based licensing and marketing group into the big leagues of the international fashion industry. The company, which went public in 1993 and assumed the Perry Ellis name three years later, designs, distributes and licenses a broad line of men's and women's apparel, accessories, and fragrances.

Darden Restaurants, Orlando
Founded: 1968
2007 Revenue: $5.6 billion
Growth: Grew from one Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland into the largest full-service dining restaurant company in the world. Darden owns six restaurant brands: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, The Capital Grille and Seasons 52.

Holland & Knight LLP, Miami
Founded: 1968
2007 Revenue: $612 million
Growth: Formed 40 years ago by the merging of two Florida law firms, Holland & Knight is among the 18 largest law firms in the world, with more than 1,100 attorneys in the U.S. and offices in 22 cities worldwide.

Kraft Construction Co., Naples
Founded: 1968
2007 Revenue: $559 million
Growth: Nearly 40 years after embarking on its first major public works project, building an addition to Naples Community Hospital, Kraft Construction is the largest privately held general building contractor in Florida.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Miami
Founded: 1968
2007 Revenue: $6.1 billion
Growth: Founded in 1968 by three Norwegian shipping companies, Royal Caribbean has grown into one of the world’s largest passenger cruise lines with a fleet of 20 ships capable of carrying 50,126 passengers.

Sonny’s Franchise Co., Maitland
Founded: 1968
2007 Revenue: $288 million
Growth: Forty years after Floyd “Sonny” Tillman opened his first Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Gainesville, Sonny’s has more than 138 restaurants and 6,000 employees in nine states in the Southeast.

Westgate Resorts/Central Florida Investments, Orlando
Founded: 1970
2007 Revenue: $1.1 billion
Growth: The real estate development firm David Siegel started out of a small office in his garage has become the largest privately held timeshare company in the world, with 28 resorts and 400,000 owners worldwide.

Carnival Corp., Miami
Founded: 1972
2007 Revenue: $1.3 billion
Growth: Ted Arison started the company by buying a used ship for $1 and assuming $5 million in debt. Carnival is now the largest cruise line in the world. Carnival, which went public in 1987, carries 3.7 million passengers annually aboard its 22 ships.

Rosen Hotels & Resorts Inc., Orlando
Founded: 1974
2007 Revenue: $284 million
Growth: Starting with one hotel 34 years ago, Orlando hotelier Harris Rosen grew Rosen Hotels and Resorts into Florida’s largest independent hotel chain. The company’s seven properties have a total of 6,300 rooms.

Tech Data Corp., Clearwater
Founded: 1974
2007 Revenue: $23.4 billion
Growth: Started 34 years ago to market data processing supplies directly to end users of mini and mainframe computers, Tech Data has grown into one of the world’s largest distributors of technology and the state’s largest publicly held firm.

Colorado Boxed Beef Co., Auburndale
Founded: 1975
2007 Revenue: $629 million
Growth: The family business started by Richard and Edith Saterbo has grown into a multimillion-dollar company, specializing in manufacturing, processing and distributing beef products in the southeastern U.S.

National Gold Exchange Inc., Tampa
Founded: 1977
2007 Revenue: $178 million
Growth: Since its formation 31 years ago, the National Gold Exchange has become the world’s largest gold and silver rare coin wholesaler.

Sykes Enterprises Inc., Tampa
Founded: 1977 in Charlotte, N.C.; moved to Florida in 1993
2007 Revenue: $710 million
Growth: Founded as a small technical engineering firm in North Carolina, Sykes Enterprises branched into technical writing, software design and eventually customer service call centers. Today, the outsourcing giant employs 29,500 people at more than 45 global call centers.

CSX Corp., Jacksonville
Founded: 1978
2007 Revenue: $10 billion
Growth: Twenty-eight years after the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line merged to form the CSX Corp., CSX is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck trainload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports.

The Related Group, Miami
Founded: 1979
2007 Revenue: $1.25 billion
Growth: Under Jorge Perez’s leadership, The Related Group has built and managed more than 70,000 condominium and apartment residences throughout Florida, making it one of the largest builders of luxury condominiums in the U.S. The private company’s current development portfolio includes projects valued in excess of $10 billion.

Spirit Airlines, Miramar
Founded: 1980
2007 Revenue: $761 million
Growth: Launched in 1980 as a Detroit-based vacation tour operator called Charter One, the airline changed its name to Spirit Airlines in 1990 and moved its headquarters to Florida in 1999. Today, the “ultralow cost carrier” has 185 daily flights to 36 destinations, and its 2007 revenue of $761 million was up 40% from 2006.
Trouble Ahead? Rising fuel costs could take a toll on the carrier. Department of Transportation figures suggest that the airline lost $4 million in 2007 after oil prices began to spike.

Chico’s FAS Inc., Fort Myers
Founded: 1983
2007 Revenue: $1.7 billion
Growth: Since opening one shop on Sanibel Island 25 years ago, Chico’s has become one of the fastest-growing women’s specialty apparel retailers in the country, with 1,063 women’s specialty stores.
Trouble Ahead? Net profits have been falling and the company’s stock has lost 87% of its value over the past two and a half years.

Spanish Broadcasting System Inc., Coconut Grove
Founded: 1983
2007 Revenue: $179 million
Growth: Following the purchase of his first station 25 years ago, WVNJ-AM in New York, Cuban refugee Raul Alarcon and his son, Raul Alarcon Jr., built SBS into the nation’s largest Hispanic radio broadcaster.

Office Depot Inc., Delray Beach
Founded: 1986
2007 Revenue: $15.5 billion
Growth: Twenty-two years after three entrepreneurs opened the first Office Depot store in Fort Lauderdale, the company is the second-largest office supply chain in the nation with 1,600 stores worldwide.

Citrix Systems Inc., Fort Lauderdale
Founded: 1989
2007 Revenue: $1.4 billion
Growth: Started with $3 million by ex-IBM software developer Ed Iacobucci, Citrix is a global leader in application service software and services that offer “digital independence,” that is the ability to run an application on any device over any connection, wireless to web.

Rooms to Go, Seffner
Founded: 1990
2007 Revenue: $1.8 million
Growth: Over the past 18 years, Rooms To Go has become one of the country’s largest furniture retailers, with 150 furniture showrooms in nine states.

Elizabeth Arden Inc., Miramar
Founded: 1992
2007 Revenue: $1.1 billion
Growth: In 2001, French Fragrances, a Miami Lakes-based manufacturer of fragrance and cosmetic products, purchased Elizabeth Arden from Unilever for $225 million and adopted the Elizabeth Arden name. The global beauty products company surpassed the billion-dollar sales mark in 2007.

AutoNation Inc., Fort Lauderdale
Founded: 1996
2007 Revenue: $17.7 billion
Growth: Founded by billionaire businessman Wayne Huizenga in 1996, CEO Mike Jackson has transformed AutoNation into the nation’s largest automobile dealer, with 243 dealerships in 15 states.