By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Peter S. Strange, president of Messer Construction Co., (left) speaks with project executive Thomas A. Bell at the Advanced Technology and Learning Center the firm is building at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Fort Mitchell-based Drees Co. this year became only the third company to repeat its No. 1 ranking in the Greater Cincinnati 100, a list of the region's top privately held companies making its 20th appearance.

The home builder boosted sales by 35.7 percent to $822.3 million in its 2002 fiscal year to again capture the top spot.

American Financial Corp. topped the list for 12 years before it went public in 1995. Ris Paper Co. took the No. 1 spot in the 1996-2000 lists before it was bought.

As the economy stabilized in 2002, so did the Cincinnati 100. All but one of the top 10 on the list were there last year, and all but one have been in the listing for at least 16 years, with half making the rankings all 20 years.

"It's overall been a very good market for us, especially with low interest rates and the first-time home buyer becoming a bigger market," said Drees president and chief executive officer David Drees. "We've got another acquisition that we've just finished that should put us over $1 billion next year, but then we're going to take a breather from acquisitions. ..."

Top 10 newcomer Messer Construction of Bond Hill has been listed all 20 years, this year at No. 10 with $393.5 million in revenue, up 18.5 percent.

"We had a lot of projects that we've had in the pipeline come to fruition this past year, but we should be able to keep up this level," Messer president Peter S. Strange said. "This means a lot, to keep this up, because we are 100 percent employee-owned, and because we've been able to do it using our strategy of focusing on this region and just three states," he said.

Companies on the list, compiled by professional services firm Deloitte, are ranked based on their annual revenue during their 2002 fiscal year, and all have 80 or more employees.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Joseph Auto Group, downtown, ($576 million); Jeff Wyler Automotive Family Inc., Union Township, ($564 million); hotel operator Columbia Sussex Corp. and Affiliates, Fort Mitchell, ($550 million); marketing firm Cornerstone Brands Inc., West Chester, ($500 million); pipe manufacturer Contech Construction Products Inc., Middletown, ($480 million); auto dealership owner Kenwood Dealer Group Inc., Deerfield Township, ($445 million); linen manufacturer Standard Textile Co. Inc., Reading, (revenue disclosed to Deloitte but not made public); and United Dairy Farmers, Norwood, (revenue disclosed but not made public).

Overall, 17 members of the 100 have been included on all 20 Greater Cincinnati 100 lists, although several large private companies throughout the region annually choose not to participate.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com