Top 100 Indian American co. generate $2.8bn

NEW YORK: The top 100 Indian American companies collectively generated over $2.8 billion in revenues last year and provided full time jobs to nearly 22,000 employees in the US, according to a study.

The study has been conducted by VII, a Virginia based company, and co-sponsored by News India-Times, a New York based weekly, which published the study in its Nov 16 edition.

The top five on the VII-100 list of privately held Indian American companies are: Ducon Technologies Inc (manufacturing, $343 million), Nath Companies, Inc (hospitality, $114 million), Acro Service Corp (professional services, $106 million), Dlz Corporation (professional services, $90 million) and Galaxy Builders Ltd. (construction, $88 million).

Software industry with 26 companies monopolises the list. Five of them are in New Jersey, a new hub for the industry after Silicon Valley.

Leading the software companies on the 100-list is Indotonix International Corporation with revenue of $71 million, ranked No 7.

Top two of the 10 fastest growing companies in the list are also in software services. Astir IT Solutions, Inc grew by 151 percent in a year to reach $5.8 million revenue in 2006. Ignify, Inc, at $3.1 million, grew by 142 percent in the same period. 

Of the 100 companies, 50 have off-shore facilities in countries including Canada, Britain, Germany, China, Egypt, Japan and India.

Only privately held, independent businesses (not a subsidiary or division) were eligible for the study. Additionally, the chief executive officer, general partner or president of the company - and at least 50 percent shareholders - has to be of Indian origin as well as a permanent resident or citizen of US. The criterion for ranking was the 2006 sales figure, which for participation had to be at least $1 million.

For the 2007 study, VII found 142 eligible participants from the over 2,400 companies it had invited to participate.

The total revenue generated by the top 100 Indian American companies in the 2006 VII study was $3.3 billion. The drop to $2.8 billion in 2007 is due to two large companies since getting acquired by other groups, no more meeting the ownership criteria.     

Since its beginning in 1996 the VII-100 list has become the leading information source on Indian-owned entrepreneurial performance in the US.