L.A. County based; ranked by 1999 companywide revenues
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The top 25 minority owned businesses in L.A. County accounted for a combined $3.4 billion in revenues last year, an increase of 4.13 percent over their reported 1998 revenues. Three Latino- and two Chinese-owned companies are newcomers to this year’s list.
The company reporting the biggest year-to-year growth was African-American owned temporary and full-time personnel placement service ACT-1 Personnel Services, where revenues jumped by 55.7 percent between 1998 and 1999. Arctic Slope Construction Inc. in Pasadena reported the largest drop in revenues, down 54 percent to $28 million.
Torrance based ACT-1 attributes its growth to incorporating cutting-edge technology three years ago. It develops on-site partnerships with its clients’ human resources departments by installing Web-based systems. All paperwork and time cards are handled online.
Peggy Tsiang Cherng, CEO of third-place Panda Management Co., was inducted into the Millennium Hall of Fame by the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) on March 24.
THE PACESETTER
ViewSonic Corp.
Three finches form the familiar logo of Walnut-based ViewSonic Corp., the fifth largest seller of computer monitors in the country. It tops this year’s list for the second straight year with more than $1 billion in revenues.
In spite of the company’s 9 percent increase over last year’s sales, it and other computer display makers continue to face challenges. Monitor prices have been falling because more vendors are flooding the market with products while the supply of major components for monitors has been increasing.
Consequently, James Chu, the company’s founder and chief executive, is diversifying by developing Internet appliances adding PC functions to his company’s monitors. ViewSonic will no longer be strictly focused on hardware, incorporating software into its new products. One new device, a Windows-based terminal, will not have storage capacity but can connect users directly to the Internet just by plugging it in. There’s also a personal home theater on the horizon that can play MP3 music files and DVDs.
In addition to the 500 employees based at the company’s headquarters in Walnut, ViewSonic employs more than 200 people at its affiliate offices in England, France, Germany, Canada and Taiwan. Since opening its doors 13 years ago, annual sales have risen from $4 million to $1 billion today.
