Reprinted with permission from the Pacific Coast Business Times.

Regional Companies Recognized for Quick Growth

By Tony Biasotti
Special to the Business Times

Inc. Magazine has named a pair of tri-county companies to its latest list of the country’s 500 fastest-growing privately held companies.

Network Hardware Resale of Goleta and Carpinteria-based oil company Venoco Inc. both made the top half of the list, which ranks private companies by their growth in revenues over the past fi ve years. Network Hardware Resale was number 158, with 1,660 percent fi ve-year growth, and Venoco was number 195, with five-year growth of 1,468 percent.

“I think it’s a great honor,” said Network Hardware Resale Chief Executive Offi cer Chuck Sheldon. His company sells new and used networking hardware from Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems and other manufacturers. Revenues grew from $1.37 million in 1996 to $24.1 million in 2000, and the company went from two to 14 employees during the period. “[The Inc. 500] is certainly competitive, and it’s very accurate; they require fi ve years of tax returns,” Sheldon said.

Network Hardware Resale ranked number 93 on last year’s Inc. 500 list, and Sheldon said he expects growth to continue next year at about a 10 percent clip. Sheldon said he never planned on such rapid growth, and sees it as a byproduct of treating customers well. “What you do is execute your business model and set high standards and expect excellent results and hire good people,” he said. “If you do those things you’re going to grow.”

Venoco’s revenues soared from $5.98 million in 1996 to $93.84 million in 2000, while the company’s workforce grew from 24 to 185 employees. “As a private company, [being named to the Inc. 500] raises the profi le of our company a little bit,” said Chairman and CEO Tim Marquez. “We’ve gotten a little attention from it from investment bankers and some other people who’ve read this.”

Venoco has looked at an initial public offering, but has never found the right time. Marquez said the company is still a bit small to go public, and the market for energy companies is very weak right now. Venoco is expanding its oil exploration into Argentina and should continue to grow in the next few years, he said. “It would be hard to maintain the same percentage growth, but we will continue to see growth,” Marquez said.

The 2001 Inc. 500 includes another company that until recently was located in the Tri- Counties: Line 6, a manufacturer of digital guitar amplifi ers that moved from Thousand Oaks to Agoura Hills in June. Line 6 grew from $2.27 million in revenues and 32 employees in 1996 to $39.77 million in revenues and 225 employees in 2000, earning a spot at number 160.

This article originally appeared in the Pacifi c Coast Business Times on Nov. 30, 2001.