Contact: Dave Cary, Orion Energy Systems, 920-892-9340
Orion on List of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies
Plymouth, WI. Orion Energy Systems of Plymouth, WI has been named to Inc Magazine’s annual Inc. 500, a list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Orion was one of five Wisconsin companies to make this year’s list and ranked 461st with a three-year growth of 324%. Privately held, Orion has more than 380 stockholders. In addition, Orion now does business with 65 of the Fortune 1000 companies.
The Inc. 500 list was measured by revenue growth from 2002 through 2005. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2002, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent–not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies–as of December 31, 2005.
Recently, Orion Energy Systems, an award winning designer and manufacturer of energy management and lighting products and services, announced that Expansion Capital Partners, LLC of New York City and San Francisco have made a $4.5 million Series C investment in Orion.
Over the last few years, Orion has been recognized several times. Orion has earned the 2006 first-place award in the 35th annual Governor’s New Product Awards and was rated the highest by Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineer judges amongst all the other GNPA entrants. In 2005, Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, Ernst & Young’s Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year. In the same year, Orion Energy Systems was named Manufacturer of the Year for the second time.
According to Inc Magazine, “Of the 5,795 public companies that have traded for at least three years, only 33 have three-year revenue growth rates higher than the 304.7 percent reached by Apex Environmental Engineering & Compliance, No. 500 on this year’s list.” In other words, only 33 publicly traded companies have had faster growth than the last of the Inc. 500.
“At a time when consumption for electricity in the U.S. is at record levels and electricity rates continue to rise at a record pace, we are proud of the positive economic and environmental impacts our products and solutions provide to the nation’s energy supply, the environment and our customers’ bottom lines,” stated Neal Verfuerth, CEO and President of Orion Energy Systems. “By being named to the Inc. 500 for 2006, Orion has received another validation of Orion’s technology, business model and management.”
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About Orion
Orion Energy Systems has been innovating in the energy and lighting business since 1996. Orion Energy Services of Plymouth earned the 2006 first-place award in the 35th annual Governor’s New Product Awards and was rated the highest by Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineer judges amongst all the other GNPA entrants. In 2005, Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, Ernst & Young’s Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year. In the same year, Orion Energy Systems was named Manufacturer of the Year for the second time. In addition, Orion also was the recipient of the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Award given by the Wisconsin DNR. In 2002, Orion also was named the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award in the Emerging Growth category.
Orion is a designer and manufacturer of energy efficient lighting solutions for the school, gymnasium, manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial markets. Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry.
For more information, please contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Systems
1204 Pilgrim Road
Plymouth, WI 53073 http://www.oriones.com.
