Crain’s New York Business – November 16, 2009

“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot, ”Winston Churchill once growled. “Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.”

That horse may have strained during the past year or so, but a close look at our latest annual list of the region’s largest privately held companies shows that New Yorkers have risen to the challenges of this recession like nobody else. There’ve been some steep declines in revenue, but also some surprising upswings. And the astonishing range of companies—from global leaders of the digital economy to outer-borough wholesalers—should continue to ensure our position as the business capital of the world.

This list is the most comprehensive available, but Crain’s acknowledges that it’s not possible to identify and include every privately held company that would qualify. Data in the list were provided by the companies or obtained from sources including Crain’s, Forbes, Dun’s Regional Business Directory, Hoover’s, Gale Group and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All data should be considered estimates.

To qualify for inclusion, companies are required to be independent, privately held entities with no parent. They must be headquartered in New York City or Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester counties in New York, or Bergen, Essex, Hudson or Union counties in New Jersey. Nonprofits, hospitals, mutual companies, travel agencies and partnerships—including accounting firms, law firms and consulting firms—are excluded.

Figures identified as Crain’s estimates indicate that information did not come directly from the companies and is published as it appeared elsewhere. Some estimates for 2008 revenues and for number of employees are based on 2007 data.

#105 – TransPerfect

3 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10016
(212) 689-5555
www.transperfect.com

Liz Elting
President, chief executive

2009 Projected Revenues: $225.0 million