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STARS YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF
Back in 1937, when Motorola Inc. was perfecting the push-button radio for cars, AT&T was still Ma Bell, and cell-phone giant Craig O. McCaw wasn't even born, Victor J. Andrew started selling antennas to radio stations. Victor who? After six decades, the company Andrew founded is still not a household name, but it's riding the same boom in wireless communications to prosperity as its better-known brethren. In BUSINESS WEEK's new Performance Ranking, Andrew Corp. weighed in at No.18.
Over the years, the Orland Park (Ill.)-based company followed the expansion of radio and then TV, supplying nuts-and-bolts components for both. Now, hot demand for yet another technology is fueling its growth. After moving into antennas, batteries, and its hands-free kits for cell phones, Andrew now makes the microwave dishes, towers, and transmission lines that send and receive phone signals around the world. Although it is hardly the only company making such cellular gear, a broad international presence has allowed Andrew to grow faster and more profitably than most. These days, almost half its sales are overseas. That helped drive average annual profits up 49.2% over the past three years. Total return for the period: 272.1%.
OFF THE RADAR. Andrew is not the only obscure winner. The
Standard & Poor's 500-stock index may represent the most closely studied companies in the world, but tucked away in the nooks and crannies are some first-class performers that don't often appear in the limelight. The rigorous growth and performance measures BUSINESS WEEK applied to the S&P 500 companies unearthed a handful of little-known dynamos.
Also: businessweek.com (Need Acrobat Reader) plus cover story.
Al |
