2 Area Companies Make List of Top Inner-City Businesses

Roundhouse Inc. and Belkin Components have once again made Inc. magazine’s Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing privately held businesses located in America’s urban core.

Patterned after the Inc. 500 list of privately held growth companies, the Inner City 100 list debuted last year as an effort to showcase business opportunities in overlooked urban areas.

For the second year in a row, Rancho Dominguez-based Roundhouse emerged as Southern California’s top performer. The manufacturer of CD storage cases and insulated coolers came in at No. 14, with five-year sales growth of 1,061% and a compound annual growth rate of 85%. The company ranked third on last year’s list.

Compton-based Belkin Components ranked No. 30, with five-year sales growth of 423% and a compound annual growth rate of 51%. The manufacturer of computer peripherals and accessories was also the largest company to make the list, with $152 million in sales. The company ranked 25th on last year’s list.

The magazine compiled the list with help from Boston-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Companies were ranked according to their compound rate of revenue growth from 1994 through 1998. The businesses averaged five-year growth rates of 750%, 1998 sales of $12.2 million and a work force of 71 employees.