Two O.C. Fledglings Test Wings and Quickly Begin Flying High

Good news for a couple of Orange County businesses.

Perisel Technology Inc., a computer peripheral distributor in Anaheim, and Workplace Interiors LLC, an office furniture dealer in Irvine, have landed on Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur magazine’s Hot 100 list of the fastest-growing small companies in America. Perisel checked in at No. 36. Workplace placed No. 57.

Companies were ranked according to sales growth from their date of inception. To qualify, businesses had to be founded no earlier than 1997 and post sales of $1 million or more in 1999.

Founded in April 1998 by industry veteran Maggie Kavoussi, Perisel posted revenue of $9.5 million in 1999 and expects to more than triple that this year, Kavoussi said. The company distributes CD-ROMs, DVD players and hard drives, among other products, to mass merchants and wholesalers in the U.S., South America, Mexico and Canada.

Workplace Interiors has more than 100 customers, including Continuus Software and chip maker Broadcom.

Founded in February 1999, Workplace Interiors had revenues of $3.7 million last year and projects sales of between $12 million and $15 million in 2000, co-founder Robert Blomstrom said. The company recently opened offices in Westlake Village and Solano Beach, he said.